ZWO ASI6200 User manual

ASI6200 Manual
Revision 1.2
Dec, 2019
All materials related to this publication are subject to change without notice and its copyright
totally belongs to Suzhou ZWO CO.,LTD.
Please download the latest version from our Official website.

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Table of Contents
ASI6200 Manual.............................................................................................................................1
1. Instruction.....................................................................................................................................3
2. What's in the box? .........................................................................................................................4
3. Camera technical specifications....................................................................................................5
4. QE Graph & Read Noise...............................................................................................................6
5. Getting to know your camera........................................................................................................8
5.1 External View......................................................................................................................8
5.2 Power Consumption............................................................................................................9
5.3 DDR Buffer.........................................................................................................................9
5.4 Cooling System...................................................................................................................9
5.5 Back Focus Distance .........................................................................................................10
5.6 Protective Window ............................................................................................................10
5.7 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)..................................................................................11
5.8 Binning..............................................................................................................................11
5.9 Tilt Adjustment..................................................................................................................11
6. How to use your camera..............................................................................................................13
7. Cleaning......................................................................................................................................17
8. Mechanical drawing....................................................................................................................18
9. Servicing.....................................................................................................................................19
10.Warranty ....................................................................................................................................19

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1. Instruction
Congratulations and thank you for buying one of our ASI Cameras！This manual will
give you a brief introduction to your ASI camera. Please take the time to read it
thoroughly and if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us at
[e-mail].
Welcome to join ZWO FB and User Forum below!
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ZwoDesignAstronomyCameras
User Forum: https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
ASI6200 Camera is specifically designed for astronomical photography. It is not only
suitable for DSO imaging but also for Planetary imaging You will be impressed by its
superior performance and wide use!
Model
Mono/Color
（TEC）Cooling
DDR3 Buffer
Sensor
ASI6200MM Pro
Mono
Two Stage
256MB
SONY IMX455
ASI6200MC Pro
Color
Two Stage
256MB
SONY IMX455
How to choose cameras?
Normally, mono camera sensors are with higher sensitivity, better at high-demand
shooting tasks. But extra accessories will be needed, such as filter wheel and filters, etc.
Post processing of image is also complicated, thus we recommend the color cameras to
fresh users.
For software installation instructions and other technical information, please refer to
our official website http://zwoasi.com/

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2. What's in the box?
ASI6200MM/MC Pro

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3. Camera technical specifications
Sensor
SONY IMX455 CMOS
Diagonal
43.3mm
Resolution
62 Mega Pixels
9576*6388
Pixel Size
3.76μm
Image area
36mm*24mm
Max FPS at full resolution
2FPS
Shutter
Rolling shutter
Exposure Range
32μs-2000s
Read Noise
1.5-3.5e
QE peak
Above 80%
Full well
51.4ke
ADC
16bit
DDR3 buffer
256MB
Interface
USB3.0/USB2.0
Adapters
M54*0.75
Protect window
AR window (mono)
IR CUT (color)
Dimensions
90mm Diameter
Weight
0.7kg
Back Focus Distance
17.5mm
Cooling:
Regulated 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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4. QE Graph & Read Noise
QE and Read noise are the most important parts to measure the performance of a camera.
Higher QE and Lower read noise are needed to improve the SNR of an image.
For the 6200 Sensor, the peak value for QE is around 80%.
Read noise includes pixel diode noise, circuit noise and ADC quantization error noise. The lower
the better.
As you can see, the Read Noise of the ASI6200 camera is extremely low when compared with
traditional CCD cameras. In addition, it is with Built-in HCG mode, which can effectively reduce
read noise at high gain and keep the same wide dynamic range for this camera as at low gain. When
the gain is 100, the HCG mode will be automatically turned on. Additionally, the read noise is as
low as 1.5e while the dynamic range can still be close to 14bit.
Depending on your target, you can set the gain lower for higher dynamic range (longer exposure)
or set the gain higher for lower noise (such as short exposure or lucky imaging).

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5. Getting to know your camera
5.1 External View
1. Protective Window, D60*2mm, AR window for mono camera, IR CUT for color camera
2. Tilt adjustment ring, M54 * 0.75 thread, can be removed
3. Radiator
4. USB2.0 Hub
5. USB3.0/USB2.0 Interface
6. Cooling power supply DC power port: size 5.5 * 2.1mm, positive inside and negative outside,
12V3A power is recommended.
7. Ultra-quiet magnetic levitation fan, will rotate only when the cooling is on.
The camera can be placed on a holder ring for Cooled cameras with a 1/4” thread under the ring.
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5.2 Power Consumption
ASI6200 camera is with low power consumption, max at 5.75W. USB3.0 cable is recommended for
power supply.
Recommended power supply for cooling: 12V @ 3A DC adapter (5.5×2.1mm, center pole positive).
Also suitable: lithium battery with 9-15V.
Here is the ASI6200 cooling efficiency graph.
5.3 DDR Buffer
The ASI6200 Pro camera includes a 256MB DDR3 memory buffer to ensure the stability of data
transmission. Additionally, the use of a memory buffer minimizes amp-glow, which is caused by the
slow transfer speeds.
5.4 Cooling System
The Cooling system of ASI6200 Pro camera can precisely control the sensor temperature. Unlike
traditional CCD, the ASI6200 camera has ultra-low readout noise, efficient cooling, and adjustable

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gain. There is no need to use ultra-long exposures to shoot targets, which significantly reduces the
requirements for the photography system as well as the guide system. However, if you use short
exposures (for example, less than 100ms), the effect of cooling on the image will be little. Cooling
system can be set to a minimum temperature of -35 ℃ below ambient temperature.
Here’s the dark current curve of ASI6200 sensor between -20 ℃ and 35 ℃
5.5 Back Focus Distance
The female flange to the sensor is 17.5mm. You can reach 55mm back focus distance with the 21mm
and 16.5mm extender included in the camera package.
5.6 Protective Window
There is a protective window in front of the 6200camera sensor, with 60mm diameter and 2mm
thickness.
ASI6200MM Pro uses an AR coated filter, while ASI6200MC Pro uses IR CUT filter.