After much anticipation, we’re excited to let you know that the first batch of Atik Horizon cameras have arrived in Norwich ready to start going out to our dealers. We’ve had an incredible reaction to the camera, and we’re now working through our pre-orders to get our new Horizon out into the world.
As you might know, we ran a public Beta test of the camera over the last couple of months. We’d like to say another huge thank you to all of our beta testers for their help and for sharing the amazing images they’ve been producing with the camera. We can’t wait to see what they capture next.
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- M76 by Niels V Christensen (Mono)
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- M27 by Dave Hudson (OSC)
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- IC1805 – Jacques Croiziers (OSC)
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- NGC 281 by András Papp (Mono)
Their feedback’s been really helpful in improving our software performance and reliability. One thing we’ve implemented is a range of gain presets, that make it quick and easy to use the gain and offset on the camera. That said, there’s also a ‘Custom’ preset that gives you full control of your imaging. We’ve found that low settings are best for dynamic range, while high settings are fantastic for narrowband imaging. If you’d like to know a little more about what gain is and how to use it, check out our latest video on CMOS gain settings.
Our testers also really helped when it came to integrating the camera into our Infinity software. The huge 16MP images and fast read out of the Atik Horizon are very different to handle from the 1.4MP of the Atik Infinity it was built for. But with a bit of patience and help, you can now use Infinity to explore the night sky through high resolution images.
Another comment that arose was about the use of the micro USB 3.0 socket. USB 3.0 cables are on the thick and heavy side of things, so we’ve introduced a cable post to the rear of the camera that allows you to safely secure your cables and minimise stress on the connection.
While long exposures and longer focal length telescopes may still benefit from the use of CCD cameras, we’re excited about what our new CMOS has to offer. If you’re looking to use a short focal length telescope, or are after a little extra sensitivity for narrowband imaging, our new Horizon might just be for you.
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