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The new all-in-one device ASI2600MC Air

ZWO ASIAIR ZWO ASI2600MC AIR CMOS Review
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Luca Bartek avatar
Luca Bartek avatar
I purchased and tried out the new all-in-one ASI2600MC Air:

As long as you wish to use it as it's meant to be used - what ZWO calls a "smart camera" - it works like a charm, including bluetooth-based wireless connectivity to the mount.

As soon as you want to do anything ever so slightly different from that, it's very painful. They claim compatibility with AsiStudio as well as anything ASCOM based, but it's truly a struggle to make it work, and even when you make it work, it's practically unusable for imaging.

What do you all think? Is this the direction we're going in? I think this may be the product that bridges the gap between the SeeStar and traditional rigs. I welcome any innovation that brings more people into the hobby so I fully support this product, but they need to tone down the "ascom compatibility" marketing because it's just not usable at all.

My full test and review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLhjlrSIgE&t=509s
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Gilmour Dickson avatar
Gilmour Dickson avatar
Good job Luca.  I don't think it is the direction we are going in.  I think it is a bit misguided even for ZWO…  I could sort of understand it with a 585 or 533, but with a APS-C sensor. No.  It makes no sense to me.  Okay, a few people with specific mobile cases might like it, but when an asiair mini exists (and a couple of cables) that is a bit bigger than a box of matches and doesn't restrict your camera in this way, well.  No.  It just doesn't fulfil any need I have or even can imagine.
Luca Bartek avatar
Luca Bartek avatar
Gilmour Dickson:
I could sort of understand it with a 585 or 533


I wouldn't be surprised if a 533 air came out next year. Whoever is super into new stuff and can, will buy the 2600 now, and next year if they make a 533MC Air, a bunch more people will buy that one for half the price. I think there must have been a similar idea behind releasing the more expensive AM5 before a smaller AM3. Had they released the small version first, they would've missed out on a lot of sales to people who could buy the am5 but didn't necessarily need the higher weight capacity. It must be a similar approach here.
Charles Hagen avatar
Charles Hagen avatar
I truly hope this isn't the direction that the industry is moving towards, but there is too much of a financial incentive for companies not to. The locked down ecosystem of the ASIAir and ZWO products is very detrimental in my view, and packaging even more things into that ecosystem will only make that worse. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if ZWO stopped selling standalone cameras entirely and made the default version of their cooled cameras "Air" models. Definitely not something I am excited for. I have loved the fact that so much of the software we use is open source and community built, NINA for example is fantastic and has grown at an incredible pace. Its a real shame to see the closed off corporate stuff creeping in. Ive definitely personally decided I wont be buying ZWO hardware anymore as I do not want to support their vision.
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Tony Gondola avatar
Tony Gondola avatar
Well, it's marketing so I get it. In a way, us hard-core astro-imagers really isn't the dream market for them. The more attractive they can make things to the general public the better. I mean, look at it. Anyone with a small amount of experience and a heavy wallet can buy a complete ZWO setup and start doing somewhat advanced imaging right away. I really think that's the market ZWO wants, we just happen to benefit. I'm happy to buy ZWO cameras as long as the price/performance calculation is there. On the other hand, I would never buy an ASI-AIR.
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peng155 avatar
peng155 avatar
I can see ZWO coming out with a few iterations of this….. You basically do away with two extra items (an ASIair, and guide scope) and a bunch of extra cabling… for someone who is looking to cut down on weight if they're hiking in to a dark site…. sure why not.

I think it sort of expensive, but I haven't looked at what a cost break down for individual components would be…… Plus I take it for what it is, another tool (camera) to add to the tool box.. But combining it all into one unit… that can make trouble shooting a guiding or imaging problem difficult at best, and if something in the unit goes belly-up… well then what??

I'm starting to gravitate away from an all ZWO/ASI setup now that I have some imaging and guiding experience under my belt, The ASiair was an easy setup and it got me going in a relatively short time, but  I'll start to use and learn N.I.N.A and PHD2….. run one ASIair rig and a N.I.N.A/PHD2 rig at the same time / same target to get to learn the programs… but I'll probably still use the ZWO stuff since it works for me..
Joe avatar
Joe avatar
I think ZWO should first create a proper pier tripod for the AM5 that doesn’t interfere with the telescope.
and If they are going to release an all-in-one package like this, I would have preferred them to prioritize a successor to the asi294 without amp glow first.
Luca Bartek avatar
Luca Bartek avatar
Joe:
I would have preferred them to prioritize a successor to the asi294 without amp glow first


They are just releasing cameras based on whatever sensor is available on the market - I have the same thoughts about a "2400 mono". I wish they had a full frame camera with larger pixels. As long as Sony doesn't do it, it won't happen!
Speaking of a proper pier, it should include the option of a built-in rechargeable battery, that could be cool!