Watec and Mintron cameras for deep sky photographs

Faint galaxies in just 10 seconds. Really? The Watec camera fulfils exactly this dream.

Easy, stress-free and good-quality deep sky pictures with simple and inexpensive equipment. This is the dream of every astrophotographer. The WAT-910HX from Watec brings you a step closer to this dream.

From surveillance camera to astronomy camera

This camera is actually designed for surveillance purposes in dark, poorly lit locations. The camera has a low-noise, extremely sensitive microlens chip that makes it interesting for astronomical applications.

Here’s how the camera captures galaxies

The camera has a video output that can be connected to any TV set. You can already see the spiral arms of many galaxies on the live picture. The Ring Nebula’s central star is visible. The camera has a maximum exposure time of 10 seconds. Each raw image is displayed until the next one is created. With a normal video grabber, you can load the raw images onto your computer and stack them there. This significantly increases the limiting magnitude.

More details with the new model

The WAT-910HX uses the same chip as the Mintron camera, which has been popular with astronomers for years, but produces less noise and can manage longer exposure times. There are two generations of the WAT-910HX. The new WAT-120N+ differs from the old WAT-910HX with a shutter that allows a 1/2000 second exposure time instead of 1/50 second. The old model was less suitable for the Moon and planets because these objects were usually overexposed. The new model offers more flexibility in this respect. In addition, the read-out noise has been improved compared to the older model.

The WAT-910HX is an all-round camera which can tackle any astronomy task

The advantages of the Watec WAT-910HX:

Quantum efficiency of up to 70% depending on chip size
Extremely sensitive and low-noise thanks to microlenses
No quanta falling on lines and gaps
High sensitivity - also in UV and IR spectral ranges
Ideal for photographing Venus in UV
Low-noise amplification
Very easy to use even without technical knowledge
Affordable price
No elaborate cooling, lightweight, fits on any eyepiece
Ready to use immediately and at all times
High mobility when combined with SVHS camera
At 12" f/4, POSS I limiting magnitude after approx. 30 min. (rather faster in winter)
At 12" f/4, POSS II limiting magnitude after approx. 60 min.
No problems with cosmics
No blooming on bright stars
No searching for a guide star (considerable time saving!), guidescope no longer required
The sorting function in GIOTTO can eliminate periods of poor seeing or turbulence
Even with clouds passing through, images are still possible if the sorting rate is based on the degree of cloud cover
0.5 inch chip with 768x576 pixels
Tracking does not require control (time can be used in parallel for visual observation)
Relatively insensitive to light pollution due to high sensitivity to red and infrared
Amazing results can even be achieved with under-sized and unstable discounter mounts