Apollo-M MINI USB3.0 Mono Camera (IMX429)

Product Overview

The Player One Astronomy Apollo-M MINI is a high-speed monochrome camera built for solar, lunar, and planetary imaging around Sony's 2/3″ IMX429 global-shutter CMOS sensor. Its 2.8-megapixel array (1944×1472) of 4.5µm pixels spans an 11mm diagonal, giving you a fine image scale that resolves small-scale solar and planetary detail, while a 256MB DDR3 buffer sustains up to 68 fps in 12-bit mode over USB 3.0. In high-frame-rate imaging the atmosphere is your limiting factor, so recording many frames during brief moments of steady seeing is what lets you stack the sharpest frames into a detailed final image.

Who It's For

This camera is aimed at solar and planetary imagers who want a compact monochrome sensor with a fine pixel scale and global-shutter capture. Because it is monochrome, it pairs naturally with narrowband solar setups (such as a hydrogen-alpha filter) and with a Daystar Quark or similar solar accessory. Its global shutter reads the whole frame at one instant, which suits fast, structured detail where rolling-shutter skew would distort the result. It is a capture camera for astrophotography, not a visual eyepiece — there is no visual use through it.

Key Features & Design

• Sony IMX429 mono global-shutter sensor: a 2/3″ CMOS chip with 4.5µm pixels and a peak quantum efficiency of ≈79%, giving a fine image scale for small solar and planetary features.
• Global shutter: the whole frame is exposed and read at once, eliminating the rolling-shutter distortion that can smear fast-moving or turbulent detail.
• Up to 68 fps: at full 1944×1472 resolution, with higher rates at reduced ROI (up to 238 fps at 640×480), so you can capture long, high-frame-count runs while the seeing is steady.
• Low read noise: 1.45e to 5.6e depending on gain, which helps preserve faint contrast in the solar chromosphere and in planetary features.
• 25ke full-well capacity and 12-bit ADC: for smooth tonal gradation across bright solar surfaces.
• 256MB DDR3 buffer and built-in ST4 port: stabilizes the high-speed USB 3.0 data stream and lets the camera double as a guide camera.

Optical/Mechanical Design

The Apollo-M MINI is housed in a compact 66mm-diameter body with a 12.5mm back focal distance, so it reaches focus in the same 1.25″ imaging trains used by other planetary cameras. The sensor sits behind a D32×2mm AR-coated (anti-reflection, multi-layer) protective window that suppresses internal reflections which would otherwise appear as halos on the bright solar disk. Key optical and mechanical figures:

• Sensor: Sony IMX429, 2/3″ mono CMOS, global shutter, 8.75mm×6.6mm imaging area, 11mm diagonal.
• Read noise: 1.45e–5.6e.
• Full well: 25ke.
• Frame rate: up to 68 fps at full resolution.
• Back focus: 12.5mm to the sensor.
• Connection: 1.25″ nosepiece and M42×0.75 threads; USB 3.0 / USB 2.0 interface.

Recommended Uses

• Solar imaging in white light or narrowband (hydrogen-alpha, calcium) with an appropriate solar filter or energy-rejection filter.
• High-resolution lunar and planetary imaging using lucky-imaging capture and stacking.
• Autoguiding through the built-in ST4 port when paired with a separate main imaging camera.

Compatibility & Accessory Notes

The Apollo-M MINI connects through its 1.25″ nosepiece or M42×0.75 female thread, so it drops into most Daystar Quark, dedicated solar scope, and standard telescope imaging trains. Its 12.5mm back focus matches Player One's other planetary cameras, which keeps spacing predictable when you add filters or a Barlow. Its 11mm sensor diagonal fits comfortably within a 1.25″ clear aperture. An optional Active Cooling System (ACS) is available for longer captures.

Good to Know Before You Order

• This is a monochrome camera. It records a single channel, which delivers maximum resolution and sensitivity for solar and planetary work but does not produce color images on its own; color requires filters and channel combination.
• It is a computer-connected capture device with no onboard storage or screen, so it operates while connected to a computer running capture software.
• Sustained high frame rates depend on a USB 3.0 connection; a USB 2.0 port still works but at reduced speed.

FAQ

Is it difficult to set up? Setup is straightforward: the camera threads or slides into your imaging train, connects by USB 3.0, and is recognized by common capture programs (such as SharpCap or the vendor's own software) through standard drivers. Most of your time goes into focusing and dialing in gain and exposure rather than into assembly.

Can I make color solar or planetary images with it? Yes, by combining exposures taken through separate filters. The monochrome sensor captures each channel at full resolution, which is why many advanced imagers prefer mono over one-shot-color for the Sun and planets.

What does the global shutter do for me? It exposes and reads the whole frame at the same instant, so fast or turbulent detail is not sheared the way it can be with a rolling shutter.

Can it autoguide? Yes. The built-in ST4 port lets it send guide corrections to a compatible mount.

Bottom Line

The Apollo-M MINI pairs a sensitive IMX429 global-shutter monochrome sensor with a fine pixel scale, low read noise, and high frame rates, making it a capable compact camera for detailed solar, lunar, and planetary imaging. Its 12.5mm back focus and 1.25″/M42 connections let it fit cleanly into the imaging trains you likely already own.