When you look at Altair Astro’s impressive range of astronomy cameras, it might not be immediately obvious where the Hypercam 585C camera fits in.
Given there’s a divide between cameras for deep-sky images and smaller variants suited to Solar System and auto-guiding applications.
In fact, the 585C sits neatly in the middle of both applications and may well be the answer to a question many astronomers ask, namely:
What single camera can photograph nebulae, galaxies, planets and the Moon?
Discover our pick of the best astrophotography cameras
We were keen to take pictures of all these targets, and the ideal telescope for the deep-sky side of things would be a short-focal-length refractor.
Yet time and weather constraints meant we opted for a larger refractor to which we could add a Barlow lens for lunar and planetary imaging, while accepting the compromise on image scale for the deep-sky images.
Unboxing and setting up
The camera couldn’t have been easier to set up.
After installing the software and plugging it in, the Hypercam 585C was ready to use.
Given that there is no need for a separate power supply other than the USB 3.0 cable, it struck us that it would make a very desirable travelling or portable astronomy camera, especially when combined with a short refractor and a lightweight mount.
Assuming that the capture quality was good enough, which we were about to put to the test.
How the Hypercam 585C camera performed
Deep-sky
Naturally, with the Orion Nebula so well placed we started with that.
Not only does it offer a challenging range of brightness to deal with, the more subtle and fainter areas of nebulosity can reveal much about the camera’s sensitivity on the red end of the spectrum.
Even with the lowest gain setting, the Hypercam 585C camera was really responsive, so we took half an hour’s worth of 30-second exposures to retain detail around the Trapezium area.
The resulting stacked image was really pleasing, with lots of detail in the faint areas.
We couldn’t wait to get the next target in the bag, M82, the Cigar Galaxy.
For this dimmer target we chose three-minute exposures.
Once again, the detail in the dusty lanes and the red hydrogen jet areas of the galaxy were most impressive.
Jupiter
With its deep-sky capability amply demonstrated, we wanted to go from longer exposures to very short and fast ones, using the Moon and Jupiter as our targets.
By selecting a smaller region of interest than the full 3,840 x 2,160 pixels available, we found the Hypercam 585C was bringing home over 65 frames per second (fps), capturing Jupiter’s moon Io just grazing the edge of the planet’s disc in a very short time.
With a one-shot-colour camera like the 585C, all the data is gathered at once; there’s no need for separate RGB filters.
In fact, capturing the image we wanted couldn’t have been simpler. This is an easy camera to use.
The Moon
For our lunar image, we chose an interesting quarter of the Moon, with nicely lit craters and good variance between the lightest and darkest areas, using the whole of the CMOS chip for the capture.
Our mid-range laptop was averaging 22fps in full-resolution 16-bit mode.
Despite the wobbly seeing doing its best to ruin the picture, the quick response of the Hypercam 585C enabled us to take thousands of frames and skim off the blurry ones, leaving a sharp, high-contrast image with good resolution.
And so we had the results we were looking for: nice clean pictures from long exposures and, by increasing the gain setting a little, fast and high-resolution short exposures.
In an ideal world, we would have a different telescope and camera combination to perfectly match each type of target we wanted to capture.
In the real world, however, the attractively priced Hypercam 585C offers great results across the whole range of deep-sky and Solar System objects.
Hypercam 585C camera STARVIS 2 sensor
As CMOS imaging technology keeps improving, the benefits filter into our hobby.
The business end of this Hypercam 585C camera holds a Sony IMX585 colour CMOS sensor.
There is no amp glow and our pictures were taken without the use of additional dark frames, although if we had wanted to use them, the built-in temperature sensor makes it easier to match them to the light frames.
It has back-side illumination (BSI) for greater photo-reactivity and the STARVIS 2 design makes it more sensitive to near-infrared light, which is invisible to our eyes but makes up large parts of deep-sky nebulae.
In fact, the quantum efficiency (QE) of this camera is given at an impressive 91%.
The sensor itself measures 11.14 x 6.26mm, giving it a diagonal of 12.8mm.
The 2.9μm square pixels add up to produce an 8.3MP image.
With eight binning modes to choose from, the ability to capture faint details can be enhanced even further, but we found the camera to be perfectly capable in 1 x 1 mode.
Hypercam 585C camera best features
512MB DDR memory
Fast frame rates and data transfer are facilitated by the 512MB DDR onboard buffer memory, which ensures there are no bottlenecks when capturing large amounts of frames and writing the data to your PC, while the good-quality 1.5-metre USB 3.0 cable transfers the image information without introducing loss or unwanted noise.
USB-powered fan
CMOS sensors get warm during use and the thermal energy can introduce noise to your images. A USB-powered fan pulls cooler air over a heat sink and out through a vent, to remove as much heat as possible without requiring a full-on thermo-electric cooling setup.
ST4 guide port
The rear of the camera has an ST4 port, and a cable is included for auto-guiding purposes. The Hypercam 585C is more than sensitive enough to be a guide camera and it’s compatible with mounts from the major manufacturers; this could negate the need for separate guiding and Solar System cameras.
Light, compact design
The 585C has the now-familiar barrel design in Altair’s trademark purple livery. It is just 80mm long and 65mm in diameter, weighing in at a pocket-sized 295g. Fitting neatly in the hand and requiring only a USB cable and perhaps a nosepiece, it is a portable, lightweight and practical camera.
Software
Each Hypercam comes with a 12-month license for the excellent SharpCap Pro, the capture software of choice for many. Altair also provides its own application, AltairCapture, which we used to great effect. Its simple interface makes it easy to operate even in the wee hours when tiredness sets in.
Vital stats
- Price: £499
- Sensor: IMX585 STARVIS 2 BSI
- Resolution: 8.3MP, 3,840 x 2,160 pixels
- Exposure range: 0.1ms–1,000 seconds
- Frame rate: Full resolution 47fps at 8 bit, 23.4fps at 12 bit
- Connectivity: USB 3.0, USB 2.0 compatible, ST4
- Size: 80mm x 65mm
- Weight: 295g
- Extras: USB cable, ST4 guide cable, 2-inch OD nosepiece, CS-mount insert, dust cap, software
- Supplier: Altair Astro
- Email info@altairastro.com
- www.altairastro.com
This review appeared in the April 2024 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine
