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Features of the new model ST-237A

Standard:

16 bit A/D
657 x 495 pixels at 7.4 microns square for both B&W and Tri-color or Quad-color imaging
Internal mechanical shutter for automatic dark frames
Electronic shutter for fast exposure times
Low read noise
Regulated (+/- 0.1 degree C) TE cooling with user selectable temperature set point
Fast parallel interface - < 1 second focus frame updates
Automatic tri-color or LRGB color imaging with color filter wheel
12VDC field operation (wall transformer included)
Higher quantum efficiency than any camera in its class
High resolution B&W and high resolution color with the same camera
New CCDSoftV5 Software (normally $350.00)
CCDSharp Software (normally $149.00)
TheSky v4 Software (normally $129.00)
CCDOPS for Windows and CCDOPS for DOS Software
PlanetMaster Software
Removable 1.25" nose piece with standard t-threads on camera head
Fastar ready

Options:

Internal color filter wheel with filters designed specifically for fast (F/1.95) optical systems
eFinder Accessory (F/3.75 screw-in focal reducer and guide scope accessory)
35mm camera lens adapters
C-mount lens adapter
Hard carrying case with custom cut foam insert
Cigarette Lighter Adapter and Battery Clip Power Cord

The ST-237A Offers:

1. Low Cost - High Resolution B&W and High Resolution Color Imaging are possible with the same camera. The new 16 bit camera price is $1295.00 including CCDSoftV5 (normally $350), CCDSharp (normally $149.00) and TheSky v4 (normally $129.00). Add the Color Filter Wheel anytime for $399 and have the best of BOTH worlds.

3. Easy to Use - The camera head is small and lightweight. Simply insert in the eyepiece holder of any telescope. The ST-237 head is only 3 inches long. Its compact length and convenient side exiting head cable allows it to clear the base of most fork mounted SCTs and most Nexstar telescopes including smaller scopes like the Nexstar 5. Other cameras with longer heads and cable connectors on the rear will prevent some fork mounted scopes from reaching zenith in alt az mode (or far north in equatorial mode). Even with its compact size, the ST-237 still has both an electronic shutter and an internal mechanical shutter. An additional mechanical shutter is normally only found on larger, more expensive cameras. An internal mechanical shutter means you don't have to manually remove the camera from the telescope or cover the telescope to take a dark frame. Just set the software to take and subtract dark frames automatically. The same is true for tri-color and quad-color (LRGB) imaging. With a custom internally mounted filter wheel in place of the shutter wheel, the camera head and filter wheel combination remains the same compact size whether you are taking color or B&W images and the color acquisition process is fully automated.

4. Very High Quantum Efficiency - This detector has the highest overall Quantum Efficiency of any CCD on the market costing less than $5000. It has excellent efficiency in the blue, green, red and in the near infrared. It has higher QE across the visual and near IR spectrum than any interline detector we have tested, including those from Sony. The TC-237 has nearly 60% efficiency in the mid blue and green wavelengths and about 75% efficiency at the important wavelength of Hydrogen alpha (approximately 3 to 5 times as sensitive as the Sony parts). This makes the ST-237 particularly well suited for imaging deep space objects such as emission nebula and galaxies as well as brighter objects such as planets.

5. Easy to Use 32 bit Windows 95/98 control software - includes fast focus mode, color combine and color processing, Track and Accumulate, autoguider functions and much more. User friendly camera control software is available for a variety of operating systems. The software provided with the camera is capable of everything from the most basic of camera controls to the most sophisticated image processing. You select the level of complexity you wish to undertake. But you are neither forced nor limited by the selection of software that is included in the basic package. There is no need to pay extra for software to make the camera perform to its maximum capabilities. The following software comes with the the camera at no additional charge:

Title	Description
CCDSoftV5	The latest complete package from Software Bisque and SBIG: Camera control, color filter wheel control, image processing, RGB and LRGB color combine, astrometry, photometry, minor planet searches, image link with Real Sky, and much, much more. [Normally $350.00]
TheSky v.4	The premier planetarium program from Software Bisque includes charting and telescope control. [$129.00 value]
PlanetMaster	Automatically capture the sharpest image in a series of images or automatically sort your images by sharpness. Great for planets, double stars, globular clusters and galaxies. Written specifically for the ST-237 and ST-5C.
CCDSharp	Lucy-Richardson image sharpening program specially adapted to reduce background noise and artifacts often created by other image sharpening and deconvolution routines. [Normally $149.00]
CCDOPS for Win 95/98/NT	Camera control, color filter control, basic image processing, plus tri-color combine. [$99.00 value - now free with free upgrades from our web site].
CCDOPS for DOS	DOS camera control, color filter control, basic image processing. Still the choice for camera control by many laptop users. [Free with free upgrades from our web site].

No other camera in this price range offers so much value in the basic price of the system.

6. Fastar Ready - The ST-237 is designed to work with Celestron's Fastar lens assembly. This includes the color filters in the optional CFW5C internal filter wheel which are ground to the exceptionally high tolerances required for par focal operation at F/1.95.

7. eFinder Compatible - Although originally designed for the STV, the eFinder assembly is a great accessory for the ST-237. The eFinder includes an F/3.7 focal reducer that screws into the nosepiece of the ST-237 camera. This increases the field of view of an F/10 telescope and greatly reduces the exposure times required for good signal to noise for deep space images. The images are well corrected over the entire field of the ST-237 CCD. Add the 4" extension tube and the same lens becomes a short wide field telescope that is excellent for autoguiding, as an "electronic finder" or just taking wide field shots of star fields, constellations, etc.
To read more about the eFinder accessory click here

8. Available Now - We are taking orders for this camera now and will start shipping our first ST-237A cameras this month (April 2001).


ST-237 Color Image of NGC 1977 by Chris Anderson taken with 8" Fastar (Image reduced in size and resolution)	ST-237 Color Image of Total Lunar Eclipse by Brian Colville taken with 60mm refractor (Image reduced in size and resolution)