My Patreon: www.patreon.com/cuivlazygeek My Merch Store: cuiv.myspreadshop.com/ Buy the SV605MC Pro camera: bit.ly/4cC0ohq (use coupon Cuiv20 for a further $20 dollars off!) SVBony SHO filters review: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BwMT_7FgVS0.html ZWO ASI533MM Pro: bit.ly/3D2wL8z (Agena) or bit.ly/3LH2HDS (HPS) or tinyurl.com/4ujcrbwp (FLO) Amazon affiliate: amzn.to/49XTx01 Agena affiliate: bit.ly/3Om0hNG High Point Scientific affiliate: bit.ly/3lReu8R First Light Optics affiliate: tinyurl.com/yxd2jkr2 All-Star Telescope affiliate: bit.ly/3SCgVbV Astroshop eu Affiliate: tinyurl.com/2vafkax8
Here's a use-case for this camera: quad-barreled setups. get the beefiest harmonic mount you can find that can support four newts in a 2x2 array, one filter each, put the OAG on the lum tube, pray you have enough disk space, call it a day (or night). If you align the tubes correctly, it'd probably be the most laziest of setups, given you now only need 1/4 of the time to get your usual subs. Of course you might have to explain to local authorities why you have what looks like a SAM site for a roofdeck/balcony, but that's a small price to pay to be lazy, yeah?
@@CuivTheLazyGeek I'm very interested in how guys actually do the arrays, does everyone go custom controlled, or do they use something like voyager array, I figure maybe bob's ACP has a solution for that... multiple micro pc's or pi's or whatever would be completely out of the question for sure, too much of a pain.
Hundredths of dollars cheaper than the alternatives, and at the end of the day the images will be virtually indistinguishable. I'd go definitively for the SVbony. This hobby is so expensive that I prefer to accept small compromises for big bucks savings.
I purchased a SV605MC back in April on pre-order and it arrived last week. Got it delivered for less than £520 and it also included a sv305 camera that I can use for guiding. Over £330 cheaper than the next cheapest IMX533 mono sensor camera I can get here in the UK. Tested for first time last week and impressed with the results. Cooling performance not much of an issue here, got to -11 C overnight. I don't currently use the usb hub on my camera so can live with having an additional usb hub if I need to add a filter wheel
Hi Cuiv, nice breakdown on this camera, Ime not so keen on a square mono sensor, but have been looking at the Svbony 405cc similar in form to the 605 but offers a 294C sensor much like the ASI variant but costing far less, are you likely to review a 405CC at some point ? I know these have a well known amp glow issue but I had no probs calibrating having owned an Altair 294C fan cooled version some years ago ( yes I should have should have bought the Pro Tec version 🥴) however I really liked the sensor...and due to being on a budget (retired and old🥴) the SV405CC looks a good option. With limited reviews online Ime on the fence committing to getting one.. Thanking you, Atb wishing you every success with the channel, Regards from Tom in UK..
Cuiv, another very informative video thanks. When talking about banding, I noticed last night when making dark flat-frames with my ASI 533MC pro cooled camera, a rectangular box that was about 25% of the full square frame. It was a slightly lighter shade than the larger part of the whole subframe. Also after cooling to -10c some small black dots appeared in the flat-frames. Have you seen anything like these artefacts before? I also use an ASI 294mm pro and have heard that the cooling for the sensor is only -35c from ambient, but have had no issues with achieving -10c though I tend to use it in colder seasons only. The lack of a USB hub could be a problem and SVBony obviously think that price competitiveness is more important than a feature such as this.
Very helpful review. I've been looking at the 533 monochrome cameras for a niche application: EAA to capture Arp Galaxies, most of which are dim (mag 13 or dimmer) and small. I'd be using to leverage the greater light gathering of a monochrome sensor, delivering a monochrome final image, most probably in Bin 2 on a 2,300mm telescope. So I'm not worried about a filter wheel and, observing from NY state mostly during galaxy season, the cooler is more than adequate. On the other hand, the lack of a dew heater might be an issue....
Since usual night ambient temperature during imaging season here is -10 to -25c, and I have usb hub I think I might actually go for this, performance is a lot better than I expected.
I have a Svbony SV405C, and I'm quite happy with it, but I've encountered the same issue with its weak cooling capabilities. To be 100% accurate, we need to measure the power consumption, not just the temperature. If I'm not mistaken, the power consumption at 100% is about 24-25W instead of the 30-35W of my Touptek. I would be happy if the cooler were as power-efficient as those of other brands, even though it has less TEC power.
Aha, very interesting! I don't know that there would be huge differences between power efficiency of Peltier units though, there's not a million ways to make one, but maybe the size is important. Very good points!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Hi, Cuiv, I measured the power consumption of my Svbony SV405C and ToupTek 2600C at full power (with the front heater disabled). The results are almost identical: 21.61W for the SVBONY and 22.93W for the ToupTek. If they use the same temperature sensors, it looks like the SVBONY cooler isn’t great ;).
First, thank you Cuiv for the review video. Second, I am not into a square sensor of astro camera unless this Square is much larger than 1", no matter which brand or what version as mono or OSC. Third, I am waiting SVBony to make IMX571 version camera too, in mono if possible, with nice lower price than competitors, maybe same or slightly less than ToupTek, because ZWO and QHY and Player One all united to have much higher price of it, and some European rebranded too. Forth, thank you again Cuiv.
There is always a reason why something is considerably cheaper, and in this case I think you've explained it pretty well. I have the Altair cooled 533 OSC camera which is more or less identical to the Touptec version and sells fo around the same price. If SV Bony added the USB hub, a better cooler and the LED display that these cameras have I don't think there would be such a price difference. SV Bony are obviously adopting a barebones approach to some of their products to keep costs down. So long as they work I see nothing wrong with this. People will make their own mind up on whether they think these cameras are worth considering or not, its nice to have the choice.
Exactly! Barebones for cheaper is an option that's available, whether that's good enough for people (or not) is completely up to them! I can just point out the flaws!
I have the 533 OSC and Mono ZWO sensors. And I love it but I have to completely agree with you Cuiv. Without USB Hub and cooling problems Svbony better start working on it.
I'd enjoy you doing a regular segment that is formatted like an equipment review, but from the perspective of "reviewing" a seasonal astrophotography target. You can highlight different aspects of the target and talk about which equipment, sky conditions, and processing techniques are needed to get specific results. I assume fair use would be in play to show aspects of other astrophotographers' images to highlight the differences of equipment and processing and what they achieve on the target. Being seasonal, you'd always have objects to talk about and it would be very informative to less experienced audience members. If there is a lull in equipment reviews, you can do a feature video about an especially interesting target.
But QHY mono cameras have a special port to connect to theirs electronic wheels and is a breeze to use it. I have a QHY 294 mono and one of their wheels, it connects with a very short and nice cable and appears as a separate ascom device on Nina and etc. Very well integrated and easy to use
Since I already have the zwo 533mm, it's great for many things, but during the summer, I like to have a wider field of view with all the nebulae around this time of the year, so it just happens that I bought the other Svbony camera, the 294 OSC for that purpose, which has a 4/3rd sensor. The 533 is fantastic of partial nebula or planetary or smaller objects, but using it for a few months could trigger a sensorsizalitis, which is a medical condition can only be cured by getting a camera with a larger sensor. 😂
I bought this camera but the OSC model (SV605CC) in April and had it for 4 months. I returned it and was fully refunded by SVBony. I found and reported to SVBony some problems with the camera (eaten stars / deformed pixels missing signal, amp glow, rgb channel disalignment and cooling unsuficient on very hot days). You can read my report on CN too.
Thanks for the feedback! The eaten stars and channel misalignment may be due to cosmetic correction - it appears as a setting in NINA, and I made sure to turn it off!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Those problems were on all raw files and I am using KStars on Linux for capturing images. But the same happened with AstroDMX. I made a full analisys on the problem on CN foruns. I found no options corresponding to that option on both software I used. I also have a SV705C (imx585) and I have no problems whatsoever using exactly the same driver.
@@CuivTheLazyGeek It happens on raw files captured with KStars or AstroDMX. None of them is doing pixel correction. I also have a SV705C using the exact same driver and have no problems at all. I made a detailed report on CN about this problem.
Hey Cuiv! Thanks once again for a great video. I am relatively new to the hobby, and would not be anywhere near as accomplished as I am for that short period of time without your videos. I am very grateful! I am in Chicago, where like Tokyo, the weather in July and January presents certain....challenges. I have been considering this addition recently: www.avalon-instruments.com/products-menu/upas/universal-polar-alignment-system-detail I know it is not for everyone, and I have gotten my polar aligning down to less than 5 minutes consistently with my AM5 using either the ASIAir or NINA, but I have a reason for considering this purchase...other than pure laziness. I must shoot from my 2nd-story rooftop to get any kind of view of the sky and even then I only get about 200 degrees of freedom. I must carry my gear to the peak of the roof, set it up, and weigh it down there. The gradient isn't too steep, but nevertheless, each trip up and down represents some danger, especially in January (and the mosquitos in July are not fun either). In January, in the cold, icy, slippery conditions, anything that would allow me to spend less time on the roof of the house is worth considering, imho. Would love to see you contact Avalon and see if they'd provide you with a UPAS to review. I know it's a chunk of cash, but it is very tempting... Would love to hear/see what you think.
Gotta be honest, having the extra usb ports on the camera are not as much of a plus for me. I have 3 different ZWO models.. and on each of them.. if I have a connection problem with something that is using one of those ports, say the autofocuser or the filter wheel, reseating those cables seems to mess up the camera (unable to download image files for example) and I have to reboot the imaging PC.. and start a new cooling run. I now try to avoid using those ports. The imx533 is such a low noise camera, i bet the less efficient cooling doesn't hurt it as much. I think the bigger questions would be how good is there support and how are repairs handled, both in and out of warranty. Regardless, good to see some competition. :)
Thanks Cuiv. I'm not a fan of ZWO's marketing and trying to get people sucked into their ecosystem but I'm sticking with ZWO for the USB, cooling and reliability.
Great video thanks :). Weren't you comparing cooling performance to smaller sensor cameras which would be easier to cool , or have I misunderstood? Also, USB hubs are cheap and to me it seems odd to route other electronics via the camera that would want to keep cool and noise free - though I've never tried it :)
"Sensor linear to: 59.6 %." That is alarming. Without measuring it directly by varying exposures, it's difficult to say where it's just some variance in a single datapoint, or if the sensor is actually defective. As far as I know, IMX533 should be linear.
As I recall when I was watching the process live, there was some loss of linearity towards the high end of the gain at gain 500+, so I don't think it would be such an issue, but good catch!
The 605cc had a serious banding issue.. is it the monochrome any better?. Also the color version is selling for 750€ with vat so for a bit more I go for the Ares C pro.
Here in Australia its not worth it as its almost same price as the asi533mc... goes for 1088 aud on eBay's svbony site, whereas the asi533mc pro is 1100 bucks!!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Or, inversely, they decided to not do the USB hub and that decision opened the possibility to use lower quality/capacity power components. Either way- run something at near upper capacity for long enough and it will eventually break. Ultimate red flag on this one for me. I'll pass. An endurance test of it doing maximum cooling and max rez at high frames until it breaks would be interesting...
I own the SV405CC which was their first cooled camera. Their Beyer implementation is GRGB. There were many problems with the cooling when it was first released leading to pulsing power control for cooling - like a saw tooth wave - which they did address. As with all 294 cameras the sensor is incredibly difficult to calibrate, some gain ranges will not calibrate at all. Now that they have matured the drivers the camera appears to function better, but I've never been able to get any stunning images with it, the data seems to battle you. I would be interested in a 571 implementation to test - but as of yet they have not release one - I would be surprised if they are not in development though. I would quite like a SV605CC but after my 405CC experience I have been a bit put off.
I think the cooling issue may be a bigger problem - how much strain would the excessive work at cooling have on the longevity of the camera? I wouldn't want to buy something that is a little cheaper if I will need to replace it a lot sooner than a ZWO camera.
That's a good point! I'm not sure how sensitive Peltier units, as solid state stuff, are to this though - I've heard crazy numbers on their longetivity, so I'm not sure it would be such an issue, but time will tell!
The lack of USB hub is not a dealbreaker, it is just a feature. You simply don’t pay for it if you don’t want it in this camera. I personally would run another cable through my mount for the focuser and save the money. This may be a good option for some, but not if you need that extra USB port lol.
Been following your feed and decided to purchase a Touptek ATR585c camera. Now that I have it obtaining focus has been a trial. Using the SV503ed 80mm, focus/reducer, focuser fully extended without extension tubes. Can you recommend any change in order to obtain a image in sharpcap, nina, etc.?
Hey Cuiv, what would you think of using a 071 sensor in 2024, is it still worth it? Especially if you want apsc size but dont have the budget for an imx571. Thanks!
I have that too. Be aware of the larger sensor pixel size, I think it's 4.8 microns, vs the 3.75 micron on the 2600. On lower focal lengths you may have to drizzle 2X with your stacking software if you end up getting square looking stars. I'm at 500mm focal length most of the time and I don't really need to drizzle, but still do it anyway. At higher focal lengths it actually works better than the 2600, having those larger sensor pixels.
Thanks Cuiv for this review! I was wondering if cutting off that air inlet grill (looks very thick) a replace it with a thinner mesh would improve the airflow and the cooling capability 🤔
The color version (SV605CC) is currently on sale for $559 USD, compared to this mono (SV605MC) at $629 USD. If I really needed another camera, I'd probably buy one from SVBONY. I'm in a fairly dry climate and the lack of an internal dew heater doesn't impact me. I don't like their naming scheme though, probably because of how many MC and MM cameras I have from ZWO.
To be completely fair, numerous members on Cloudy Nights forum have reported very different cooling performance between mono and OSC versions of the same ZWO sensor, specifically the IMX571 (ASI2600) models. With the 2600MM being notably worse than the MC version.
I bought this camera in April and arived last week. unfortunatly the wether doesnt't seem to cooperate (as usual when new equipment arrives) but i took the risk for the budget. Noticed the strugle to cool down but not the amp glow (maybe the darks are to shorts -120") . Clear skies
I have the qhy version and personally I don't mind about the usb hub. I'd rather have better cooling and integrated dew heater. I can always spend $10 more and buy a usb hub, but it's more cables lol
It would be a good starter camera coming from a dslr but if you're already using cooled cameras this would be a step down Tbh. It has a place in the market but I would rather buy a used zwo compared to a new svbony.
Thank you Cuiv for another great review. Please test the PlayerOne 533 mono camera. That one is on sale (same price as the ZWO) and seems to have more bang for the buck.
As much as the trend seems to be now for the anodised red. Can I say that grey silver look with your WarpAstron mount looks fantastic. On the budget front that’s not bad really, their current sale I can get a 2” filter wheel on the bundle for a extra 50usd so still less than a ZWO
