QHY5P-II-C CMOS COLOR VIDEO CAMERA

Robert Brown, Version 1.3, August 2014

Comments/corrections to brown_rb@yahoo.com

QHY5P-II-C CMOS CCD (2592x1944, 2.2µm, 5.63mm x 4.22mm, BF=??mm)

ED80T-CF FOV 64’ x 47’, PR=0.95”
SV102T FOV 42’ x 31’, PR=0.63”

SPECIFICATIONS
Device Aptina MT9P006 CMOS (Color)
Scan Mode Progressive
Max. Resolution 2560 x 1922 (Approx. 5,000,000 Pixels)
Pixel Size 2.2um x 2.2um
Sensor Size 5.70mm (H) x 4.28mm (V), Diagonal 7.13mm
Imaging Area 5.632mm (H) x 4.228mm (V)
Sensitivity 01.76v/lux-sec (550nm)
QE Blue 48% (450nm), Green 68% (530nm), Red 62% (600nm)

DRIVERS FOR QHY5P-II-C

Install Windows USB drivers first
Install ASCOM base
Install QHYCCD ASCOM drivers
Install WDM drivers
Install EZPlanetary

QHYCCD USB QHY5IIDriver140831

ASCOM Base 6.1SP1
QHYCCD ASCOM QHYCMOSASCOM-StarSenseSci-V109
EZPlanetary 3.76

UV/IR Cut Filters

It is recommended to use a UV/IR cut filter with the QHY5P-II-C.

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EZPLANETARY (Lunar, Planetary)
Start EZPlanetary and connect to the QHY5P-II-C
Camera-QHY5P-II-2592*1944

The display will be automatically set to preview.

Set Gain

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Click on the first slider button (in the above picture it shows 4%) under Video Capture to display the entry pad,
type in 4 (or click 4), then click the Enter button. This sets the gain to 4%. Avoid using high gain settings as the
higher gain settings increase noise and hot pixels in the sensor.

Set Gamma
Adjust the gamma slider (bottom slider of the Video Capture section) till it reads one (click and drag). A
gamma value of 1 indicates a linear response.

Set exposure duration

It is recommended to set the exposure duration to approximately 1/FPS (slightly less, round down). For
example, if you have the maximum frame per second at 30, then the exposure duration will be 1/30 or around
30ms. This gives the maximum exposure time per frame. In the following, the bottom status bar of
EZPlanetary is showing a speed of 15FPS. The exposure should be set to 1/15 or 60ms.

To set the exposure duration in EZPlanetary, click on the second button under the Video Capture section to
bring up the data entry keypad, and click 6, then click 0, then click ms and then click OK.

This exposure setting is a starting point and you may need to adjust it if the image is too bright. This is where
the histogram tool is useful.

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The Histogram
The histogram window is a display that helps you determine the correct exposure setting for the QHY5P-II-C.

As shown above, the image is overexposed, as the two vertical bars are indicating red. In this example, adjust
the exposure downwards to 3ms results in the following histogram, which in this case is ideal (adjust till no red
bars are showing).

High frame rates with QHY5P-II-C

You only need to do this once.

When you first use EZPlanetary with the QHY5P-II-C, the software does not know how fast the computer is
capable of operating at.

If you have previously used EZPlanetary, first ensure that EZPlanetary is NOT running, and delete the *.ini files
in the folder of EZPlanetary.

Start EZPlanetary and connect to the QHY5P-II-C using the maximum available resolution (2560*1922).

After EZPlanetary starts (assuming you have not configured EZPlanetary previously) the FPS will be around 2-
3FPS@2560*1922

Check the Menu->Camera Setting->High Speed Readout. The FPS should increase to about 3-
4FPS@2560*1922.

Check the advanced setting->Limit USB bandwidth

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 The default value is 30. Slowly decrease this value whilst
watching the FPS value displayed on the bottom status
bar. As you decrease this value the FPS should start to
increase.

Once the limit is reached (on a slower computer) the FPS

will drop suddenly.

Slowly increase the value again till the FPS shows the
highest value. On faster computers, you may be able to set
this value to 0 for the highest FPS value. The maximum
resolution takes more USB bandwidth than smaller
resolutions, so once this value (Limit USB Bandwidth) is set
correctly for the maximum resolution of 2560*1922 then
other smaller resolutions will not need to be adjusted and
will work without issue.

Recording Video
Having set the gain, gamma and exposure duration, it is now time to record some video. You first need to set
the video record options. Click on File-Video Record Options

The video format for recording video is normally AVI. The FIT
option is only available for single long exposures.

Specify the Working folder, which indicates where you want to

save the AVI file. This should be changed to be a folder either
under My Documents or something like c:\temp

The File Sub Folder Options lets you create subfolders for each
AVI or have all the AVI files placed in one folder

The Auto Filename Options lets you specify the naming

convention of the saved file (I like to use the H-M-S format)

The Total Record Frames lets you specify the number of

frames or duration to record. For Solar imaging I normally use
around 200-300 frames. For Lunar imaging I normally use
around 400-500 frames. The number of frames for planetary
imaging will depend on the target and is based on the
rotational speed of the planet.

Once the options have been set, click OK

On the main menu Camera Setup, under drop-down menu option Color/Mono, select RAW as the video type
(this will lead to a single AVI file which has color components that must be debayered after capture).
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To start recording, click the button. The REC button will change to indicating that
recording is taking place, and in the bottom status bar the number of frames will be displayed with the file size
.

When the recording is finished, the REC button will change back to .

Taking Single Exposures

The button is used to take a snapshot or single frame image. This is not particularly useful for
Lunar, Solar or planetary imaging.

However, when the long exposure setting is enabled, the SNAP feature is useful for taking long exposures of
deep sky objects.

Dark Frame Correction

EZPlanetary can apply dark frames and dark frame correction to captured images/video. This helps to reduce
hot pixels in the captured images/video. EZPlanetary does this in real-time, so post-processing images using
dark frame calibration becomes un-necessary. To configure Dark Field Correction, click the main menu Bar
option “Tool”, then select “Dark Field Correction” from the drop-down list

The following dialog box will appear,

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Set the Dark Frame Quantity (how many dark frames will be used to create a master dark frame) to an un-
even number, such as 15 or 21. You need a reasonable number of dark frames (13 is suggested as a minimum).

Enable the checkbox “Capture Dark Frame” and the following prompt will be displayed,

Cover the camera or telescope so no light is entering (the camera is capturing nothing but dark) then click OK.
The dark frames will be collected, averaged and combined to form a master dark frame. At the end you will be
prompted to uncover the camera or telescope.

and the Dark Frame Calibration will indicate that the master dark frame has been generated (Stack Done).

Enable calibration by checking the “Enable Calibration” box, and the dialog box will indicate that Dark Frame
Calibration has been enabled.

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If the temperature of the sensor changes, then you will need to recapture new dark frames.

To disable the dark frame calibration and remove the current dark frame, uncheck the Enable Correction box,
then uncheck the Capture Dark Frame box. This will discard the current master dark frame and disable dark
frame calibration.

Using the Focus Assist Options

To access the focus assist options, expand the Focus Aid section. There are two main options, edge and
FWHM.

Edge is very useful for Lunar and Solar imaging. The Edge focus aid displays a large number in the top left of
the display preview window, as well as a rectangular bounded box shown with a white border. The edge value
is calculated based on the contents of the box. You would position the rectangle box over a prominent feature
like a crater or sunspot (you do this moving the mouse cursor over the feature and double clicking – which
positions the rectangle over the feature). To enable the Edge focus aid, click the button.

Adjust the focus and when the large number displayed is at a maximum, this is the position of best focus.

FWHM is useful for stars or planetary imaging. First position a star in the FOV and use the FWHM focus aid to
achieve best focus (the lowest value indicates the best focus position), then slew to the planet and start
capturing. To enable the FWHM focus aid, click the button.

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Lunar and Planetary Capture
Recommend using 12bit mode for better resolution (current driver does not support 12-bit mode).
Recommend higher frame rates, this is achieved by selecting a smaller resolution size) such as 640*480 or
320*240 and also selecting High Speed Read Out (HSRO).

For example, selecting 320*240 and HSRO results in over 100fps on my laptop.

Remember to try and set the exposure accordingly using the 1/FPS rule if possible. A higher exposure setting
than this will reduce the FPS.

For Lunar imaging, 400-500 or sometimes up to 1000 frames is desirable.

For Planetary imaging such as Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, you need to use high speed readout and smaller
resolutions to get the frame rate as high as you can for the exposure setting you are using. Avoid using too
much gain as this will increase the noise. A gain of 10% may be acceptable on occasions, however remember
that noise is difficult to process out of an image so it is best to try to keep it at a minimum.

 Max Video Duration, Mars 140s, Jupiter 30s, Saturn 80s (longer causes blurring due to high rotational
speeds of planets)
 Menu Tracking Rate Solar for the Sun, Lunar for the Moon, Sidereal for planets (can autoguide)
 Due to short duration guiding not really necessary
 Use filters (ND4 Moon, #21) for full moon, possible use of minus violet filter on planets
 Another very useful filter for Mars is FL-D (if you use a color ccd then you will need to reset the white
balance)
 Use an Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector when planets are near the horizon or do not rise in elevation
much

Show TimeStamp
A timestamp may be shown in the preview window, by clicking on Favorite-Show TimeStamp

redo

The timestamp will also appear in the video file if this is enabled when the button is clicked.

Post Debayer of Color AVI files

The raw AVI file should be debayered before being used in Registax or other stacking/processing software. A
good tool for doing this is the Debayer standalone tool that comes with Firecapture. Use RG

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Post Processing of Video Files
Use a package like Registax to post process the AVI files, by aligning, stacking and applying enhancement detail
(wavelets) to produce a final image.

Firecapture and SharpCap

As at time of writing, neither Firecapture (2.4) or SharpCap (2.1.971) support the QHY5P.

Speed Tests
QHYCCD published some speed test results for the QHY5P-II-C, listed below (on the left), and I have included
those where I have tested myself (to the right). I have Win7/64 Ultimate, 8GB Quad Core i5, with usb-delay set
to 0 for my system.

QHY5P-II PUBLISHED MY OWN RESULTS

RESOLUTION FRAME-RATE FRAME-RATE
2592*1944 7FPS 7FPS (high speed readout on, 3-4fps off)
2048*1536 11FPS
1600*1200 16FPS
1280*1024 22FPS 21FPS (high speed readout on, 10-11fps off)
1024*768 32FPS
800*600 46FPS
640*480 63FPS 63FPS (high speed readout on, 31-32fps off)
320*240 150FPS
1920*1080 16FPS
1280*720 30FPS
1024*768 BIN2 23FPS 24FPS
800*600 BIN2 33FPS 30FPS

Solar Imaging
If the primary interest is solar imaging using a Hα telescope (such as PST, SolarMax, Lunt etc), the QHY5L-II- M
is a better CCD option.

For a Hα telescope, the majority of detail is in the RED spectrum only (over a very small bandwidth range
centered at 656nm). Though sometimes nice results can be obtained with a color CCD, they will never be as
sharp or have the same resolution as using a monochrome sensor of the same size.

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