QHY

QHY183C

Name: QHY183C
Brand: QHY
Price: 747 USD
Availability: InStock

A 20-megapixel cooled colour camera at an accessible price, a lot of resolution and regulated cooling for a first serious deep-sky camera, best paired with a short focal length.

84/ 100

Polaris Score

#6 of 8 colour deep-sky cameras

See the breakdown ↓

Camera Type

PlanetaryDeep sky

A deep-sky camera whose small, dense pixels reward short, fast optics and good guiding. Its high resolution can also do double duty on the Moon.

Type

One-shot colour

Cooling

−40°C below ambient

Pixel Size

2.4µm

Read noise

1.6 e⁻

Resolution

20 MP · 5544×3694

Sensor

Sony IMX183 · 1"

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The frame it captures

Same camera. Different telescope. A completely different photograph.

A camera has no field of view of its own, the telescope in front of it decides everything. Pick a target and watch the same 20-megapixel frame become three different images.

RedCat 51

250 mm · f/4.9

FOV 3° × 2°

Fills the frame edge to edge, the classic full-galaxy portrait.

Esprit 100ED

550 mm · f/5.5

FOV 1.4° × 0.92°

Overflows frame

Overflows the frame, the outer arms extend past the edges.

EdgeHD 8

2032 mm · f/10

FOV 0.37° × 0.25°

Overflows frame

Only the bright core fits; the spiral arms spill off the sensor.

Explore any telescope in the Simulator →

01What it's good at

What it's best at — and the trade-offs.

20 megapixels on a 1-inch sensor deliver high resolution on short, fast telescopes

Best at

✓20 megapixels on a 1-inch sensor deliver high resolution on short, fast telescopes

✓Regulated cooling to 40°C below ambient keeps thermal noise low on long exposures

✓One of the most affordable ways into cooled, dedicated colour astrophotography

✓The small sensor is forgiving of field curvature at the edges of budget optics

Trade-offs

!The IMX183 shows amp glow that must be removed with dark frames

!2.4-micron pixels are small, so they need fast optics and tight guiding

!A 12-bit ADC has less tonal depth than the 16-bit APS-C cameras

02In plain English

The numbers, in plain English.

Sony IMX183 · 20MP · 2.4µm · −40°C below ambient

Pixel sizeSmall

2.4 µm

Small pixels sample the image finely, which suits short focal lengths where a larger pixel would waste resolution. Each one also collects less light, so this sensor wants fast optics and accurate guiding to keep exposures reasonable.

SensorCompact

1 inch, 13.2 × 8.8 mm, 20 MP

Smaller than APS-C, so the field is narrower for a given telescope and large nebulae may need a mosaic. The upside is that corner correction is easy: almost any flattener keeps stars round across a sensor this size.

CoolingDeep

Regulated TEC, 40 C below ambient

Thermal noise roughly halves for every 6 to 7 degrees of cooling, so deep regulated cooling is what makes long integrations stack cleanly. Regulation also means your dark frames stay valid from night to night.

Amp glowManageable

Present, calibrates out

This sensor adds a faint glow at the frame edges during long exposures. Matched dark frames remove it completely, but it does mean you cannot skip calibration the way you can with a newer sensor.

Best paired withMatch

Short focal lengths

The combination of small pixels and a compact sensor suits refractors in the 400 to 700 mm range, where it samples well and the field stays useful. On a long SCT it will oversample and the field will feel cramped.

03Typical targets

What it shines on.

The Ring Nebula (M57), The Dumbbell Nebula (M27), The Pleiades (M45)

Excellent

The Ring Nebula (M57)

A small planetary nebula that the dense pixels resolve nicely.

Comes alive

The Dumbbell Nebula (M27)

Bright and compact, well-suited to a small high-resolution sensor.

Strong

The Pleiades (M45)

Frames well on a short refractor with reflection nebulosity around the stars.

04Build your imaging rig

Everything you'd actually buy.

Capture · Track · Frame

Capture

The scope that forms the image

William Optics RedCat 71 APO

A short, fast Petzval that suits the small dense sensor perfectly.

Track

What holds it steady

A tracking equatorial mount with guiding

Small pixels are unforgiving, so tight autoguiding matters.

Frame

Pull signal from the sky

A dual-band filter

Reveals emission nebulae from light-polluted skies.

05The Polaris Score

How it scores, and why.

84/100 · #6 of 8 colour deep-sky cameras

84/ 100

QHY183C

#6 of 8 colour deep-sky cameras

Excellent resolution and cooling for the money, held back only by small pixels and some amp glow that demand careful technique.

Image quality

Low-light sensitivity

Ease of use

Value

Polaris weighs how well the camera does the job it was designed for — image quality, sensitivity, versatility and value — never list price or brand.

06Who it's for

An honest fit check.

Beginners who want cooled colour deep-sky imaging without a large outlay

Buy it if you

✓Beginners who want cooled colour deep-sky imaging without a large outlay

✓Imagers using short focal lengths where small pixels resolve fine detail

✓People who will learn to guide accurately and use dark frames

Look elsewhere if you

!Imagers on long focal lengths, where the tiny pixels over-sample and dim

!Anyone wanting the largest field or the cleanest sensor with no amp glow

!Planetary specialists, who want a small uncooled high-frame-rate camera

07The numbers

Full specifications.

18 measured and stated values

Sensor

ModelSony IMX183

TypeCMOS · 1"

Megapixels20

Pixel Size2.4µm

Bit depth12-bit ADC

Noise & sensitivity

Read noise1.6 e⁻

Full well15,000 e⁻

Peak QE~84%

Dynamic range12 stops

Cooling

Cooling−40°C below ambient

Connectivity & fit

InterfaceUSB 3.0

Weight0.41 kg

More

cooledtrue

Sensor Height8.8mm

Sensor Width13.2mm

Editor’s Take

The IMX183 packs 20 megapixels into a 1-inch sensor, so the pixels are tiny. That means high resolution on short scopes, but it wants accurate guiding and a fast focal ratio to shine. Watch for amp glow, which calibrates out with dark frames.