Remember the Singapore-based startup, TinyMOS, that made the world’s smallest astronomy camera? Well, they have just wiped their own world’s smallest astronomy camera title with another even tinier astronomy camera called NANO1. And as the product name suggests, it is really, really, small. In fact, it is no bigger than the GoPro Hero7 Black, measuring just 62.5 x 42 x 28.8 mm (2.46 x 1.65 x 1.13 inches) and weighing mere 100g (3.5 oz) with kit lens.
An astronomy camera the size of an action cam? Imagine that! However, despite its diminutive size, this little fellow packs all the bells and whistles that makes it a formidable astrophotography camera. Hardware-wise, it gets a 12 MP Sony IMX377 Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS sensor, an IPS touchscreen, 6-axis gyroscope, a removable 1,200 mAh battery good for 100 minutes of use, microSD storage, built-in WiFi, and dual lens mounts that allows both M12 lenses and C mount lens, like those professional Cine optics or adapted SLR lens and telescopes, to be used with NANO1.
The kit lens, btw, is a 170 degrees lens with 2.8 focal length and f2.8 aperture. NANO1 is capable of recording at up to 4K60, captures JPEG or RAW images, and astronomy exposure presets that takes the science out of astronomy photography. And it has this thing called “Augmented Reality Star Map” that guides you through the stars and constellations when tethered to a smartphone.
TinyMOS smart algorithm promised best image capture settings, while patented noise reduction algorithm helps to further clean up any noise that maybe present, so your images can be shared right there and then without the need for post-production. Speaking of which… this being 2018, NANO1 can, of course, let you share the captured images instantly via your smartphone – thanks to the in-built dual-band WiFi feature.
Finally, NANO1 can also execute ‘prime focus’, an astrophotography technique where the camera (in this case, the NANO1) is reverse mounted onto a telescope. Basically, prime focus involves using the telescope as a long-ass camera lens. Prime focus enables NANO1 to collect light at 25x intensity, allowing long exposures to be made in 1/25 the normal amount of time. This translates to capturing an hour of exposure in just 3 minutes. And it can do so without loss in field of view.
TinyMOS NANO1 Astronomy Camera went live on Kickstarter a couple of days ago. If you are down for it, you can secure a unit by backing the campaign. Unfortunately, though, the special price of S$389 (US$283) is gone. If you back it now, you are looking at an invest of S$479 or more (About US$349 and up). The good news is, if the campaign gets funded, you could be seeing this awesome astrophotography gadget as soon as March 2019.
All images courtesy of TinyMOS.
