The QHY183C is a one-inch, 20 Megapixel back-illuminated colour CMOS camera with a peak QE of 74%. The pixel size is 2.4um, yielding high-resolution with modest size telescopes. The camera is capable of producing 15FPS@20 Megapixels. It has a two-stage TEC that cools the sensor to -40C to -45C below ambient. The ADC is 12-bit / 16-bit with 1e- read noise! The computer interface is USB 3.0 and exposure times can be set from 50us to 3600sec.

Sony's Image Sensor Exmor R is a back-illuminated CMOS image sensor with improved sensitivity and noise reduction - the key factors to enhancing image quality, while radically realigning their fundamental pixel structure from front-illumination to back-illumination. It retains the advantages of CMOS image high-speed operation while dramatically improving sensitivity.

The QHY183C has a 128MB DDR Memory Buffer. A QHY183M 16-bit image is about 40MB, so 128MB of memory can easily buffer a full frame for transfer to the computer using QHY183M software with native single-frame shooting function, instead of intercepting a frame from a continuous video transmission. This makes data transfer to the computer stable and reliable because there is no USB bandwidth or busy CPU problems.

The QHY183C utilizes the Anti-Dew features common to the QHY COLDMOS cameras. A heated optical window prevents exterior dew from forming, and the CMOS chamber has a desiccant plug socket to prevent moisture from forming on the sensor at cold temperatures.

The QHY183C incorporates QHY's Anti-Amp Glow technology to significantly reduce typical CMOS amplifier glow to a minimum, allowing excellent calibration by subtracting a dark frame.