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ASI290 Manual
Revision 1.3
Aug, 2021
All materials related to this publication are subject to change without notice
and its copyright totally belongs to Suzhou ZWO CO.,LTD.
ASI290 Manual
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Table of Contents
ASI290 Manual ............................................................................................................................... 1
1. Instruction ................................................................................................................................. 3
2. Camera Models and Sensor Type ............................................................................................. 4
3. What's in the box? ..................................................................................................................... 5
4. Camera technical specifications ................................................................................................ 6
5. QE Graph & Read Noise ........................................................................................................... 7
6. Getting to know your camera .................................................................................................... 9
6.1 External View ...................................................................................................................... 9
6.2 Power consumption: ............................................................................................................ 9
6.3 Protect Window ................................................................................................................... 9
6.4 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) .................................................................................. 10
6.6 Binning .............................................................................................................................. 10
7. How to use your camera.......................................................................................................... 11
8. Clean the camera and redry desiccant ..................................................................................... 13
9. Mechanical drawing ................................................................................................................ 14
10. Servicing ................................................................................................................................. 14
11. Warranty ................................................................................................................................. 14
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1. Instruction
Congratulations and thank you for buying one of our ASI Cameras！This manual will
give you a brief introduction to your ASI camera. Please read it thoroughly. If you
have any other questions, please feel free to submit it on the ZWO support site:
https://support.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
ASI290 Cameras are designed for astronomical photography.
Its excellent performance and multifunctional usage will impress you a lot!
For software installation instructions and other technical information please refer to
“Support” on the ZWO site:
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/software-drivers
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2. Camera Models and Sensor Type
There are 4 types of ASI290 models:
Model
Mono or Color
Regulated TEC Cooling
Sensor
ASI290MM
Mono
No
IMX290LQR
ASI290MC
(Discontinued)
Color
No
IMX291LQR
ASI290MM-COOL
(Discontinued)
Mono
Yes
IMX290LQR
ASI290MC-COOL
(Discontinued)
Color
Yes
IMX291LQR
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3. What's in the box?
ASI290MM
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4. Camera technical specifications
Sensor
1 / 2.8″ CMOS
Diagonal
6.5mm
Resolution
2.1Mega Pixels 1936×1096
Pixel Size
2.9μm
Image area
5.6mm*3.2mm
Max FPS at full resolution
170FPS
Shutter
Rolling shutter
Exposure Range
32μs-2000s
Read Noise
1.0~3.2e
QE peak
TBD
Full well
14.6k e
ADC
12 bit
Interface
USB3.0/USB2.0
Adapters
2″ / 1.25″ / M42X0.75
Protect window
AR window
Dimensions
62mm
Weight
120g
Back Focus Distance
12.5mm
Supported OS
Windows, Linux & Mac OSX
Working Temperature
-5°C—45°C
Storage Temperature
-20°C—60°C
Working Relative Humidity
20%—80%
Storage Relative Humidity
20%—95%
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5. QE Graph & Read Noise
QE and Read Noise are the most important parameters to measure the performance of a camera.
Higher QE and lower Read Noise are needed to improve the SNR of an image.
Mono 290 sensor Relative QE Curve
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Read Noise includes pixel diode noise, circuit noise and ADC quantization error noise, and the
lower the better.
The Read Noise of the ASI290 cameras is extremely lower when compared with traditional CCD
cameras. It is even lower when the camera is set at a higher Gain.
Depending on your target, you can set the Gain lower for higher Dynamic Range (longer exposure)
or set the Gain higher for lower noise (such as short exposure or lucky imaging).
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6. Getting to know your camera
6.1 External View
6.2 Power consumption:
ASI cameras are designed to have very low power consumption which is around 160ma@5V. You
only need the USB cable to power up the camera.
6.3 Protect Window
There is a protect window before the sensor of ASI290 camera: D21 AR window, 1.1 mm
thickness.
USB3.0&USB2.0 IN
ST4 guide port
1/4” screw
You can mount to tripod
AR protect window:
D21*1.1mm
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6.4 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
The ASI290 camera records in 12bit ADC and 10bit ADC. You can image at a faster fps rate if you
choose to use 10bit ADC (high speed mode). This camera also supports ROI (region of interest)
shooting, and this smaller ROI has faster fps.
Here is the maximum speed of ASI290 running at 10bit ADC and 12bit ADC.
Resolution
USB3.0
12Bit ADC
10Bit ADC
1936×1096
82.2 FPS
170 FPS
1280×960
93.6 FPS
193.9 FPS
640×480
184 FPS
381.2 FPS
320×240
355.9 FPS
737.5 FPS
2X2Bin 968×548
82.2 FPS
170 FPS
6.6 Binning
The ASI290 camera supports software bin2 mode. You should use 10bit ADC. We recommend
customer to use software binning if you don’t care speed.
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8. Clean the camera and redry desiccant
The camera comes with an AR protect window, which can protect the sensor from dust and
humidity. Should you need to clean the sensor, it’s better to do so during the daytime. To see the
dust, you just need to setup your telescope and point it to a bright place. A Barlow is required to
see these dusts clear. Then attach the camera and adjust the exposure to make sure not over
exposed. You can see an image like below if it’s dirty.
The big dim spot on the image (at right ) are the shadows of dust on the protect window.
The very small but very dark spot in the image (at left) are the shadows of the dusts on the sensor.
The suggested way to clean them is try to blow them away with a manual air pump. To clean the
dust on the sensor you will need to open the camera chamber.
We have a very detailed instruction on our website:
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/manuals/How_to_clean_ASI_camera_and_redry_the_desi
ccant.pdf
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9. Mechanical drawing
ASI290MM
10. Servicing
For software upgrades please refer to “Support-manual and software” on our official website.
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
Repairs and consultation: https://support.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
For customers who bought the camera from your local dealer, dealer is responsible for the
customer service.
11. Warranty
We provide 2-year warranty for our products. We offer repair service or replacement for free if the
camera doesn’t work within warranty period.
After the warranty period, we continue to provide repair support and service on a charged basis.
This warranty does not apply to damage that occurred as a result of abuse or misuse, or
caused by a fall or any other transportation failures after purchase.
Customer must pay for shipping when shipping the camera back for repair or replacement.
