ZWO ASI533 User manual

ASI533 Manual
Revision 1.0
Nov, 2019
All material in this publication is subject to change without notice and its copyright totally
belongs to Suzhou ZWO CO.,LTD.

ASI533 Manual
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ASI533 Manual...............................................................................................................................1
1. Instruction.....................................................................................................................................3
2. What's in the box?.........................................................................................................................3
3. Camera technical specifications....................................................................................................4
4. QE Graph & Read Noise...............................................................................................................5
5. Getting to know your camera........................................................................................................7
5.1 External View......................................................................................................................7
5.2 Power consumption.............................................................................................................8
5.3 Cooling system....................................................................................................................9
5.4 Back focus distance.............................................................................................................9
5.5 Protect Window.................................................................................................................10
5.6 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)..................................................................................10
5.7 Binning..............................................................................................................................10
5.8 DDR Buffer.......................................................................................................................10
6. How to use your camera..............................................................................................................11
7. Cleaning......................................................................................................................................13
8. Mechanical drawing....................................................................................................................14
9. Servicing.....................................................................................................................................15
10. Warranty ...................................................................................................................................15

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1. Instruction
Congratulations and thank you for buying one of ourASI Cameras! This manual will give
you a brief introduction to your ASI camera. Please take the time to read it thoroughly, if you have
any questions, feel free to contact us: [e-mail].
The ASI533 camera is specifically designed with astrophotography in mind. It is not only
suitable for deep space photography, but also for planetary photography. We are sure that the
outstanding performance and wide range of uses for theASI533MC PRO will amaze you.
Model
Mono or Color
Regulated TEC
Cooling
DDR3 Cache
Sensor
ASI533MC PRO
Colour
YES
256MB
SONY IMX533
For software installation instructions and other technical information please refer to our
official website: https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
What's in the box?
ASI533MC Pro

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2. Camera technical specifications
Sensor
SONY IMX533CMOS
Diagonal
15.968mm
Resolution
9 Mega Pixels
3008*3008
Pixel size
3.76µm
Image area
11.31*11.31mm
Max FPS at full resolution
20FPS
Shutter
Rolling Shutter
Exposure Range
32μs~2000s
Read noise
1.0-3.8e
QE peak
80%
Full well
50,000e
ADC
14bit
DDR3 buffer
256MB
Interface
USB3.0/USB2.0
Adapters
M42X0.75
Protective window
AR window
Dimensions
78mm
Weight
470g
Back focus distance
6.5mm/17.5mm
Cooling
Two Stage TEC
Delta T
35°C below ambient
Cooling Power consumption
12V at 3A Max
Supported OS
Windows, Linux & Mac OSX

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3. QE Value & Read Noise
The QE value and readout noise are the most important parameters to measure camera
performance. Higher QE and lower readout noise are necessary to improve the image
signal-to-noise ratio.
We suppose the QE peak of ASI533 is above 80%.
Readout noise includes pixel noise, circuit noise, and ADC quantization noise. The lower the
readout noise, the better. As can be seen, compared with the conventional CCD camera, the
readout noise value of the ASI533 is very low, and as the gain value increases, the readout noise is
further reduced.
The parameter settings vary depending on your shooting target. If you turn down the gain, the
dynamic range will be larger (suitable for long exposure) or increase the gain, and the readout
noise will be further reduced (suitable for short exposure or fortunate imaging).

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4. Getting to know your camera
5.1 External View
1. Protective window, AR anti-reflection film D32*2mm
2. 2′′ M42 thread, thickness 11mm, removable
3. Radiator
4. USB2.0Hub
5. USB3.0/USB2.0 data interface
6. Led indicator
7. Cooling power supply DC power port: size 5.5*2.1mm, inside and outside negative, it is
recommended to use 12V at 3Apower supply
8. Ultra-quiet magnetic suspension fan
There is 1/4″ screw under the holder.

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5.2 Power consumption
ASI cameras are low-power are low power, using around 300ma at 5V, and the camera is
powered by a USB cable when not cooling. However, if you are cooling, you need to use a 12V at
3A power adapter (D5.5*2.1mm, center positive) or a lithium battery (supporting a wide range of
9V to 15V) to power the fans.
The figure below shows the cooling efficiency of the ASI533. The cooling temperature
difference of 30 degrees requires only 0.5A.

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5.3 Cooling system
The ASI533 2-stage TEC cooling system precisely controls the temperature of the sensor.
Unlike traditional CCDs, the ASI533 camera features ultra-low readout noise, efficient cooling,
and adjustable gain. This eliminates the need for ultra-long exposures to capture targets,
dramatically reducing the need for photographic systems and guide systems. However, if a short
exposure is used (eg, less than 100ms, cooling has little effect on the image) the cooling system
can be set to a minimum of -35 °C below ambient.
5.4 Back focus distance
When 11mm T2 Extender is removed from camera, back focus length is reduced to 6.5mm.

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5.5 Protect Window
In front of the ASI533 camera sensor there is an AR coated protection window with a
diameter of 32mm and a thickness of 2mm.
5.6 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
The ASI533 camera has a built-in 14bit ADC. The ASI533 also supports a custom ROI local
readout mode with faster frame rates at small ROI resolutions. The following figure shows the
frame rate of theASI533 in 14bit mode, USB3.0 and USB2.0 at different resolutions:
Resolution
14BitADC
USB2.0
USB3.0
3008*3008
2fps
20fps
1920*1080
10fps
54fps
1280*720
24fps
80fps
640*480
70fos
117fps
320*240
216fps
216fps
5.7 Binning
The ASI533 camera supports bin2, bin3 and bin4 software pixel binning modes. The biggest
benefit of hardware pixel binning is the faster frame rate. If you do not require increased frame
rate, then we recommend software binning.
5.8 DDR Buffer
The ASI533MC Pro camera has built-in 256MB DDR3 high-speed memory to buffer image
data, ensuring stable data transmission, and effectively reducing the amp-glow caused by slow