Oculus handbook Issue 2 January 2013
Handbook for the SX ‘Oculus’ high resolution all-sky camera
Thank you for purchasing a Starlight Xpress ‘Oculus’ all-sky camera. We hope that you will be very
pleased with the performance of this product.
The Oculus is a high resolution, very compact wide-field camera assembly, which is powered and
operated via a single USB2.0 computer connection. It is intended for full-sky monitoring of weather,
meteors, satellites etc. and will provide high quality images and video files, while operating unattended
for long periods. The ‘megapixel’ resolution F/2 fish-eye lens provides horizon to horizon coverage
with very little star image distortion across the entire field.
The Oculus utilises a sensitive Sony ‘SuperHAD’ CCD (the ICX205AL) with an array of 1392 x 1040
pixels in a ‘half-inch’ format. Although the chip is not cooled, it has a very low dark signal and very
little readout noise, so it can be used to image faint stars with a very short exposure time. The small
pixel size and high resolution lens give excellent definition and a good sized screen image format.
A strong polycarbonate hemispherical dome houses the lens assembly and this dome is easily removed
for cleaning, when necessary. A 12v DC input socket is also provided to permit an internal heating
resistor to be powered up to prevent dewing of the lens and dome on humid nights. The entire assembly
comes equipped with a standard tripod bracket for mounting.
The Oculus specification:
CCD type: ICX205AL Sony SuperHAD interline CCD with low dark current and vertical
anti-blooming.
CCD Full resolution pixel data: Pixel size: 4.65uM x 4.65uM, Image format: 1392 x 1040
pixels
CCD Image area: 6.4mm (Horizontal) x 4.75mm (Vertical).
CCD quality: Grade 1
Spectral Response: QE max at 520nM (~50%), 30% at 420nM and 670nM.
Readout Noise: Less than 10 electrons RMS - typically only 7 electrons.
Full-well capacity: Greater than 15,000 e- (unbinned)
