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Opticstar PL-131M COOLAIR
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High Speed Imaging at up to 220 Frames Per Second
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The PL-131M COOLAIR high speed video camera front and back.
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- Sensor: 1/2" CMOS Monochrome
- Sensor Resolution: 1280(H) x 1024(V)
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Frame Rate:
- 22 FPS @ 1280x1024
- 80 FPS @ 640x480 (ROI)
- 220 FPS @ 320x240 (ROI)
- USB 2.0 Powered
- Hardware Binning: 1x1, 2x2, 4x4
- Hardware Region of Interest (ROI)
- Hardware Gain
- Robust aluminium alloy body
- Air-Cooled with internal fan
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- Suitable for Planetary imaging or Auto-Guiding
- Bundled Software:
- Opticstar View
- etAMACAP
- Nebulosity Lite
- PHD Guiding
- Plug-in for MaxIm DL
- Plug-in for AstroArt
- Computer Requirements:
- Microsoft Windows (32-bit & 64-bit) XP/Vista/7/8/10
- USB 2.0 port
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The Opticstar hand-selected hi-grade A+ sensor installed in this camera
is noted for its uniform surface response and low noise required for
low light applications.
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Opticstar PL-131M COOLAIR
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Outline
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The PL-131M CoolAir fan-cooled camera offers exceptional performance
and versatility easily outperforming cameras costing considerably more.
The camera excels as a planetary (Solar and Lunar) camera with frame
rates of up to 220fps. It is also ideal as a guider or for industrial
inspection and microscopy applications. Gain, Region of Interest (ROI)
and binning are all features implemented in the hardware to deliver
exceptional performance.
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The PL-131M camera has been designed to deliver high image quality at
unusually high frame rates. The camera is capable of capturing an image
even at a minimum 1ms exposure (10secs max in single shot mode) at all
supported resolutions and with frame rates of up to 220fps.
The PL-131M camera requires a fully featured, full speed USB2.0 port to
take advantage of all the camera’s advanced features. Please refer to
Hardware Requirements lower in the page for more information and advice.
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Image by Lee Renshaw with PL-131C COOLAIR.
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Region of Interest – ROI
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ROI has been implemented in hardware and offers fast frame rates at the
expense of field of view. Frame rates of up to 220 frames per second are
possible. In addition the position of the ROI window can be set by the
user via the supplied software and repositioned as required.
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The above example shows the ROI in action. The user can resize (1280x1024,
640x480, 320x240) and reposition the ROI over the planet in this example so
as to dramatically increase frame rates from 22fps to 80fps and to 220fps
respectively without reducing the actual size of the planet, this remains
the same in all three images i.e. 306x204 pixels approximately. In practice
the ROI reveals and sends to the computer only a portion of the total sensor
area.
As such considerable amounts of detail can captured at these extreme speeds.
The size of single frames and video files are also greatly reduced resulting
in singe frames and AVI video files of 1/4 and 1/16 in size without
compromising image quality.
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R.O.I. Size
(in pixels) |
R.O.I. Position |
Frame Rate * |
Frame Size
(megapixels) |
1000 frames
AVI File Size |
Total Time for
1000 Frames* |
| 1280x1024 |
whole sensor area |
22fps |
1.3mp |
1300 MB |
46 seconds |
| 640x480 |
user definable x, y |
80fps |
0.325mp |
325 MB |
12.5 seconds |
| 320x240 |
user definable x, y |
220fps |
0.081mp |
81 MB |
4.6 seconds |
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* maximum (depends on computer hardware & assumes 1ms exposure time).
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Binning Modes
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Binning is implemented in the camera hardware for improved performance
and is useful when you need to increase the camera’s light sensitivity.
Binning increases light sensitivity at the expense of resolution, the
field of view remains the same in all binning modes. The camera uses
the whole of the sensor surface to collect photons and outputs the image
at different resolutions depending on the binning mode selected. The
diagram below is for illustration purposes and shows the effect of
binning as light sensitivity increases and resolution/image size
decreases, exposure time remains the same.
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| Binning Mode |
Resolution |
Sensitivity |
Binning |
Frame Rate |
| 1x1 |
1280x1024 |
x1 |
not applicable |
22fps |
| 2x2 |
640x480 |
x4 |
hardware |
80fps |
| 4x4 |
320x240 |
x16* |
hardware/software |
80fps |
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* maximum
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Hardware Gain
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Gain is implemented in the camera hardware and is useful in amplifying
the incoming signal. This feature is particularly useful when minimum
exposure times and/or maximum signal levels are required.
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Planetary, Lunar and Solar Imaging
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When imaging the Sun, Moon and planets atmospheric turbulence will have
an adverse effect on the quality of the image. As such the best way to
capture a high quality image of say a planet is by capturing hundreds
or thousands of frames in succession and in the minimum amount of time
possible. The resultant AVI video file can then be imported in say
AstroArt or the freely available Registax where the image frames can be
stacked by the software in a single final image of superior quality.
At a maximum frame rate of 220fps the PL-131M CoolAir is the ideal
planetary and Lunar camera offering high quality video streams while
dramatically reducing hard disk space requirements and the size of
captured video AVI files.
For planetary imaging we recommend running the camera at 1280x1024 with
the ROI set at 320x240. This ensures the highest image quality at the
highest speeds possible, i.e. 220fps. When long focal lengths are used
(i.e. over 6 meters for the larger planets) the camera ROI can be set
to 640x480 (80fps) to comfortably fit the planetary disk inside the ROI
window.
The 1/2" format sensor will accommodate focal lengths of around 12 meters
for the largest planets so that the projected planetary disk remains
smaller than the size of sensor. If the focal length used is around 12
meters you would use the camera at full resolution (22fps, ROI set to OFF).
For Lunar imaging setting the camera at 1280x1024 and the ROI at 320x240
will suit smaller Lunar features and/or when you want to draw out that extra
detail. Otherwise for medium sized Lunar features running the camera at
1280x1024 with the ROI set at 640x480 will offer the best option. If you
are interested in capturing as much of the area of the Moon as possible in
a single shot you will need to run the camera at its full 1280x1024 resolution
at 22fps (ROI set to OFF). What applies to the Moon also applies to the Sun
(full aperture Solar filter required).
Finally the camera’s high speed makes it ideal for imaging (and viewing) in
real time ‘fast moving’ targets like the International Space Station.
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Auto-guiding
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The PL-131M CoolAir camera can be used as a guide camera and offers a
number of features useful in auto-guiding sometimes not found in dedicated
guiding cameras.
Hardware binning allows your guide camera to reveal and guide on fainter stars.
Its ability to bin makes it ideal for guide scopes with shorter and longer
focal lengths as you can better match the guider scope’s focal length to the
size of the pixels. An on-board camera frame store ensures the highest
image quality and S/N ratios.
The camera needs an auto-guide controller like the Shoestring GPUSB
unit to be able to auto-guide with any ST-4 compatible mount. The Opticstar AG-131M CoolAir
is the auto-guiding version of the PL-131M CoolAir and includes the PL-131M CoolAir
camera as well as the Shoestring GPUSB unit.
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Other Applications
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The PL-131M CoolAir is very well suited to microscopy and machine inspection in
particular due to its high frame rates combined with high image quality. The
camera will perform well even under not ideal lighting conditions.
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Hardware Requirements
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The PL-131M CoolAir camera requires a fully featured, full speed USB2.0 port to take
advantage of all the camera’s advanced features. Fully featured USB2.0 ports
are rare in older laptops and not always present in entry level laptops.
PCMCIA/CardBus USB2.0 cards typically do not deliver full USB2.0 speeds and
will not work with USB2.0 high resolution video cameras including the PL-131M CoolAir.
To resolve such issues an ExpressCard (with a USB2.0 port) could be
used instead of a PCMCIA/CardBus card due to the ExpressCard's
superior speed of 2.5Gbit/s (480 Mbit/s through USB 2.0) per slot.
Express type cards use a 34mm slot where PCMCIA/CardBus cards use
54mm slots. An ExpressCard should be connected directly to the
computer and not via a PCMCIA/CardBus card.
Please note the ExpressCards will resolve USB related issues assuming
that the laptop data bus can support full ExpressCard speeds and is
fully implemented.
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The cooling mechanism.
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Computers with slower USB2.0 ports may still be able to capture at
full resolution but may be able to only transfer a user selectable
area (ROI 640x480 or 320x240) to the computer while sustaining image
resolution and high frame rates. This does not have a real effect
when imaging planets where video capture should ideally take place
at the smallest ROI size possible, typically 320x240 @ 220fps for
focal lengths to around 6 meters for planets like Jupiter or Saturn.
Always download and install the latest Windows and Direct X service
packs.
This does not have a real affect when imaging planets where video capture should ideally
take place at the smallest ROI size possible, typically 320x240 @ 220fps for focal
lengths to around 6 meters for planets like Jupiter or Saturn.
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The PL-131M COOLAIR with the nosepiece removed.
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Options
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Optionally, the PL-131M COOLAIR incorporates a removable x0.5 focal reducer nosepiece that can double
the field of view if required. An extension 5 metre USB lead with a USB repeater (amplifier)
is also available in cases where the camera will be used further away from the computer.
The camera comes with a C/CS ring and a 1.25" telescope adaptor threaded for filters.
A C/CS to T-thread adaptor is available as an optional extra. The camera will accept
standard C and CS mount lenses as well as T-thread lenses (with the optional adapter).
The PL-131M COOLAIR can also be mounted on standard photographic tripods as it incorporates
a 1/4" photographic female thread.
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Nosepieces from left to right: 1.25" adapter (supplied), t-thread adapter (optional), C ring (supplied).
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Bundled Software
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In addition to EMAMCAP, the camera is bundled with a number of software applications
including Opticstar View, Nebulosity Lite and PHD Guiding. Also there are
software plug-ins for third party applications such as AstroArt and MaxIm DL. The
most appropriate software to use depends on the particular application.
If maximum frame rates are required then the camera should be configured as a
Windows DirectShow/WDM device. Alternatively, if maximum light sensitivity is desired
then it should be used in native mode.
The PL-131C COOLAIR is supported natively in Nebulosity, PHD Guiding, AstroArt and MaxIm DL.
The camera can also be used as DirectShow/WDM video camera in EMAMCAP.
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Opticstar View - Camera Control Software
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The camera is recommended for lunar and solar (with a solar filter) imaging.
It includes Opticstar View software for image capture and camera control
with a point and click interface. It can capture single frames, a series of
single frames in BMP format or in AVI video format. The captured video data
can optionally be compressed if required in MPEG-4 format.
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Opticstar View for camera control and image processing.
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A brief outline of View’s image processing functions is listed below:
- Basic operations including Crop, Mirror, Flip, Invert, Rotate, Bright, etc.
- Copy and paste user defined regions.
- Distances can be measured between user defined points, circles, etc.
- Angles can be calculated by defining three points on the image.
- Operations can be performed on any user defined region.
- Colour operations can be performed on individual R, G, B channels.
- Data combine of two images.
- Data calibration.
- Image-zoom as a per cent of the original image.
- Linear filters to soften, sharpen, emboss, blur and Gaussian.
- Non-linear filters for median, erode, dilate, contour, edge and jitter.
- Transform filters for pinch, punch, twirl and cylinder.
- Fluorescence filters for gamma, colorize, mix and combine.
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EtAMCAP - Camera Control Software
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EtAMCAP is also bundled with the camera. It can be used to control the camera
and capture video in AVI format. This program does not include any image processing functionality
but the captured video files can be processed in other software such as Deep Sky Stacker,
Registax, Paintshop, Photoshop, etc.
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EtAMCAP camera control software.
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Image Quality
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The ability of the camera to capture and store high quality video to disk in real-time provides
the data required for stacking any number of frames to create a single greatly enhanced quality
image using image stacking software, these include Nebulosity (bundled with the camera),
the excellent AstroArt, the freely available
Registax and others.
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Specification
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| Model |
Opticstar PL-131M COOLAIR |
| Sensor |
Micron MT9C001 |
| Optical Format |
1/2" CMOS monochrome sensor (no IR filter) |
| Resolution |
1280(W) x 1024(H) |
| Pixel Size |
5.2µm x 5.2µm |
| Maximum Frame Rate |
22fps @ 1280x1024 maximum; 80fps @ 640x480; 220fps @ 320x240 |
| ADC |
8-bit |
| Shutter |
Electronic Rolling |
| Exposure Time |
Minimum 1ms; Maximum 10 seconds in native long exposure mode.
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| Computer Interface |
USB 2.0 with 1.8 metre (6 feet) of USB cable |
| Power Requirement |
USB Bus Power |
| Cooling |
Air-cooled from internal fan (USB powered) |
| Dimensions |
65mm (W) x 40mm (D) x 85mm (H) |
| Sensor Distance to Camera Front |
10.5mm (requires removal of internal spacers), 12.5mm & 17.5mm |
| Weight |
175 grams (6.25 oz) |
| Operating System |
Microsoft Windows (32-bit & 64-bit) XP/Vista/7/8/10 |
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PL-131 COOLAIR Sample Images
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Please click on the images below to expand to their full size.
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Jupiter by Lee Renshaw, England.
PL-131C, Meade LX90 8 ACF.
Click to enlarge.
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The Moon by Sathya Kumar Prasanna, India.
PL-131M, Newtonian 200mm.
Click to enlarge.
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The Sun by Tom Wakefield, England.
PL-131C, Coronado SolarMax II 60.
Click to enlarge.
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The Sun by Tom Wakefield, England.
PL-131C, Coronado SolarMax II 60.
Click to enlarge.
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The Sun by Tom Wakefield, England.
PL-131C, Coronado SolarMax II 60.
Click to enlarge.
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The Sun by Gary Palmer.
PL-131C, Coronado SolarMax II.
Click to enlarge to 1231x1004 pixels.
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The Sun by Gary Palmer.
PL-131C, Coronado SolarMax II.
Click to enlarge to 1203x859 pixels.
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Jupiter and Jovian moon.
Captured by Naoki Yokoo, Japan.
PL-131C, Maksutov 150mm.
2X achromatic barlow lens.
Click to expand to full size.
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The Sun.
Captured by Naoki Yokoo, Japan.
PL-131C, P.S.T.
2X achromatic barlow lens(only using the cell).
Click to expand to full size.
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The Moon.
Captured by Naoki Yokoo, Japan.
PL-131M, Maksutov 150mm.
Meade TeleXtender 3X.
Click to expand to full size.
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Jupiter and Jovian moon.
Captured by Naoki Yokoo, Japan.
PL-131M, Maksutov 150mm.
Meade TeleXtender 3X.
Click to expand to full size.
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The Sun.
Captured by Naoki Yokoo, Japan.
PL-131C, P.S.T.
Meade TeleXtender 3X.
Click to expand to full size.
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Jupiter and Jovian moon.
Captured by Naoki Yokoo, Japan.
PL-131C, achromatic refractor 90mm.
Meade TeleXtender 5X.
Click to expand to full size.
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Jupiter and Jovian moon.
Captured by Mike Garbett, United Kingdom.
PL-131C, 12" Dobsonian.
Click to expand to full size.
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Notice
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We are constantly checking the accuracy of the technical data. We are prepared to provide
more detailed information on request. Technical data is subject to change without notice.
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