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Opticstar PL-130M COOLAIR
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Air Cooled - Sensitive - Monochrome - Planetary Video Camera
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The PL-130M COOLAIR is available in black or gold case.
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- Sensor: 1/2" CMOS 10-bit Monochrome
- Sensor Resolution: 1280(H) x 1024(V)
- No Infra Red filter
- Air-Cooled with internal fan
- Frame Rate: 10-12 FPS @ 1280x1024
- Max exposure time: 10 seconds
- USB 2.0 Powered
- Ideal for Planetary imaging
- Binning: 1x1, 2x2, 4x4
- Region of Interest (ROI)
- Computer Interface: USB 2.0
- Robust aluminium alloy body
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- Bundled Software (max. 10s exposure):
- Nebulosity Lite
- PHD Guiding
- Plug-in for MaxIm DL
- Plug-in for AstroArt
- Also included (DirectShow/WDM):
- Craterlet (30 FPS)
- Guidemaster
- Computer Requirements:
- Microsoft Windows 32-bit 2000/XP/Vista/7
- USB 2.0 port
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The Opticstar hand-selected hi-grade A+ sensor installed in this camera
is noted for its uniform surface response and low noise required for
low light applications.
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Opticstar PL-130M COOLAIR
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Outline
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The PL-130M COOLAIR video camera is based on the popular PL-130M but
it also incorporates an internal fan that keeps the camera cool and reduces noise during longer exposures.
The PL-130M COOLAIR is a high-resolution 1.3 mega-pixel monochrome camera that is a highly sensitive and
can be used to capture images of the planets, Sun and Moon. The camera is very easy to use and
provides a quality, low noise affordable solution for viewing or capturing high quality digital
video from the telescope and recording it to your computer at a maximum 1.3 mega-pixel resolution.
The camera does not incorporate an infra-red filter and has high sensitivity across the spectrum,
it is thus well suited as a guider. The camera will operate at a maximum true
resolution of 1280x1024 but lower resolutions of 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480, 320x240, 160x120,
are also supported.
The camera is cased in a robust metal body and can be connected to any telescope with a standard
1.25" drawtube. A PC with a USB2.0 port running Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 is required.
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The cooling mechanism.
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PL-130M / COOLAIR Sample Images
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Please click on the images below to expand to their full size.
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A 9.4 megapixel mosaic of the Moon captured by Herwig Sulzbacher in Austria.
PL-130M, C11, (Image aquisition time: 20 minutes, stacking with avistack, Fitswork 2 Minutes / image).
Click to expand to: 2354 x 4010 pixels.
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The Moon.
Image by Herwig Sulzbacher, Austria
PL-130M, C11, (Registax & Photoshop Elements)
Click to expand to: 1216 x 974 pixels.
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The Moon.
Image by Herwig Sulzbacher, Austria
PL-130M, C11, (Registax & Photoshop Elements)
Click to expand to: 1280 x 1024 pixels.
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The Moon.
Image by Richard Kinsey, United Kingdom
300 Mewlon at f11.9. Stacked 70 frames in Registax.
Click to expand to: 1260 x 1021 pixels.
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The Sun.
Image by Dr. S.J. Wainwright, United Kingdom
F/4.8 10" Newtonian w/ solar filter and CaK-line filter
Click to expand to: 1000 x 820 pixels.
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The Sun.
Image by Dr. S.J. Wainwright, United Kingdom
H-alpha PST, eyepiece projection & green filter.
Click to expand to: 359 x 204 pixels.
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The Sun.
Image by Dr. S.J. Wainwright, United Kingdom
H-alpha PST, eyepiece projection & green filter.
Click to expand to: 359 x 200 pixels.
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Solar prominence.
Image by Dr. S.J. Wainwright, United Kingdom
Click to expand to: 407 x 257 pixels.
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Saturn. 8" Helios reflector.
Image by Robert Slack, United Kingdom
Click to expand to: 1280 x 1024 pixels.
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Note that the optionally supplied focal reducer may be necessary to reach focus with many
Newtonian telescopes. This also applies to any other astronomy camera.
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Demonstrating the new longer exposure capability of up to 10 seconds. From left to right: 0.5s, 1s, 2s and 5s.
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Video Mode V Single Shot Mode
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The PL-130M camera operates in two distinct modes. In video mode the camera will show as a
DirectShow/WDM device and will produce very fast frame rates with exposures limited to
under half a second. This mode is ideal for solar and planetary imaging as well as for
'training' telescope mounts. It can also be used for guiding with less dim stars.
The single shot mode works in a non-typical manner and a full frame is only sent to the
computer once the exposure has been completed. This mode is ideal for dimmer targets and
for guiding in particular. It is recommended that guiding exposures of around 4-5 seconds
are used as this will even out any atmospheric turbulence, reveal faint stars and overall
improve guiding performance.
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The PL-130M's sensor quantum efficiency.
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Bundled Software
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In addition to EMAMCAP, the camera is bundled with a number of software applications
including Craterlet, Nebulosity Lite, PHD Guiding and Guidemaster. Also there are
software plug-ins for third party applications such as AstroArt and MaxIm DL. The
most appropriate software to use depends on the particular application.
If maximum frame rates are required then the camera should be configured as a
Windows DirectShow/WDM device. Alternatively, if maximum light sensitivity is desired
then it should be used in native mode. In native mode exposure times can be up to
10 seconds.
The PL-130M is supported natively in Nebulosity, PHD Guiding, AstroArt and MaxIm DL.
The camera can also be used as DirectShow/WDM video camera in Craterlet, PHD Guiding,
Guidemaster, EMAMCAP, AstroArt and MaxIm DL. All these software applications
are bundled with the camera.
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PL-130M COOLAIR attached to Filter Wheel.
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Craterlet Software
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Craterlet is a capture application for video cameras compatible with Windows
DirectX (DirectShow) and WDM. It provides streaming to AVI, still capture and a simple
but clean interface. Streams to AVI format at ~30 FPS, ready for processing in other
software such as Nebulosity. It can quickly cycle among the camera's modes and allows
the user to specify frame rate and capture duration. It is able to capture individual
still frames in BMP format. Craterlet is ideal when high frame rates are desirable.
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Nebulosity Lite Software
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Nebulosity is a fully featured, but simple to use capture and processing application.
Astronomy images from just about anything can be processed (support for many FITS formats,
PNG, TIFF, JPEG, CR2/CRW, etc). Nebulosity Lite is bundled with the camera and it supports
lapse photography, 1x1 and 2x2 binning modes, StarView real-time video preview mode,
region of interest, frame stacking, support for all popular file formats and more.
It is ideal when longer exposures are required of up to 10 seconds. This should be the
application of choice over Craterlet when high sensitivity is required rather than high frame rates.
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PHD Guiding Software
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PHD Guiding is designed to be simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent auto-guiding
of your telescope. Connect your mount, your camera, select a star, and start guiding.
That's it! In PHD Guiding, all calibration is taken care of automatically. The camera
can be used with PHD Guiding in Windows DirectShow/WDM mode when exposures of under
half a second are required, or in native PL-130 mode for exposures of between 1 and 10
seconds. Longer exposures greatly increase the camera’s sensitivity.
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Guidemaster Software
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Guidemaster can be used as an alternative to PHD Guiding. Please note that there is no
support for long exposures for the PL-130 in Guidemaster. Therefore PHD Guiding
(or AstroArt or MaxIm DL) will perform considerably better because of longer exposure
times up to 10 seconds.
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Plug-Ins for AstroArt and MaxIm DL
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AstroArt and MaxIm DL are powerful third party applications for astronomy. They provide
camera control, telescope control, auto-guiding and image processing. The camera can be
used with both applications in Windows DirectShow/WDM mode for short exposures of under
half a second, or in native PL-130 mode for exposures of up to 10 seconds. Longer exposures
greatly increase the camera's sensitivity.
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Image Quality
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The PL-130M COOLAIR camera can stream and store video to disk at up to 12 frames per second
(10fps is typical depending on your computer hardware) at 1280x1024 resolution, it can
also grab single frames at 1280x1024. All video and single frames are captured without
compression, ensuring high image quality. Higher frame rates can be achieved by reducing
the resolution via the camera control software.
The ability of the camera to capture and store high quality video to disk in real-time provides
the data required for stacking any number of frames to create a single greatly enhanced quality
image using image stacking software, these include Nebulosity (bundled with the camera),
the excellent AstroArt v4.0, the freely available
Registax and others.
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The PL-130 series.
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AstroArt is more relevant when you want to manipulate the image but without altering the
underlying date, AstroArt is therefore highly suitable for photometry.
This high quality camera features on-board Extended Dynamic Range Imaging. This simultaneously
reveals detail on both dark and bright features, very useful in astrophotography where there
can be considerable contrast in the target.
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MaxIm DL & AstroArt Support
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AstroArt and MaxIm DL are powerful third party applications for astronomy.
They provide camera control, telescope control, auto-guiding and image
processing. The camera can be used with both applications in Windows
DirectShow/WDM mode for short exposures of under half a second, or in
native PL-130 mode for exposures of up to 10 seconds. Longer exposures
greatly increase the camera's sensitivity. To install the plug-ins for
native camera please download and read the PDF documents below.
You may also want to download the full user guide from the link above
titled "Opticstar AG-130 Setup Guide" for more instructions.
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Nebulosity and Nebulosity Lite Software
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Nebulosity supports direct control of the PL-130M camera and it provides a
complete software solution for image capture and processing. Nebulosity
is also available for free for all AG-130M and PL-130M users in Lite mode.
There is only one edition of Nebulosity but we supply a serial number that
upon registration enables the software to run in Lite mode.
Serial number for Nebulosity Lite mode: 05130
If you already have a full licence then the camera can be used with all
Nebulosity features enabled. All software updates are provided as free downloads.
You may also want to download the full user guide from the link above
titled "Opticstar AG-130 Setup Guide" for more instructions.
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PHD Guiding Software
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PHD Guiding is designed to be simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent
auto-guiding of your telescope. Connect your mount, your camera, select
a star, and start guiding. That's it! In PHD Guiding, all calibration
is taken care of automatically. The camera can be used with PHD Guiding
in Windows DirectShow/WDM mode when exposures of under half a second are
required, or in native PL-130 mode for exposures of between 1 and 10
seconds. Longer exposures greatly increase the camera’s sensitivity.
To add support for the PL-130M camera to PHD Guiding please use the Nebulosity
plug-in, shown above. For instructions download and read the PDF document titled
"PL-130 Plugin for Nebulosity" first.
You may also want to download the full user guide from the link above
titled "Opticstar AG-130 Setup Guide" for more instructions.
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Options
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Optionally, the PL-130M incorporates a removable x0.5 focal reducer nosepiece that can double
the field of view if required. An extension 5 metre USB lead with a USB repeater (amplifier)
is also available in cases where the camera will be used further away from the computer.
The camera comes with a CS ring and a 1.25" telescope adaptor threaded for filters.
A t-thread adaptor is available as an optional extra.
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Nosepieces from left to right: 1.25" adapter (supplied), t-thread adapter (optional), C ring (supplied).
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Auto-Guiding
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The PL-130M video camera is suitable for auto-guiding and is part of the
Opticstar AG-130M Auto-Guider System. Please
refer to that item if you are interested in a guider solution.
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Specification
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| Model |
Opticstar PL-130M COOLAIR |
| Sensor |
Micron MT9M001 |
| Optical Format |
1/2" CMOS monochrome sensor (no IR filter) |
| Resolution |
1280(W) x 1024(H) |
| Pixel Size |
5.2µm x 5.2µm |
| Frame Rate |
12fps @ 1280x1024 maximum; Typical 10fps @ 1280x1024
15-20fps @ 640x480
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| ADC |
10-bit |
| Shutter |
Electronic Rolling |
| Exposure Time |
max. 10 seconds in native long exposure mode.
Automatic, depending on video mode, computer & application in
DirectShow / WDM mode up to 500ms.
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| Computer Interface |
USB 2.0 with 3.5 metre (11.5 feet) of USB cable |
| Power Requirement |
USB Bus Power |
| Cooling |
Air-cooled from internal fan (USB powered) |
| Dimensions |
65mm (W) x 40mm (D) x 85mm (H) |
| Sensor Distance to Camera Front |
10.5mm (requires removal of internal spacers), 12.5mm & 17.5mm |
| Weight |
175 grams (6.25 oz) |
| Operating System |
Microsoft Windows 32-bit 2000/XP/Vista/7; USB 2.0; |
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Notice
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We are constantly checking the accuracy of the technical data. We are prepared to provide
more detailed information on request. Technical data is subject to change without notice.
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