ToupTek G3M715C Colour Camera

The ToupTek G3M715C is a colour planetary camera with Sony’s IMX715: 8.3 megapixels of very small 1.45 µm pixels on a 1/2.8″ sensor. Peak quantum efficiency is above 91%.

Small pixels resolve fine detail without much magnification. For the planets they reach good sampling at around f/7, so a fast refractor or a Newtonian needs little or no Barlow. On the Moon and the Sun the 4K frame records a lot of detail in a single shot. It’s the least expensive way into our planetary range.

Read noise drops to 0.57 e⁻, and full resolution runs at 47 frames per second in 8-bit mode. The full well is small at 6 ke⁻, which suits short planetary exposures rather than long deep-sky ones.

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 an IR-pass filter on the planets and Moon, or your own UV/IR-cut filter.

Connections and fitting

The camera runs entirely from its USB 3.0 cable, so there’s no separate power lead to route. It fits the telescope with the 1.25″ nosepiece, which also takes 1.25″ filters, or with a C or CS adapter for lenses. An ST4 port and cable mean it can double as a guide camera. A 512 MB buffer holds frames while they transfer, so high frame rates don’t drop frames on a slower laptop.