SVBony
SVBony SV305C Pro
A modern back-illuminated planetary sensor in the smallest, cheapest package that still does the job properly. Ninety nine frames per second and 0.7 electrons of read noise for two hundred dollars.
80/ 100
Camera Type
PlanetaryDeep sky
A planetary and guiding camera. The 1/2.8 inch sensor is sized for a planet, which is a very small object, and is far too small for deep-sky framing of any kind.
Type
One-shot colour
Cooling
None
Pixel Size
2.9µm
Read noise
0.7 e⁻
Resolution
2.1 MP · 1920×1080
Sensor
Sony IMX662 · 1/2.8 inch
From$201.99
Price tracked by PolarisNew to trackingTracking since Sep 2026
01What it's good atWhat it's best at — and the trade-offs.
The IMX662 is a current back-illuminated sensor with roughly 91 percent quantum efficiency and 0.7 electrons of read noise, specifications that were…
01What it's good at
What it's best at — and the trade-offs.
The IMX662 is a current back-illuminated sensor with roughly 91 percent quantum efficiency and 0.7 electrons of read noise, specifications that were…
Best at
✓The IMX662 is a current back-illuminated sensor with roughly 91 percent quantum efficiency and 0.7 electrons of read noise, specifications that were premium territory a few years ago.
✓Ninety nine frames per second at full resolution is what planetary imaging actually rewards, because you keep only the sharpest few percent of thousands of frames.
✓At 135 grams and bus powered, it adds nothing meaningful to the load on a small mount or the tangle of cables at the back of the scope.
✓The ST4 port makes it a competent guide camera as well, which is real value in a camera bought for a planetary season that lasts a few months.
Trade-offs
!Two megapixels over 5.6 by 3.1 millimetres is a small target area, which makes lunar mosaics and any framing task laborious.
!No cooling, so it is a short exposure instrument only.
!12-bit conversion, correct for planetary stacking and limiting anywhere else.
!Needs real focal length to work. Behind a short refractor the planets are simply too small to benefit.
02In plain EnglishThe numbers, in plain English.
Sony IMX662 · 2.1MP · 2.9µm · None
02In plain English
The numbers, in plain English.
Sony IMX662 · 2.1MP · 2.9µm · None
Frame rateVery fast
99 fps at 1920×1080
Planetary imaging works by defeating the atmosphere statistically: you shoot thousands of frames and keep only those taken in the brief moments the air was still. Ninety nine frames per second means roughly six thousand chances per minute, and since Jupiter rotates fast enough to blur a capture longer than a few minutes, the rate is what decides how much good data you can gather in the window you have.
Read noiseVery low
0.7 e⁻
Read noise is added by the camera on every single frame, and this camera reads thousands per session. Seven tenths of an electron is very low, and it is what allows exposures of a few milliseconds to still carry usable signal. Short exposures are the whole technique, because they freeze the turbulence that would otherwise smear the planet.
Sensor sizeSmall
5.6 × 3.1 mm
This is the specification that defines what the camera cannot do. A planet is tiny, so a small sensor loses nothing there. The Moon is half a degree across and will not fit, which makes lunar work a mosaic exercise. Deep-sky objects are larger still, so this sensor frames essentially none of them.
Peak QEVery high
About 91%
Quantum efficiency is how much of the arriving light the sensor converts into signal, and 91 percent is near the physical ceiling. In planetary imaging that sensitivity converts directly into shorter exposures, and shorter exposures freeze more of the atmospheric turbulence that limits detail. Sensitivity here buys sharpness, not just brightness.
Pixel sizeFine
2.9 µm
Small pixels suit planetary work, where the aim is to spread a tiny bright object across as many pixels as possible. The rule of thumb is to work at roughly five times the pixel size in f-ratio, so 2.9 micron pixels want about f/15, which most Schmidt-Cassegrains reach with a Barlow and most short refractors never will.
WeightNegligible
135 g
This matters more than it sounds on a small mount. A camera hanging off the back of a telescope acts on a long lever arm, and 135 grams bus powered over a single cable changes neither balance nor cable drag. Heavier cooled cameras require rebalancing and often a counterweight adjustment every session.
03Typical targetsWhat it shines on.
Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, The Moon, Venus, Double stars
03Typical targets
What it shines on.
Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, The Moon, Venus, Double stars
04Build your imaging rigEverything you'd actually buy.
Capture · Second duty · Filter it
04Build your imaging rig
Everything you'd actually buy.
Capture · Second duty · Filter it
Capture
What forms the image
A Maksutov or Schmidt-Cassegrain
Long native focal length is what makes a planet large enough to resolve. This camera on a 1500 mm Maksutov is a well matched pair.
A 2x Barlow
2.9 micron pixels want roughly f/15, which most telescopes reach only with a Barlow in the train.
Second duty
What else it can do
Guiding via the ST4 port
Pair it with a guide scope and it earns its keep for the two thirds of the year when the planets are poorly placed.
Filter it
What sharpens the result
A UV/IR cut filter
Essential on a colour planetary camera behind an achromat or a fast scope, where infrared leakage softens the image.
05The Polaris ScoreHow it scores, and why.
80/100 · #4 of 5 planetary cameras
05The Polaris Score
How it scores, and why.
80/100 · #4 of 5 planetary cameras
80/ 100
SVBony SV305C Pro
#4 of 5 planetary cameras
As an inexpensive planetary and guiding camera it is very well judged: modern sensor, low read noise, high frame rate and a genuinely useful second role. It scores below the larger planetary cameras only because a 5.6 by 3.1 millimetre sensor makes lunar work tedious and rules out electronically assisted viewing.
Image quality80
Low-light sensitivity89
Ease of use88
Value91
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 forAn honest fit check.
Someone with a Maksutov or a Schmidt-Cassegrain who wants to try planetary imaging without…
06Who it's for
An honest fit check.
Someone with a Maksutov or a Schmidt-Cassegrain who wants to try planetary imaging without…
Buy it if you
✓Someone with a Maksutov or a Schmidt-Cassegrain who wants to try planetary imaging without committing three hundred dollars to it.
✓Owners of a small mount where every gram at the back of the telescope matters.
✓Anyone who wants one inexpensive camera that can image planets and guide on the other nights.
✓Beginners at planetary work, since the low read noise is forgiving of the short exposures the technique demands.
Look elsewhere if you
!Lunar imagers, who will find a 5.6 millimetre sensor turns the Moon into a many panel mosaic that is tedious to shoot and harder to join.
!Anyone hoping to do deep-sky imaging, since this sensor is smaller than the objects and has no cooling for long exposures.
!Observers wanting electronically assisted viewing, which needs several times this sensor area to frame anything worth looking at.
!Imagers with short focal length telescopes, where a planet covers only a handful of pixels regardless of how good the sensor is.
07The numbersFull specifications.
19 measured and stated values
07The numbers
Full specifications.
19 measured and stated values
Sensor
ModelSony IMX662
TypeCMOS · 1/2.8 inch back-illuminated
Megapixels2.1
Pixel Size2.9µm
Bit depth12-bit ADC
Noise & sensitivity
Read noise0.7 e⁻
Full well38,200 e⁻
Peak QE~91%
Cooling
CoolingNone
Connectivity & fit
InterfaceUSB 3.0 · ST4 guide port
Weight0.135 kg
More
cooledfalse
max frame rate99 fps at 1920×1080
powerBus powered over USB
Sensor Height3.1mm
Sensor Width5.6mm
Editor’s Take
There is a version of planetary imaging that costs a few thousand pounds and a version that costs two hundred, and the surprising thing is how close the results are on an average night. The atmosphere is the limiting factor for almost everyone, and once your camera is fast enough and quiet enough to exploit the steady moments, spending more buys you sensor area rather than planetary detail. This is the cheapest camera that is genuinely fast enough and quiet enough. Buy the bigger sensor if you love the Moon; buy this one if you want to see what Jupiter really looks like without deciding whether you are serious yet.
— The Skynocular verdict
08AlternativesFor a different goal, start here.
2 alternatives, each mapped to the goal it wins at
08Alternatives
For a different goal, start here.
2 alternatives, each mapped to the goal it wins at