C1+ cameras can operate from USB power lines only. However,
some functions are available only if external 12 V DC power supply
is connected. C1+ functions equal to C1 cameras when powered
from USB only:
When a 12 V DC power is plugged in, C1+ camera
functions are extend with:
Still, C1+ capabilities lack some functionality, available
in larger and heavier C2 cameras only:
C1+ have no mechanical shutter, necessary for automatic dark
and bias frame acquisition in remote or robotic setups.
C1+ lack the possibility to use internal filter
wheel.
C1+ cooling performance is slightly lower than in the case of
C2, but the sensor temperature difference is only a few degrees
Celsius.

C1 (left), C1+ (center) and C2 (right) cameras
Camera series |
C1 |
C1+ |
C2 |
Head front cross-section |
57 × 57 mm |
78 × 78 mm |
114 × 114 mm |
Head length (without telescope adapter) |
49 mm |
80 mm |
65 mm |
Head weight |
215 g |
675 g |
1000 g |
Power source |
Only USB |
USB and 12 V DC |
Only 12 V DC |
Mechanical shutter |
No |
No |
Yes |
Active sensor cooling |
No |
Yes (12V DC) |
Yes |
Internal filter wheel |
No |
No |
Optional |
External filter wheel |
No |
Optional (12V DC) |
Optional |
Autoguider port |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Differences among C1, C1+ and C2 cameras
Mechanical design of this series makes it fully compatible with
vast range of telescope adapters a external filter wheels, Camera
Ethernet adapters, etc.
Rich software and driver support allows usage of C1+ camera without
necessity to invest into any 3rd party software package
thanks to included free SIPS software package. However, ASCOM (for
Windows) and INDI (for Linux) drivers, shipped with the camera,
provide the way to integrate C1+ camera with broad variety of camera
control programs.
The C1+ cameras are designed to work in cooperation with a
host Personal Computer (PC). As opposite to digital still cameras,
which are operated independently on the computer, the scientific
cameras usually require computer for operation control, image
download, processing and storage etc. To operate the camera, you
need a computer which:
Is compatible with a PC standard and runs modern 32 or 64-bit
Windows operating system.
Is compatible with a PC standard and runs 32 or 64-bit Linux
operating system.
Support for x64 based Apple Macintosh computers is also
included.
C1+ cameras are designed to be connected with the host PC through
USB 3.0 interface, operating at 5 Gbps. Cameras are also compatible
with USB 2.0 port to communicate with a host PC.
Alternatively, it is possible to use the Moravian Camera
Ethernet Adapter device. This device can connect up to four Cx
(with CMOS sensors) or Gx (with CCD sensors) cameras of any type and
offers 1 Gbps and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface for direct connection
to the host PC. Because the PC then uses TCP/IP protocol to
communicate with the cameras, it is possible to insert WiFi adapter or
other networking device to the communication path.
Hint: Please note that the USB standard allows usage of cable no
longer than approx. 5 meters and USB 3.0 cables are even shorter to
achieve very fast transfer speeds. On the other side, the TCP/IP
communication protocol used to connect the camera over the Ethernet
adapter is routable, so the distance between camera setup and the host
PC is virtually unlimited.
Note the camera must be connected to some optical system (e.g. the
telescope) to capture images. The camera is capable of long exposures,
necessary to acquire the light from faint objects. If you plan to use
the camera with the telescope, make sure the whole telescope/mount
setup is capable to track the target object smoothly during long
exposures.
C1+ Camera Overview
C1+ camera head is designed to be as small and compact as a
cooled camera with rich features and compatible with broad set of
accessories can be.
C1+ cameras are equipped with tiltable telescope interface and
threaded holes for mounting on tripod or dovetail bar. They are
also compatible with external filter wheels designed for larger C2
cameras — camera head contains connector to
control filter wheel. If the external filter wheel is used, the
tiltable mechanism on the camera head is inactive and tiltable
adapters for external filter wheels are used instead. Therefore,
C1+ cameras can utilize vast range of telescope and lens adapters
including off-axis guider adapters.

C1+ Camera with attached External filter
wheel
There are two sizes of the External filter wheels, each
capable to accept multiple sizes of filters, available for the
C1+ cameras:
Extra small XS size wheel for 8 unmounted
filters D31 mm or filters in 1.25”
threaded cells.
Extra small XS size wheel for 7 unmounted
filters D36 mm.
Small S size wheel for 12 unmounted filters
D31 mm or filters in 1.25” threaded
cells.
Small S size wheel for 10 unmounted filters
D36 mm.
Components of C1+ Camera system include:
C1+ camera head with C1 compatible adapter with
M42 × 0.75 thread,
18.5 mm BFD
C1+ camera head with C2 compatible adapter with four M3
threaded holes 44 mm apart and M48 × 0.75 thread,
16.5 mm BFD
External Filter Wheel XS size (7 or 8
positions)
External Filter Wheel S size (10 or 12
positions)
C1 guider camera
Off-Axis Guider with M48 × 0.75 or M42 × 0.75 (T2) thread
C1 compatible Nikon bayonet lens adapter
C1 compatible Canon EOS bayonet lens adapter
C1 compatible M42 × 0.75 (T-thread) threaded
adapter, 55 mm BFD
C1 compatible M48 × 0.75 threaded adapter, 55
mm BFD
C2 compatible M42 × 0.75 (T-thread) or
M48 × 0.75
threaded adapter, 55 mm BFD
C2 compatible Canon EOS bayonet lens adapter
C2 compatible Nikon bayonet lens adapter
Camera Ethernet Adapter (x86 CPU)
Camera Ethernet Adapter (ARM CPU)
8-positions external filter wheel XS for
1.25”/D31 mm filters
7-positions external filter wheel XS for D36 mm
filters
12-positions external filter wheel S for
1.25”/D31 mm filters
10-positions external filter wheel S for D36 mm
filters
7-positions external filter wheel S for 2”/D50
mm filters
C1+ Camera Models
C1+ camera models are equipped with Sony IMX global
shutter CMOS detectors with 3.45 × 3.45 μm or 4.50 × 4.50 μm square pixels. Individual models differ in
resolution only.
All used sensors utilize global electronic shutter. This means
every pixel within the image is exposed in the same time, as
opposed to rolling shutter sensors, which exposes individual lines
one after another. There is no difference for long exposures of
static objects, but imaging of moving objects using short exposure
time using rolling shutter leads to image shape distortions.
Three lines of C1+ cameras are available depending on
the available dynamic range (bit-depth of the digitized pixels)
and pixel size:
C1+ cameras with Sony IMX sensors with
3.45 × 3.45 μm pixels, supporting 8- and 12-bit
digitization. Because every 12-bit pixel occupies two bytes
when transferred to host PC, 12-bit image download time is
longer compared to 8-bit image. Maximal FPS in 8-bit mode is
then significantly higher.
C1+ cameras with Sony IMX sensors with
3.45 × 3.45 μm pixels, supporting 12-bit digitization
only. As the 12-bit read mode is always used for
long-exposure applications (astronomical photography, scientific
research) either way, lower theoretical download time in 8-bit
mode brings no limitations for real-world scenarios. All other
parameters being same (sensor size, resolution, pixels size,
noise, …), lower price of these cameras may be then very
attractive.
C1+ cameras with Sony IMX sensors with
4.50 × 4.50 μm pixels and
12-bit digitization only. Greater pixels mean higher
dynamic range (more electrons can be stored in each pixel before
it saturates), but also higher read noise. Still the theoretical
S/N is almost the same because of higher signal camera can
accumulate. This camera is more suitable for longer focal length
telescopes, where small pixels provide oversampled images, and
also for research applications, where dynamic range is
important.
C1+ camera models with 3.45 × 3.45 μm pixels and 8- and 12-bit digitization:
Model |
CMOS sensor |
Resolution |
Pixel size |
Image area |
C1+3000 |
IMX252 |
2064 × 1544 pixels |
3.45 × 3.45 μm |
7.12 × 5.33 mm |
C1+5000 |
IMX250 |
2464 × 2056 pixels |
3.45 × 3.45 μm |
8.50 × 7.09 mm |
C1+12000 |
IMX253 |
4112 × 3008 pixels |
3.45 × 3.45 μm |
14.19 × 10.38 mm |
C1+ camera models with 3.45 × 3.45 μm pixels and 12-bit digitization only:
Model |
CMOS sensor |
Resolution |
Pixel size |
Image area |
C1+3000A |
IMX265 |
2064 × 1544 pixels |
3.45 × 3.45 μm |
7.12 × 5.33 mm |
C1+5000A |
IMX264 |
2464 × 2056 pixels |
3.45 × 3.45 μm |
8.50 × 7.09 mm |
C1+12000A |
IMX304 |
4112 × 3008 pixels |
3.45 × 3.45 μm |
14.19 × 10.38 mm |
C1+ camera models with 4.50 × 4.50 μm pixels and 12-bit digitization only:
Model |
CMOS sensor |
Resolution |
Pixel size |
Image area |
C1+7000A |
IMX428 |
3216 × 2208 pixels |
4.50 × 4.50 μm |
14.47 × 9.94 mm |
CMOS Sensors and Camera Electronics
CMOS camera electronics primary role, beside the sensor
initialization and some auxiliary functions, is to transfer data
from the CMOS detector to the host PC for storage and processing.
So, as opposite to CCD cameras, CMOS camera design cannot
influence number of important camera features, like the dynamic
range (bit-depth of the digitized pixels).
Sensor linearity
The sensors used in C1+ cameras shows very good linearity
in response to light. This means the camera can be used also
for entry-level research projects, like for instance
photometry or variable stars etc.
Response of the with
3.45 × 3.45 μm pixel sensors (left) and with
4.50 × 4.50 μm pixel sensors (right)
Download speed
As already noted, there are two lines of C1+ camera
series, differing in the used sensor. The first series with
3.45 × 3.45 μm pixels offers four different read
modes:
8-bit slow mode with ~132 MPx/s digitization
speed
12-bit slow mode with ~72 MPx/s digitization
speed
8-bit fast mode with ~263 MPx/s digitization
speed
12-bit fast mode with ~132 MPx/s
digitization speed
The A version of C1+ cameras with
3.45 × 3.45 μm pixels offers only single read
mode:
And the “A” version of C1+ cameras with
4.50 × 4.50 μm pixels offers also only one read
mode:
The digitization speeds mentioned above are valid for
USB 3.0 connection. Also please note the digitization speeds
do not necessarily lead to corresponding FPS, because every
image downloaded has to be processed and displayed, which also
consumes time. This time is negligible, if slow-scan camera
needs many seconds for image download, but in the case of fast
CMOS cameras, time for image processing in the PC (e.g.
calculation of image standard deviation etc.) can be longer
than image download itself.
Camera gain
Sensors used in C1+ cameras offer programmable gain from 0
to 24 dB, which translates to the output signal multiplication
from 1× to
15.9×. Gain can
be set with 0.1 dB step.
Conversion factors and read noise
Generally, many sensor characteristics depend on the used
gain. Hence, we provide two lists of parameters for both
minimal and maximal gain.
Camera/sensor parameters for sensors with
3.45 × 3.45 μm pixels:
Digitization resolution |
12-bit |
12-bit |
8-bit |
8-bit |
Sensor gain |
0 dB |
24 dB |
0 dB |
24 dB |
Full well capacity |
11000 e- |
1100 e- |
2600 e- |
1100 e- |
Conversion factor |
2.8 e-/ADU |
0.3 e-/ADU |
10.0 e-/ADU |
4.4 e-/ADU |
Read noise |
2.2 e- RMS |
2.0 e- RMS |
4.2 e- RMS |
9.7 e- RMS |
Camera/sensor parameters for sensors with
4.50 × 4.50 μm pixels:
Digitization resolution |
12-bit |
12-bit |
Sensor gain |
0 dB |
24 dB |
Full well capacity |
26000 e- |
2100 e- |
Conversion factor |
6.3 e-/ADU |
0.5 e-/ADU |
Read noise |
5.3 e- RMS |
3.9 e- RMS |
Exposure control
C1+ cameras are capable of very short exposures. The
shortest exposure time is 125 μs (1/8000
of second). This is also the step, by which the exposure time
is expressed. So, the second shortest exposure is 250 μs etc.
Long exposure timing is controlled by the host PC and there
is no upper limit on exposure time. In reality the longest
exposures are limited by saturation of the sensor either by
incoming light or by dark current (see the following
sub-chapter).
Internal mechanical shutter |
No |
Shortest exposure time |
125 μs
(electronic shutter) |
Longest exposure time |
Limited by chip saturation only |
Exposure times
Cooling and power supply
As mentioned in the introduction, C1+ cameras can operate only
with USB power. Camera is then capable to acquire images and to
control (guide) telescope mount via “autoguider” port. However,
active sensor cooling (as well as filter wheel operation) is
available only if external 12 V DC power supply is connected.
Regulated thermoelectric cooling is capable to cool the CMOS
sensor more than 40 °C below ambient temperature. The Peltier hot
side is cooled by fan. The sensor temperature is regulated with
±0.1 °C precision. High temperature drop and precision regulation
ensure very low dark current for long exposures and allow proper
image calibration.

C1+ air inlet with fan is on the bottom side of the
camera head (left), air outlet vents are on the camera top side
(right)
The camera head contains two temperature sensors – the first
thermometer measures directly the temperature of the CMOS sensor.
The second one measures the temperature inside the camera
shell.
The cooling performance slightly depends on the amount
of heat generated by a sensor used in the camera:
In general, lower resolution sensors generate less heat
and thus reaches lower temperature.
The A version cameras, using sensors with
limited read modes, also generate less heat and reaches lower
temperature.
The cooling performance also depends on the environmental
conditions and also on the power supply. If the power supply
voltage drops below 12 V, the maximum
temperature drop is lower.
CMOS sensor cooling |
Thermoelectric (Peltier modules) |
Maximal cooling Δ T |
~44 °C below ambient |
Regulated cooling Δ T |
40 °C below ambient (90%
cooling) |
Regulation precision |
0.1 °C |
Hot side cooling |
Forced air cooling (fan) |
Sensor cooling specifications

C1+3000A camera reaching -45°C sensor temperature below
ambient
Power supply
The 12 V DC power supply enables camera operation
from arbitrary power source including batteries, wall adapters
etc. Universal 100-240 V
AC/50-60 Hz, 60 W brick adapter is supplied with
the camera. Although the camera power consumption does not
exceed 25 W, the 60 W power supply ensures noise-free
operation.
Camera power supply |
12 V DC |
Camera power consumption |
<1 W without cooling |
|
22 W maximum cooling |
Power plug |
5.5/2.5 mm, center
+ |
Adapter input voltage |
100-240 V AC/50-60 Hz |
Adapter output voltage |
12 V DC/5 A |
Adapter maximum power |
60 W |
Power supply specification
Warning: The power connector on the camera head uses
center-plus pin. Although all modern power supplies use this
configuration, always make sure the polarity is correct if
other than the supplied power source is used.

12 V DC/5 A power supply adapter for the C1+
camera
Autoguider port
A lot of astronomical telescope mounts (especially the
mass-manufactured ones) are not precise enough to keep the star
images perfectly round during long exposures without small
corrections. Cooled astronomical cameras and digital SLR cameras
allow perfectly sharp and high-resolution images, so even a small
irregularity in mount tracking appears as star image deformations.
C1+ cameras were designed with automatic mount guiding on
mind.
C1+ cameras were designed to operate without any mechanically
moving parts (with the exception of magnetically levitating fan).
Electronic shutter allows extremely short exposures and also
obtaining thousands of images in a short time, which is necessary
for quality guiding.
C1+ cameras work in connection with a host computer (PC).
Guiding corrections are not calculated in the camera itself, it
only sends acquired images to the PC. The software running on the
PC calculates the difference from required state and sends
appropriate corrections to the telescope mount. The plus side of
using a host PC CPU to process images is the fact, that current
PCs provide overwhelming computational power compared to any
embedded processor inside the guiding camera. Guiding algorithms
then can determine star position with sub-pixel precision, can
match multiple stars to calculate average difference, which limits
the effects of seeing, etc.
Calculated corrections can be sent back to mount using
PC-to-mount link. If the mount controller does not support
so-called Pulse Guide commands, it is possible to use
Autoguider port. It is enough to connect the C1+ camera
and the mount using standard 6-wire cable and guide the mount
through the camera.
The maximum sinking current of each pin of the C1+ camera is
400 mA. If the mount does not treat the autoguider port as logical
input only, but switches the guiding motors directly by these
signals, a relay box must be inserted between the camera and the
mount. The relay box ensures switching of currents required by the
mount.

Standard 6-pin Autoguider Port is located beside the
USB3 port on the back side of C1+ camera
The Autoguider port follows the de-facto standard introduced by
SBIG ST-4 autoguider. The pins have the following functions:
 |
1 |
R.A. + (Right) |
2 |
Dec + (Up) |
3 |
Dec – (Down) |
4 |
R.A. – (Left) |
5 |
Common (Ground) |
6 |
Not connected |
|
Mechanical Specifications
Compact and robust camera head measures only 78 × 78 × 80 mm
(approx. 3.1 × 3.1 × 3.2 inches). The head is
CNC-machined from high-quality aluminum and black anodized. The
head itself contains USB-B (device) connector, Autoguider port
connector, connector for External Filter Wheel and 12 V DC power
plug.
The front side of the C1+ camera body is not intended
for direct attachment of the telescope/lens adapter. It is
instead designed to accept tiltable adapter base, on with the
telescope and lens adapters are mounted. There are two variants
of adapters available:
C1 compatible adapter base with M42 × 0.75 (T-thread) and back
focal distance (BFD) 18.5 mm. The
18.5 mm BFD equals to C1 camera with
M42 × 0.75
adapter. Numerous extension adapters are available for C1
cameras, like M48 × 0.75 thread or
M42 × 0.75 thread
(T-adapter) with 55 mm BFD, Canon EOS and Nikon bayonets etc.
All these adapters are then compatible also with C1+
cameras. As opposed to C1 series, these adapters are
mounted on the tiltable base and therefore can adjust optical
axis if necessary.
C2 compatible adapter base with
16.5 mm BFD. This adapter contains four M3
threaded holed 44 mm apart and also M48 × 0.75 thread. Note
the 16.5 mm BFD equals to BFD of large cooled
C2 cameras without filter wheel. Therefore, it is possible to
attach all adapters for C2 cameras as well as external filter
wheels to this adapter. When used with External filter
wheel, this adapter lacks the tilting spring and pushing screws,
which are not necessary as the External filter wheel itself
offer tiltable adapters intended for C2
cameras.

C1+ camera with C1 compatible adapter (left) and with
C2 compatible adapter (right)
Head dimensions |
78 mm × 78 mm × 80 mm (without adapter base) |
Back focal distance |
18.5 mm
(with C1 compatible adapter base) |
|
16.5 mm
(with C2 compatible adapter base) |
Camera head weight |
0.68 kg |
Mechanical specifications
C1+ Camera with C1 compatible adapter base

C1+ camera head with C1 compatible adapter side
view dimensions

C1+ camera head with C1 compatible adapter front
view dimensions
C1+ Camera with C2 compatible adapter base

C1+ camera head with C2 compatible adapter side
view dimensions

C1+ camera head with C2 compatible adapter front
view dimensions
C1+ Camera with XS External Filter Wheel
C1+ cameras can be equipped with the same external filter
wheels like the C2 cameras. In such case the C2 compatible
adapter has to be used as a base for the External filter
wheel.
If the external filter wheel is used, tiltable adapters for
C2 or G2 Mark II cameras have to be used with it.

C1+ camera head with External filter wheel side
view dimensions

C1+ camera head with External filter wheel bottom
view dimensions
The S sized External filter wheel diameter is
greater (viz. External Filter Wheels), but the back focal
distance of all external filter wheels is identical.
Optional accessories
Various accessories are offered with C1+ cameras to enhance
functionality and help camera integration into imaging setups.
Telescope adapters
Telescope and lens adapters, intended for usage
with C1+ cameras, are of two kinds:
Adapters for C1 cameras. These adapters are
mounted using M42 × 0.75 thread with
18.5 mm BFD. C1 compatible adapter base
must be mounted on the C1+ camera head.
Adapters for C2 cameras. C2 camera
adapters are mounted on a tiltable base, which is
manufactured on external filter wheel or on a standalone
base if no filter wheel is used. Filter wheel or adapter
base is mounted using four M3 threaded holes on a plate
16.5 mm from the sensor.
If a C2 adapter has to be used without filter
wheel, a stack of two adapter bases must be used on C1+
camera — C2 compatible adapter
base for C1+ camera and C2 adapter base on it. However,
such combination is superfluous despite it is possible,
as majority of C2 adapter have an equivalent designed
for C1 camera and thus can be used with C1 compatible
adapter base.
The same tiltable adapter base is manufactured on
the front plate of the external filter wheels. External
filter wheel needs the C2 compatible adapter base
attached to C1+ camera. Then all C2 adapters can be
used.
For illustration of adapter options, see the figure in the
C1+ Camera Overview chapter.
Adapters for C1+ cameras with C1 compatible adapter
base
Adapters are mounted to the C1 compatible adapter
base, which provide titling mechanism.
T-thread with 55 mm BFD — M42 × 0.75 inner thread
adapter, preserves 55 mm BFD.
M48 × 0.75 with 55 mm
BFD — adapter with inner thread
M48 × 0.75,
preserves 55 mm BFD.
Nikon bayonet — standard Nikon lens adapter, preserves
46.5 mm back focal distance.
Canon EOS bayonet — standard Canon EOS lens adapter, preserves
44 mm back focal distance.

Adapters for C1 cameras, compatible with C1+
models
Adapters for C1+ cameras with C2 compatible adapter base
and external filter wheel
C1+ uses the same External filter wheels like the
C2 series. These External filter wheels are equipped with
tiltable base, intended for adapters.
2-inch barrel – adapter for standard 2"
focusers.
T-thread short — M42 × 0.75 inner thread
adapter.
T-thread with 55 mm BFD — M42 × 0.75 inner thread
adapter, preserves 55 mm BFD.
M48 × 0.75
short — adapter with inner thread
M48 × 0.75.
M48 × 0.75 with 55 mm
BFD — adapter with inner thread
M48 × 0.75,
preserves 55 mm BFD
Canon EOS bayonet — standard Canon EOS lens adapter, preserves
44 mm back focal distance.
Nikon bayonet — standard Nikon lens adapter, preserves
46.5 mm back focal distance.
Attaching camera head to telescope mount
C1+ camera heads are equipped with tripod thread
(0.25”) on the bottom side. This thread can be used to attach
1.75 inch dovetail bar
(Vixen standard). It is then possible to attach the camera
head, e.g. equipped with photographic lens, directly to
various telescope mounts supporting this standard.

1.75" bar for standard telescope mounts
Another possibility is to use four metric M4 threaded
holes, also located on the bottom side of the camera head.

Position of the tripod thread and four M4
threaded holes on the bottom of C1+ camera head
Tool-less desiccant containers
C1+ cameras employ the same desiccant container like the
larger C2 and standard cooling C3 and C4 cameras. The whole
container can be unscrewed, so it is possible to exchange
silica-gel without the necessity to remove the camera from the
telescope.

The whole desiccant container can be baked to dry
the silica-gel inside or its content can be poured out after
unscrewing the perforated internal cap and baked
separately
Container shipped with the camera by default does not
exceed the camera head outline. It is equipped with a slot for
tool (or for just a coin), allowing releasing and also
tightening of the container.
This design also allows usage of some optional
parts:
Threaded hermetic cap, allowing sealing of the dried
container when it is not immediately attached to the camera
head.
Alternate (somewhat longer) desiccant container,
modified to be able to be screw in and tightened (as well as
released and screwed out) without any tool.
Comparison of the standard and tool-less container
(left), optional cap, standard and tool-less variant of the
container
Moravian Camera Ethernet Adapter
The Moravian Camera Ethernet Adapter device allows
connection of up to four Cx cameras of any type on one side
and 1 Gbps Ethernet interface on the other side. So, this
device allows attaching of cameras to virtually unlimited
distance using the routable TCP/IP protocol.
The Moravian Camera Ethernet Adapter device (left)
and the adapter with connected two cameras (right)
Moravian Camera Ethernet Adapter device is described in
detail here.
Software support
Software and driver support of the Cx series CMOS cameras is as
rich as is the case of their Gx series CCD camera siblings.
However, latest versions of all software packages and
drivers has to be installed to use Cx cameras.
If the C1+ camera is connected directly to host PC using
USB cable, a new system driver CxCamera.sys must be installed
(see the Installing and Using Drivers and Software
manual, shipped with every camera). The system driver
pre-installation package version 2.35 and later contains
this driver.
When the C1+ camera is connected through the Moravian
Camera Ethernet Adapter device, the device should be updated to
firmware version 43 or later to work with CMOS cameras
(see the Moravian Camera Ethernet Adapter User's Guide
for firmware update procedure). Hint: When the SIPS is
connected to the camera using the Moravian Camera Ethernet
Adapter device, it shows the attached device firmware version in
the Windows Action Center notification area.
Linux driver packages and libraries must be upgraded to
latest versions, too. See the Download section of this site for
details.
The SIPS (Scientific Image Processing System) software
package version 3.21 or later is necessary to control C1+
cameras including latest C1+7000.
Warning: Support for CMOS based Cx cameras was gradually added
to individual SIPS version. While previous minor SIPS versions
could be able to recognize C1+ cameras, always use v3.21 or later
for reliable camera operation.
C1+ camera drivers for 3rd party software
packages also need to be updated to work with C1+ cameras.
Minimum versions for respective drivers are:
ASCOM drivers version 5.1
Drivers for TheSkyX (all versions for Windows,
MacOS and Linux) version 2.3
Astroart drivers version 3.3
SIPS
Powerful SIPS (Scientific Image Processing System)
software, supplied with the camera, allows complete camera
control (exposures, cooling, filter selection etc.). Also
automatic sequences of images with different filters,
different binning etc. are supported. With full ASCOM standard
support, SIPS can be also used to control other observatory
equipment. Specifically the telescope mounts, but also other
devices (focusers, dome or roof controllers, GPS receivers
etc.).
SIPS also supports automatic guiding, including image
dithering. Both autoguider port hardware interface
(6-wire cable) and mount Pulse-Guide API guiding
methods are supported. For hi-quality mounts, capable to track
without the necessity to guide at last during one exposure,
inter-image guiding using the main camera only is
available.

SIPS controlling whole observatory (shown in
optional dark skin)
But SIPS is capable to do much more than just camera and
observatory control. Many tools for image calibration, 16 and
32 bit FITS file handling, image
set processing (e.g. median combine), image transformation,
image export etc. are available.
SIPS handles FITS files, supports image calibration
and processing
As the first S in the abbreviation SIPS means
Scientific, the software supports astrometric image reduction
as well as photometric processing of image series.
SIPS focuses to advanced astrometric and
photometric image reduction, but also provides some very
basic astro-photography processing
SIPS software package is freely available for download from this www site. All functions
are thoroughly described in the SIPS User's Manual, installed
with every copy of the software.
Drivers for ASCOM standard as well as native drivers for
third-party software are also available (e.g. TheSkyX,
AstroArt, etc.). Visit the download page of this web site for current
list of available drivers, please.
Also INDI drivers for 32 bit
and 64 bit Linux running on x86
and ARM are available. Also drivers for TheSkyX package
running on macOS are supplied with the camera.
Automatic guiding
SIPS software package allows automatic guiding of the
astronomical telescope mounts using separate guiding
camera. Proper and reliable automatic guiding utilizing
the computational power of Personal Computer (e.g.
calculation of star centroid allows guiding with sub-pixel
precision) is not simple task. Guiding complexity
corresponds to number of parameters, which must be entered
(or automatically measured).

The SIPS Guider tool window
The Guiding tool allows switching of
autoguiding on and off, starting of the automatic
calibration procedure and recalculation of autoguiding
parameters when the telescope changes declination without
the necessity of new calibration. Also swapping of the
German Equatorial mount no longer requires new autoguider
calibration. There is also a graph showing time history of
guide star offsets from reference position in both axes.
The length of graph history as well as the graph range can
be freely defined, so the graph can be adjusted according
to particular mount errors and periodic error period
length. Complete log of calibration procedure, detected
offsets, correction pulses etc. is also shown in this
tool. The log can by anytime saved to log file.
An alternative to classic autoguiding is the
inter-image guiding, designed for modern mounts, which are
precise enough to keep tracking with sub-pixel precision
through the single exposure, and irregularities only
appear on the multiple-exposure time-span. Inter-image
guiding then performs slight mount position fixes between
individual exposures of the main camera, which eliminates
traveling of the observed objects through the
detector area during observing session. This guiding
method uses main imaging camera, it does not use another
guiding camera and naturally does not need neither OAG nor
separate guiding telescope to feed the light into it.

Inter-image guiding controls in the
Guiding tab of the Imager Camera tool
window
Advanced reconstruction of color information of
single-shot-color cameras
Color sensors have red, green and blue filters applied
directly on individual pixels (so-called Bayer mask).
Every pixel registers light of particular color only
(red, green or blue). But color image should contain all
three colors for every pixel. So it is necessary to
calculate missing information from values of neighboring
pixels.
There are many ways how to calculate missing color
values — from simple extending of
colors to neighboring pixels (this method leads to coarse
images with visible color errors) to methods based on
bi-linear or bi-cubic interpolation to even more advanced
multi-pass methods etc.
Bi-linear interpolation provides significantly better
results than simple extending of color information to
neighboring pixels and still it is fast enough. But if the
telescope/lens resolution is close to the size of
individual pixels, color artifacts appear close to fine
details, as demonstrated by the image below left.
The above raw image with colors calculated
using bi-linear interpolation (left) and the same raw
image, but now processed by the multi-pass de-mosaic
algorithm (right)
Multi-pass algorithm is significantly slower compared
to single-pass bi-linear interpolation, but the resulting
image is much better, especially in fine details. This
method allows using of color camera resolution to its
limits.
SIPS offers choosing of color image interpolation
method in both Image Transform and New Image
Transform tools. For fast image previews or if the
smallest details are significantly bigger than is the
pixel size (be it due to seeing or resolution of the used
telescope/lens) the fast bi-linear interpolation is good
enough. But the best results can be achieved using
multi-pass method.
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