The QSI 583c camera employs an 8.3 megapixel Kodak KAF-8300 full-frame CCD image sensor with microlens technology. Integral Bayer RGB colour filter array allows Single-Shot colour imaging. The high quantum efficiency, wide dynamic range and low noise performance make the 583c ideally suited to a broad range of demanding astronomical, scientific and industrial imaging applications. The 22.5mm diagonal CCD in the 583c provides the largest field of view available in the QSI 500 Series. Mechanical Shutter The Model 583cs camera includes the internal mechanical shutter in the 'mid-size' camera body configuration. The mechanical shutter is employed to cover the CCD and simplify the creation of Dark and Bias frames for subsequent image processing. Single-Shot Colour Imaging Single-Shot colour imaging is made possible by overlaying the pixels on the CCD with an alternating red, green and blue colour filter matrix at the time of manufacture. This is the same technique used by the vast majority of colour video and still cameras to create colour images. Single-shot colour imaging eliminates the need to take a sequence of images through multiple colour filters and is essential for applications with moving subjects. For amateur astronomers currently imaging with a digital SLR, the QSI 583 provides a huge step up in image quality. With the increased sensitivity and much lower noise of the 583 you can capture many more images in the same night with comparable quality to what you're used to today, or capture images with much higher signal to noise ratio in the same amount of time. Make the most of your dark time! Colour and mono versions are available.