The ToupTek ATR3CMOS10300KMA (known by us as an ATR294M) incorporates the 10.3 megapixel Sony IMX492 CMOS sensor. This is a monochrome camera which is designed for long exposure deep-sky astrophotography.

The sensor in the ATR294M is a four thirds size (19.1 x 13.0mm) sensor with 4.63µm pixels. If you have a telescope with a focal length of 1000mm, your field of view will be 1.10° x 0.75°, at a resolution of 0.95 arcseconds per pixel. Note the Sony IMX492 is the monochrome version of the IMX294. The colour version of the sensor is found in the ToupTek ATR294C which is the reason the camera is called the ATR294M.

The ATR294M has a two-stage fan-forced Peltier cooling system which is capable of cooling the sensor up to 45°C below the ambient air temperature. This decreases image noise, especially over long exposures, and will therefore greatly increase the signal to noise ratio. This lower noise gives you a better image overall, because you can retrieve dark details of nebulas and galaxies in the darker areas. The designers of the camera have ensured that that heat transfers quickly away from the sensor.

The camera communicates with the computer using a USB3.0 cable (included with the camera). It has a native driver, but an ASCOM driver is also included. This means that normal image acquisition software (like NINA, Voyager, Sequence Generator Pro, etc.) can be used with the camera. In addition to this, the camera comes with an advanced video and image processing application ToupSky.