ToupTek ATR533C Colour Cooled Camera

The ToupTek ATR533C is a cooled colour astronomy camera with Sony’s IMX533, a 1″ square sensor of 9 megapixels with 3.76 µm pixels. The square frame suits galaxies and most nebulae, and there’s no amp glow.

The sensor’s 16 mm diagonal is small enough for almost any telescope, and 1.25″ filters cover it. At 800 mm it samples at about 0.97″ per pixel; at 400 mm, about 1.9″. In low noise mode read noise drops to 0.34 e⁻, which helps with short sub-exposures and dual-band filters.

Choose the window when you order. The IR-cut version is for normal colour imaging. Clear AR-coated glass lets infrared through, for use with your own filters in front of the camera, such as a dual-band or UV/IR-cut filter.

Cooling, dew and power

Two-stage cooling takes the sensor up to 42 °C below the air temperature. It holds the set point to within 0.1 °C, so dark frames can be reused from night to night. A heater on the front window has four power settings and can be switched off in software. Cooling needs 12 V; the 12 V 3 A power supply is in the box.

Back focus and connections

Back focus is 17.5 mm from the M42 thread. Adapter rings and extension tubes are included to build out to the spacing your flattener or reducer needs, usually 55 mm. A USB 2.0 hub on the back takes a filter wheel or guide camera, so fewer cables run down the mount. A 512 MB buffer holds each frame while it transfers, so a slow USB link doesn’t drop frames.