ToupTek ATR533M Monochrome DSO Camera User Manual

ToupTek ATR533M Monochrome DSO Camera

USER MANUAL

MODEL: ATR533M

Version 1.1 Jun 2024

All materials related to this publication are subject to change without notice and its copyright totally belongs to ToupTek Photonics.

Please download the latest version from touptek-astro.com.

1. Description and Features

The ATR533M(ATR3CMOS09000KMA) camera is designed specifically for astrophotography. It is mainly used for deep sky photo shooting, since the camera has cooled CMOS sensor, ultra-low readout noise and zero amp-glow. It can be also used for planetary photo shooting. Its extraordinary performance and extensive usage will give you great astrophotography experience.

The features of ATR533M are listed below:

• IMX 533 Mono CMOS Sensor
• Resolution: 3008 x 3008
• 3.76μm Square Pixel
• 1-inch Optical Format
• 14-bit ADC
• 512 Mbyte Memory
• Precise Temperature Regulation
• G Sensitivity: 438.4mv with 1/30s
• Zero Amp-Glow
• Ultra-Low Noise: 0.27 to 1.84e- (Low Noise Mode)
• Support Low Noise Mode/ High Frame Rate Mode (20 FPS at all Pixel Readout 14 bit)
• SNR Max: 47 dB (Low Noise Mode)
• Dynamic Range: 92 dB (Low Noise Mode)
• -35C below ambient under short exposure/ -45C under long exposure time (> 1s)

2. ATR533M Specifications and Performance

2.1 Camera Specifications

Table 1 ATR533M Technique Specifications.

20 FPS @ 30083008
62 FPS @ 14881500
186 FPS @ 992998| 40 FPS @ 30083008
62 FPS @ 14881500
186 FPS @ 992998
Max FPS at Resolution (USB 2.0)| 14bit| 8bit
1.7 FPS @ 30083008
6.6 FPS @ 14881500
15.5 FPS @ 992998| 3.3 FPS @ 30083008
13.1 FPS @ 14881500
31 FPS @ 992998
Max FPS at Resolution (Low Noise, USB 3.0)| 14bit| 8bit
13.3  FPS  @  30083008  (Low  Noise  Mode  is
only available in All Pixel Readout Mode)| 27.5  FPS  @  30083008  (Low Noise  Mode  is
only available in All Pixel Readout Mode)
Max FPS at Resolution (Low Noise, USB 2.0)| 14bit| 8bit
1.7 FPS @ 30083008 (Low Noise Mode is only
available in All Pixel Readout Mode)| 3.3 FPS @ 30083008 (Low Noise Mode is only
available in All Pixel Readout Mode)
Shutter Type| Rolling shutter
Exposure Time| 0.1ms – 3600s
Gain| 1x – 100x
SNR| 47 dB
Dynamic Range| 92 dB (Low Noise Mode)
Read Noise (Low Noise Mode)| 1.84 – 0.27 e-
QE Peak| >90%
Full Well| 52ke- (104.6ke- @ HFW Mode)
ADC| 14bit
DDR3 Buffer| 512MB (4Gb)
Connection Port| USB3.0/USB2.0
Camera Adaptor| M42 ´  0.75mm
Protect Windows| IR-cut filter/AR-window
Spectral Range| 380-1100nm (with AR-window)
Capture/Control SDK| Windows/Linux/macOS/Android Multiple Platform SDK (Native C/C++, C#/VB.NET, Python, Java,
DirectShow, Twain, etc.);
Recording System| Still picture and movie
Camera Dimensions| Diameter 80mm * height 107.1mm
Camera Weight| 0.577kg
Back Focus Distance| 17.5mm
Cooling:| Two stage TEC
Effective Cooling Temp:| -35°C below ambient under short exposure/ -45°C under long exposure (> 1s)
Supported OS| Microsoft® Windows® XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10 / 11 (32 & 64 bit) OS x (Mac OS X)
Linux

2.2 Sony IMX533 Sensitivity

The sensor G Sensitivity of ATR533M is 438.4mv with 1/30s. Its spectral sensitivity is shown in Figure 2.

2.3 14bit ADC and ROI

ATR533M has built in 14bit ADC. It also has 12bit output mode for hardware binning and smaller resolution. The camera also supports hardware ROI, and the smaller the ROI size is, the higher the frame rate is.

Table 2 shows the frame rate of ATR533M in 14/8bit mode, USB3.0 / USB2.0 data transfer interface at different resolutions:

Table 2 ATR533M Frame Rate at Different Resolution/Data Bit/Data Transfer (USB3.0/ USB2.0)

2.4 DDR3 Buffer

The ATR533M camera has a 512MB (4Gb) DDR3 buffer, which helps maintain the stability of data transmission, and effectively reduce the amp-glow caused, because image data can be temporarily buffered without being sent hastily to the receiver.

2.5 Binning

ATR533M supports digital binning from 11 to 88 in either stacking or averaging method, and hardware binning from 11 to 33 in averaging method. Hardware pixel binning is much faster than software binning.

2.6 Conversion Gain Switch

ATR533M support HCG and LCG mode switch, the Gain ratio is 3.05.

2.7 Power and Cooling System for Precise Temperature Regulation

Please remember, the Camera can be powered only by DC12V 3A power source.
The cooling system of ATR533M is two-stage Thermoelectric Cooling (TEC) with controllable electric fan assisting heat dissipation.
The TEC system is controlled by PID algorithm, which allows the TEC to be precisely regulated towards the target temperature with 0.1C deviation.

The working temperature can be regulated to specific number, and effective temperature drop can be -45C from ambient temperature. Such efficient cooling system guarantees the stability of ultra-low noise mode and quality of the camera image.

2.8 Zero Amp-Glow

ATR533M has been carefully designed and is able to achieve zero amp-glow photo shooting. Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the different cameras at 20C and 5-minute exposure time with and without amp-glow. By comparison, the image captured by ATR533M shows zero amp-glow.

2.9 Camera Performance Analysis
Camera performance can be evaluated with e-/ADU, Read Noise, Full Well and Dynamic Range.

e-/ADU: The sensors found in cameras used for vision applications have pixels that convert incoming photons into electrons. Gain on a CCD /CMOS camera represents the conversion factor from electrons (e-) into digital counts, or Analog-Digital Units (ADUs). Gain is expressed as the number of electrons that get converted into a digital number, or electrons per ADU (e-/ADU).

Read Noise: Read Noise is created within the camera electronics during the readout process as the electrons are subjected to the analog to digital conversion, amplification and processing steps that enable an image to be produced.

Full Well: The electrons are held in each pixel and are converted into electrical charge which can be measured to show the amount of light that has fallen on each pixel. The maximum electrical charge possible is termed “full well capacity”. Under the same conditions such as noise and A/D converter quality, the greater full well capacity a sensor has, the wider dynamic range the sensor has. As there is a limit to the depth to which pixels can be made, the full well capacity is often proportional to the frontal area of the light gathering element of the pixel.

Dynamic Range: Dynamic range is the ratio between the maximum output signal level and the noise floor at minimum signal amplification (noise floor which is the RMS (root mean square) noise level in a black image). The noise floor of the camera contains sensor readout noise, camera processing noise and the dark current shot noise. Dynamic range represents the camera’s ability to display/reproduce the brightest and darkest portions of the image and how many variations in between. This is technically intra-scene dynamic range. Within one image there may be a portion that is in complete black and a portion that is completely saturated.

For the ATR series camera, the Gain Value is in xxx% mode. Here xxx is used as the x axis (Gain Value) for the description of the camera performance ??? ????(??)=20∗???10[???(???? ?????)/100] ???(???? ?????)=100×10(??? ????(??)/20

Read noise is the most important reference to measure the performance of a camera. Lower read noise usually means better SNR and better quality of image.
It is impressive that ATR533M comes with Low Noise Mode, which means users could get even lower readout noise by selecting Low Noise Mode while the frame rate is reduced as sacrifice. Its significantly low read noise is: 0.27 to 1.84e- (Low Noise Mode).

All following data were acquired in SharpCap with ASCOM driver:

(The ASCOM Driver version for camera TEST was relatively new except in LCG(nomal) mode)
Camera setting used for HCG performance analysis is shown below:

• Full resolution
• RAW 14-bit mode
• Temperature: -10C

Figure 5 shows the curves of the camera analysis data in Table 3Figure

Figure 5 e/ADU, Read Noise, Full Well and Dynamic Range for ATR533M

The camera analysis data is shown in Table 3 :

Camera setting used for HCG performance analysis is shown below（Low noise mode & High full well mode）:

• Full resolution
• RAW 14-bit mode
• Temperature: -10C

Figure 5.1 shows the curves of the camera analysis data in Table 5

Figure 6.1 e/ADU, Read Noise, Full Well and Dynamic Range for ATR533M

The camera analysis data is shown in Table 5 :

Camera setting used for LCG performance analysis is shown below:

• Full resolution
• RAW 14-bit mode
• Temperature: -10C

Figure 7 shows the curves of the camera analysis data in Table 5:Figure

Figure 7 e/ADU, Read Noise, Full Well and Dynamic Range for ATR533M

The camera analysis data is shown in Table 5:

Camera setting used for LCG performance analysis is shown below（Low noise mode & High full well mode）:

• Full resolution
• RAW 14-bit mode
• Temperature: -10C

Figure 7 shows the curves of the camera analysis data in Table 6

The camera analysis data is shown in Table 6 :

3. Product Package and Connections

3.1 Packing List

Table 7 ATR533M Packing List

Standard Package

A| Carton L:50cm W:30cm H:30cm (20pcs, 12~17Kg/ carton, 0.045m3), not shown in the photo
B| 3-A safety equipment case: L:28cm W:23cm H:15cm (1pcs, 3.9Kg/ box); carton size: L:28.2cm W:16.7cm H:25.5cm (TBD), not shown in the photo
C| ATR series camera (M42x0.75 Mount+2” adapter)
D| Power adapter: input: AC 100~240V 50Hz/60Hz, output: DC 12V 3.3A
E| Power cable
F| High-Speed USB3.0 A male to B male gold-plated connectors cable /1.5m
G| M48-M42 extender 0mm
H| M42M-M42F extender 21mm (TBD)
I| M48F – M42M extender 16.5mm (TBD)
J| M42M adapter 12.5mm
K| Cover

3.2 Camera Dimension and Its Mount

Table 8 Dimension and Mount of ATR533M

3.3 Camera Outline and Interface

Figure 11 Camera Outline and Interface

Table 9 Camera Outline and Interface List

camera
2| M42F ´ 0.75 thread
3| Thermal outlet or radiator
4| LED indicators: 1) Power LED. 2) System LED. 3)TEC LED. 4)Fan LED
5| DC 12V 3A power port, 5.5 ´ 2.1mm
6| Air inlet
7| USB 3.0/ USB 2.0 port
8| USB 2.0 HUB

3.4 Camera Mechanical Connection with Adapter

ATR533M can be connected to a telescope with proper adapter, or the camera lens. The most common adapters are already included in the package, but we also provide some specific adaptors based on the requirement.

The female flange to the sensor is 17.5mm. ATR533M comes with M42x0.75 mount and can connect to telescope with the M42x0.75 thread in a direct way.

ATR533M can also connect to the telescope who use 1.25” or 2” eyepieces by M42M-1.25” or M42M-2” adapter. Figure 12 shows the connection of the camera and the adapter. After the adapter is screwed to the camera, the camera can insert into the telescope’s eyepiece tube. Table 10 list the details of the camera and adapter parameters.

Table 10 Camera and Its Adapter Connections

3.5 Camera Mechanical Connection with Lens

Figure 13 shows the connections of the ATR camera and the lens.Table 11 list the connection’s parameters.

Table 11 Camera and Lens Connection

3.6 Camera Electric Connection with Accessories

On the back side of ATR533M, there are 3 connection ports: DC 12V/3A power port, USB3.0/ USB2.0 port and USB-HUB.

Due to the significantly larger power cunsumption of IMX533, ATR533M (including the cooling system) is now booted up only by 12V/3A power supply. USB3.0 no longer workds as a power source but only as a data communication method. The USB-HUB provides connection with other devices, which allows user to avoid the mess of cable management. Once another device is connected through the USB-HUB, it will be connected to PC device through the USB3.0/USB2.0 port.

Table 12 Camera Electric Connection Details

To guiding camera with USB 2.0 cable
Power Port| DC12V/3A

4. ATR533M and Its Software

4.1 Application Installation

For software, customers are welcomed to go to our software website: https ://touptek-astro.com/downloads/, to download the latest ToupSky. The ATR can also be used with ASCOM, DirectShow SDK. If the third-party software is compatible with these SDK, customers can also download the software driver from our website and install the drivers into the third-party software.

ToupSky is ToupTek astronomy camera’s Windows application. ToupSky is a professional software integrated with camera control, image capture & process, image browse, and analysis functions.

ToupSky is born with the following features:

Windows:

• x86: XP SP3 or above; CPU supports SSE2 instruction set or above
• x64: Win7 or above

Features

• Full control of the camera
• Trigger mode and video mode support (raw format or RGB format)
• Automatic capture and quick record function
• Multi-language support
• Hardware ROI and digital binning function
• Extensive image processing functions, like image stitching, live stacking, flat field correction, dark field correction, etc.

Supported Camera:

• All ToupTek astronomy cameras

4.1.1 User-friendly UI Design

• Well-arranged menus and toolbars ensure quick operating;
• The unique design of 3 sidebars — Camera, Folders, Undo/Redo are orderly classified；
• Convenient operating method (Double click or right-click context menu) as much as possible;
• Detailed help manual;

4.1.2 Professional Camera Control Panel

Capture & Resolution| Set the live and snap resolution and snap the image or record video;
---|---
Exposure & Gain| Auto exposure (exposure target preset) and manual exposure (exposure time can be inputted manually); Up to 5 times gain;
Color Balance| Advanced single-click intelligent white balance setting, temperature and tint can be manually adjusted;
Color Adjustment| Hue, saturation, brightness, contrast, gamma initialization adjustment;
Frame Rate| Adjustment of frame rate available for different computer configurations;
Flip| Check the “horizontal” or “vertical” option to correct the sample direction;
Sampling| Bin mode can obtain low noise video stream; Skip mode obtains sharper and smoother video stream. Support video stream histogram extension, Negative and positive switching, Gray calibration, Clarity factor for focusing etc.
Bit Depth| Switch between 8 bits and 14 bits. 8 bits is the basic Windows image format. 14 bits will have higher image quality but moderate FPS.
ROI| ROI, Region of interest. This function can set the ROI on the video window. When the ROI group was expanded, a dotted
rectangle with “Handles” will appear around the video window that will let you alter the ROI. Use mouse button to adjust the ROI size. If ROI is ok, click Apply will set the video to ROI size, Defaults will return to the original size.
Dark Field Correction| To Enable the Dark Field Correction, one should capture the dark field image first. After the images are captured, the
Enable button will be clickable. Checking  the Enable button will  enable the Dark Field correction. Unchecking it  will disable the Dark Field Correction.
Cooling| Set the TE-Cooling target temperature and set the fan On/Off;
Parameters| Load, save, overwrite, import, export self-defined parameters of camera control panel (including calibration information,
exposure and color setting information);

4.1.3 Practical Functions with Good Results

Video functions| Various professional functions: Video broadcast; Time lapse capture; Video record; Video stream grid; Image stitch; Video scale bar, date etc.
---|---
Image     Processing     and Enhancement| Control and adjust image by denoise, sharpen, color toning deinterlace, all kinds of filtering algorithm and mathematical morphology algorithm, range, binary, pseudo color, surface plot and line profile ital..
Image Stacking| Image stacking  adopts advanced image matching technology. With the recorded video,  regardless of  shifting, rotation,
scaling, the high-fidelity image can be stacked to decrease the image noise.

4.1.4 Powerful Compatibility

4.1.5 Hardware Requirement

/ 11 (32 & 64 bit), Mac OSX, Linux
Language Support| Unlimited  language  support,  currently  available  in Simplified  Chinese,  Traditional  Chinese,  English,  Russian,  German, French, Polish and Turkish

4.2 ATR533M and Dshow

DshowAstro is an interface driver providing Dshow standard support for ToupTek USB astronomy camera Supported OS: Windows:

• x86: XP SP3 or above; CPU supports SSE2 instruction set or above
• x64: Win7 or above

Supported Camera:

• All ToupTek astronomy cameras

4.3 ATR533M and the 3rd Party Software

4.3.1 Support Software

4.3.2 N.I.N.A

Powerful open source astronomy equipment management system for deep sky photo shooting, free.

4.3.3 INDI
A popular third-party driver software for astronomy devices, often used on Linux and MacOS.

4.3.4 ASCOM Platform
All AstroCam telescope camera drivers request to install ASCOM platform, free.
http://www.ascom-standards.org/index.htm
You can download the ASCOM package from : http://ascom- standards.org/Downloads/Index.htm

4.3.5 PHD Guiding
A popular free guide software: http://openphdguiding.org/
ToupTek’s telescope camera support Native/ASCOM/WDM driver to run the video.

4.3.6 Nebulosity
A popular cooled camera control/image process software directly supported via ASCOM.

4.3.7 MetaGuide
Autoguiding software with novel method to avoid the atmospheric agitation. The latest version support GCMOS01200KPB and the guide port: http://www.astrogeeks.com/Bliss/MetaGuide/

4.3.8 MAXIMDL
Famous full functional CCD Control/Image Process software. Popular used in US.

4.3.9 AstroArt
Famous full functional CCD Control/Image Process software. Popular used in Europe.

4.3.10 FireCapture
Great free planetary capture software. Support part of AstroCam series telescope camera.

4.3.11 SharpCap
A nice free planetary capture software support WDM cameras includes AstroCam series telescope camera.

4.3.12 Registax
A popular free planetary stacking and processing software.

4.3.13 AstroStack
A planetary stacking and process software.

4.3.14 DeepSky Stacker
A free deep sky image stack and process software.

5. Service

For software upgrades, please refer to “Download” on our official website: https://touptek-astro.com//
For customers who purchase the cameras from local dealer, please contact your dealer for more inquiry.
For technical support, please contact e-mail address: astro@touptek.com.

Specifications

• Sensor: IMX 533 Mono CMOS

• Resolution: 3008 x 3008

• Pixel Size: 3.76m Square

• Optical Format: 1-inch

• ADC: 14-bit

• Memory: 512 Mbyte

• Temperature Regulation: Precise

• G Sensitivity: 438.4mv with 1/30s

• Noise Level: 0.27 to 1.84e- (Low Noise Mode)

• SNR Max: 47 dB (Low Noise Mode)

• Dynamic Range: 92 dB (Low Noise Mode)

• Cooling Temp: -35C below ambient under short exposure / -45C
  under long exposure time

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: Can the ATR533M camera be used for planetary photography?

A: Yes, the ATR533M camera can be used for planetary photography in addition to deep sky astrophotography.

Q: What is the cooling temperature range of the ATR533M camera?

A: The ATR533M camera offers effective cooling temperatures of -35C below ambient under short exposure and -45C under long exposure time.

References

• ToupTek | Astronomical camera | Astronomy camera
• Apache2 Ubuntu Default Page: It works
• ASCOM - Standards for Astronomy
• astrogeeks.com/Bliss/MetaGuide/
• ToupTek | Astronomical camera | Astronomy camera
• ToupTek | Astronomical camera | Astronomy camera
• ToupTek Astro: Electric filter wheel & Astronomical Cameras | Pro Astrophotography Equipment

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