My Review on the Altair GPCAM3 178C Camera. (IMX178 Sensor)
I have had the Altair GPCAM3 178C camera for over a year now. I have been using it as a deep sky astrophotography camera.
Sensor Size: 1/1.8" (7.37mm x 4.91mm)
Resolution in pixels: 3040x2048
Pixel size microns: 2.4x2.4 um
Pros | Cons |
Low Read Noise | Small FOV |
Low cost | Heavy Amp Glow |
Small Pixel Size (Good for shorter focal lengths) | Uncooled |
Before I purchased the GPCAM 178C camera, I was using a stock DSLR camera.
I did not like the thought of modifying it and I felt that my imaging capabilities were limited. I did not have the budget for these high end dedicated astro cameras.
I really enjoy this hobby but was becoming disheartened due to the cost of equipment and not being able to afford it. Then I came across Altair’s website...
Although most of the dedicated astro cameras on Altair’s website were still out of my price range, they were much cheaper than other brands.
Whilst looking at their lower end GPCAM range, I thought to myself; If I have a short focal length refractor, then surely these small sensors would not affect me too much.
Then I read about pixel sizes and realised most of the GPCAM’s had a relatively large pixel size, this meant that my images would be washed out and undersampled. (Although the pixel sizes were still smaller than my DSLR!)
I came across the Altair GPCAM 3 178C USB 3 Camera, which had a pixel size of 2.4um (half the size of my DSLR pixels!).
Using the Astronomy tools CCD suitability calculator, I found that if I use the GPCAM3 178 with my Evoguide 50ED scope, my images would be quite well sampled. (See more about sampling here) I was just about to hit the buy button and remembered that the camera isn’t cooled. Is that going to cause a problem?
I looked back at my DSLR astro images and although the noise was frustrating, it was not the main reason I wanted to get a different camera. I wanted to get a more sensitive sensor and bring out more wavelengths in nebula.
So, I went ahead and purchased it. I thought, even if the camera is no good for imaging, I could eventually use it as a guide camera!
Ok the sensor was small! But it was galaxy season so my targets were small anyway.
This camera was cheaper than a brand new DSLR camera and much cheaper than a dedicated cool astronomy camera. It was lightweight and super easy to use.
I was struggling with the levels of noise. I ran a sensor analysis is Sharpcap to find out what the optimal camera settings were. Looking at the graph, I settled on 300 gain as it was the right amount of Full well to read noise ratio.
The amp glow is quite intrusive but if you take decent Darks, Flats and Dark flats then it removes the amp glow very well.
I would not take bias frames with this camera; this seemed to reintroduce the amp glow artefacts and introduce more noise. Dark Flats work a treat and are easy to take!
I later purchased a 1.25-inch Optolong L-Enhance filter and wow; I did not look back! The images were stunning!
I would highly recommend this camera. In my opinion, it has operated better than any DSLR's I have used.
It would of course make a fantastic Guide camera, but the possibilities do not end there!
The Altair GPCAM3 178c is a great little camera for deep sky astrophotography!
The IMX 178 sensor is considered “outdated” these days, but don’t let that put you off.
You do not need £2000+ worth of Astrophotography equipment.
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