Are ZWO planning on releasing any new 1.25 inch cameras in the near future that can be used for guiding and DSO imaging?
The competition already have more useful sensor sizes IMX585 colour and soon to be mono cameras releasing. A 183 in a 1.25 format camera would be an even better size.
Forwarded this suggestion to our team, thank you.
Forgot to add a IMX533 in this 1.25 format will also be good and the sensor is proven for uncooled deep sky work due to the no amp glow tech.
The question is how long will it take ZWO to bring such a camera to market as the 1.25 inch segment hasn't been updated much, 220 being the last but not a major sensor size upgrade from the 120. For OAG guiding larger sensors are better, but the price also needs to be competitive and distanced from the planetary/DSO camera price brackets.
Tech@ZWO A 1.25 inch camera.
The ZWO 1.25 inch range is quite old other than the 220, but that sensor is tiny and I'm unsure of its DSO potential. The 174 is larger but quite old and has large pixels (and the 1.25 version doesn't have usb 3 type speeds due to an older usb 2 socket) and needs a successor with smaller pixels, USB C fast data speed etc etc.
A IMX585 would be a modern update, so would the IMX533 (but maybe a bit more niche?). There are likely other new sensors which can fit the bill, the camera price wise shouldn't infringe on the other ZWO planetary range. One of the benefits of a 1.25 format is you have more control of backfocus adjustment depth for OAG use and inside microfocusers as well as other setups where you need to insert into a scope, something you cannot do with other cameras.