QHY268M
The monochrome version of the acclaimed APS-C sensor, a 26-megapixel mono camera with a 16-bit readout for the imager ready to chase the deepest narrowband and LRGB detail with filters.
A dedicated deep-sky instrument. Mono with filters extracts the deepest signal from nebulae and galaxies, especially in narrowband from light-polluted skies.
Lowest in 90 days
Price tracked by PolarisObserved 28 timesTracking since Mar 2026
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 26-megapixel frame become three different images.
What it's best at — and the trade-offs.
The numbers, in plain English.
What it shines on.
Everything you'd actually buy.
How it scores, and why.
The highest image quality in its class, at the price of a mono workflow that adds a filter wheel, filters and more processing steps.
Polaris weighs how well the camera does the job it was designed for — image quality, sensitivity, versatility and value — never list price or brand.
An honest fit check.
Full specifications.
Mono is the deep end of the hobby: every pixel collects full-resolution luminance, and with narrowband filters it cuts through city light like nothing colour can. The cost is complexity, a filter wheel, filters and more processing. On the IMX571, the results are as good as APS-C imaging gets.
For a different goal, start here.
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
The same IMX571 mono sensor in the most widely supported ecosystem
QHY268C
The one-shot-colour version if you want an easier, faster workflow
ZWO ASI294MM Pro
A smaller, cheaper mono sensor to learn the filter workflow on