ZWO ASI462 USB 3.0 CMOS Camera with Autoguider Port User Manual

ASI462 Manual
Revision 1.1
Aug 2021
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.

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 submit it on the ZWO support site: https://support.astronomy-imaging- camera.com/
ASI462 Camera is specifically designed for astronomical photography. With the strong ability in capturing near-infrared lights, super-high sensitivity, and ultra-low readout noise,  it can be one of the best ASI planetary cameras ever. You will be impressed by its superior performance and wide use!

For software installation instructions and other technical information, please refer to our official website https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/

What’s in the box?

Camera technical specifications

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.
ASI462 has a very high QE value at 800-1000nm wavelength (almost 2 times higher than that of ASI290MC). Its sensitivity in near-infrared light regions ranks first among all ASI  planetary cameras.

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 ASI462 camera is extremely low. The built-in HCG mode can, even more, reduce the read noise at high gain and keep the same wide dynamic range for this camera as at low gain. When the gain is 80, the HCG mode will be automatically turned on. Additionally, the read noise is as low as 0.47e while the dynamic range can still be close to 12bit. Depending on your target, you can set the gain lower for a higher dynamic range or set the gain higher for lower noise.

Getting to know your camera

5.1 External View

5.2 Power consumption
ASI462 camera is with low power consumption, max at 13.9W. USB3.0 cable is recommended for power supply.
5.3 USB 3.0 port & ST4 port
USB 3.0 Port: Providing 5Gb bandwidth to let ASI462 run at 136.1fps (10bit, high speed mode) or 63.9fps (12bit, normal mode) at full resolution(2.1Mega).
ST4 Port: Can be used to connect with auto guide port of mount for guiding.

5.4 Protect window
There is a protective window AR filter in front of the ASI462 camera sensor, with 21mm diameter and 1.1mm thickness.

5.5 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
The ASI462 camera records in 12bit ADC and 10bit ADC. You can image at a faster fps rate if you choose to use 10bit ADC (high-speed mode). This camera also supports  ROI (region of interest) shooting and this smaller ROI has faster fps.
Here is the maximum speed of ASI462 running at different ADC modes on USB3.0.

5.6 Binning
The ASI462 camera supports software bin2 mode. We recommend customers use software binning if they don’t care about speed.

How to use your camera

There are many adapters available for this camera for connecting to your scope or lens. Some are included with the camera and others you can order from our site: https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
Color camera connecting drawing:

Cleaning

The camera is sealed and comes with an AR protect window to protect the sensor from dust and humidity. We don’t recommend customers open the camera for cleaning.  otherwise, the chamber of the sensor can get wet which will cause the sensor to get dew when do cooling in the future.
To see the dust, you just need to set up your telescope and point it to a bright place. A Barlow is required to see this dust clearly. Then attach the camera and adjust the exposure to make sure not overly exposed. You can see an image like below if it’s dirty.

The big dim spot on the image (right side) are the shadows of dust on the protected window.
The very small but very dark spot on the image (at left) are the shadows of the dust on the sensor.
If the above situation occurs, it is recommended that the dust on the sensor surface be blown off with an air pump, and the remaining dust is suggested to be removed by the software after the flat field is taken.
We have very detailed instructions on our website: https://astronomy-imaging- camera.com/manuals/How_to_clean_ASI_camera_and_redry_the_desiccant.pdf

Mechanical drawing

Servicing

For software upgrades, please refer to “Support-manual and software” on our official website. https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
For repairs and consultation, you can visit here: https://support.astronomy- imaging-camera.com/
For customers who bought the camera from your local dealer, the dealer is responsible for the customer service.

Warranty

We provide a 2-year warranty for our products. We offer repair service or replacement for free if the camera doesn’t work within the warranty period.
After the warranty period, we continue to provide repair support and service on a charged basis.
This warranty does not apply to damage that occurred as a result of abuse or misuse or caused by a fall or any other transportation failures after purchase.
The customer must pay for shipping when shipping the camera back for repair or replacement.

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