I recently took delivery on a long awaited Apogee A694 CCD Camera. This camera uses the Sony ICX694AGL Chip which sports 4.54 x 4.54 micron sized pixels with a high peak QE of 77% and low read noise / dark current. The small size and light weight of the camera head (1.4 lbs) and integrated filterwheel (1.85 lbs) is a pleasant change from the U8300 and U16 with massive filterwheels requiring very robust focusers. The short backfocus allows allows 1.25″ filters to be used without vignetting on 4/3’s size chips like the A8050 camera which I also have on hand. The short backfocus also allows standard camera lens use in front of the FW and I am working on testing adapters for Pentax M42 screw mount lenses as well as eventually making an adapter for Canon Eos lenses. The 694 is a somewhat smaller chip than the KAI-8050 used int he A8050 but it boasts better sensitivity and improved noise characteristics particularly when looking at Hydrogen Alpha emission line imaging. (Interline chips typically drop off in sensitivity in the red but the Sony chip seems to far better than most in this regard.)
Aug 242013