The ASI482MC is one of the latest OSC planetary cameras released by ZWO in 2021. Packed with Sony sensor IMX482, this camera has some very great highlights, including a large pixel size of 5.8um, compatible with USB 3.0 interface, large full-well depth of 51.5ke-, extremely high sensitivity and super low read out noise, etc. It is considered as one powerful iteration of ZWO after years of developing process in the field of planetary cameras.
The IMX482 sensor adopts back-illuminated CMOS structure. In resolution it is approximately the same as IMX462, but with 4 times the sensor size, it accordingly has a larger pixel size of 5.8*5.8um.
The sensor length and width are 11.13mm*6.26mm. The diagonal is 12.86mm.
Sony is introducing SNR1s [lx] as an index used to quantitatively evaluate picture quality at low illumination. SNR1s [lx] is an acronym consisting of "SNR” (Signal-to-Noise Ratio), "1” (represents that the signal level when noise = 1 is 1), and "s” (for Security). The lower this value is, the greater the image quality will be at low illumination.
The 5.8um large pixel size allows unprecedentedly low SNR1s value of 0.08lx for ASI482MC. While ASI385MC is 0.13lx, you may see it is almost 2 times better, which brings the camera a fantastic nickname – "The King of the Night”.
With the full well capacity of 51.5ke-, ASI482MC displays rich star details when taking astrophotos. Coupled with the ultimately low SNR1s, the efficiency of date acquisition can be really high. This is particularly helpful for solar, lunar and planetary imaging, also makes the camera perfect for DSO lucky imaging (taking multiple photos in short exposure times and stack them to improve SNR.)
Moreover, thanks to the features above, ASI482MC can also be an ideal EAA camera or all-sky camera.
ASI482MC has a built-in HCG mode which can effectively reduce the readout noise at high gain and keep the same wide dynamic range as you would expect at low gain. When the gain is 80, the HCG mode will automatically turn on. The read out noise fall off a cliff while the dynamic range still can reach close to 12 stops. The minimum read noise is 1.5 e.
We assume the QE peak value of ASI482MC is 85% at 530nm.
USB 3.0 Port: Like other ASI cameras, the ASI482MC is powered and controlled via USB 3.0. It provides 5Gb bandwidth to let the camera run at 82.5fps (10bit, high speed mode) or 57.5fps (12bit, normal mode) at full resolution (2Mega).
ST4 Port: Can be used to connect with auto guide port of mount for guiding.
ASI482MC是ZWO在2021年最新發表的OSC行星相機之一。相機採用索尼IMX482感光元件，擁有5.8um大像素尺寸、相容USB 3.0介面、51.5ke的大阱深、極高的靈敏度以及超低的讀出雜訊等亮點，是ZWO在行星相機領域多年耕耘後的強勢迭代。
IMX482感光元件採用背照式CMOS結構，解析度與IMX462大致相同，但感光元件尺寸是IMX462的4倍，像素尺寸也更大，達到5.8*5.8um。
感測器長寬分別為11.13mm*6.26mm，對角線長12.86mm。
索尼推出SNR1s [lx]作為量化評估低照度影像品質的指標。 SNR1s [lx]是由「SNR」（訊號雜訊比）、「1」（表示雜訊=1時的訊號電平為1）和「s」（代表安全）組成的縮寫。該值越低，低照度下的影像品質越好。
5.8um大像素尺寸讓ASI482MC擁有史無前例的0.08lx低訊噪比（SNR1s）。雖然ASI385MC的信噪比為0.13lx，但可以看到它幾乎是ASI482MC的2倍，這也讓這款相機獲得了一個很棒的綽號——「夜之王」。
ASI482MC 的滿阱容量高達 51.5ke-，在拍攝天文照片時能夠展現豐富的星體細節。再加上極低的訊噪比，數據採集效率非常高。這對於太陽、月球和行星的成像尤其有用，也使這款相機非常適合深空幸運星的拍攝（短曝光時間拍攝多張照片，然後疊加以提高信噪比）。
此外，由於上述特點，ASI482MC 還可以成為理想的 EAA 相機或全天空相機。
ASI482MC 內建 HCG 模式，可有效降低高增益下的讀出噪聲，並在低增益下保持與預期相同的動態範圍。當增益為 80 時，HCG 模式將自動開啟。讀出雜訊急劇下降，但動態範圍仍可達到接近 12 檔。最低讀出雜訊為 1.5 e。
我們假設ASI482MC的QE峰值在530nm處為85％。
USB 3.0 連接埠：與其他 ASI 相機一樣，ASI482MC 透過 USB 3.0 供電和控制。它提供 5Gb 頻寬，使相機在全解析度（2Mega）下以 82.5fps（10bit，高速模式）或 57.5fps（12bit，普通模式）運作。
ST4 連接埠：可 用於連接支架的自動導星連接埠進行導星。
* 自 2023 年 6 月起，ASI 行星相機盒中的 USB 3.0 電纜從黑色變為紅色。
