2009 Astro Press Releases

CCD cameras and software used to capture world largest ground-based lunar image

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – September 28, 2009 - Lumenera Corporation, www.lumenera.com, a leading manufacturer and developer of high performance digital cameras and custom imaging solutions for scientific, industrial, and surveillance markets, is pleased to announce that a Guinness World Record was set for The Largest Ground-based Digital Lunar Mosaic using the SKYnyx2-0 and INFINITY2-1 camera series.

The Lunar World Record Team, featuring some of the world's foremost amateur astronomy imagers from the UK, gathered on April 2009 to create a high resolution image of the moon larger than any other taken by ground-based astronomers. Lumenera’s professional astronomy cameras were combined with high-end amateur telescopes and special software to capture close to 1.2 million video frames of the 9-day old Moon over a single night. 288 individual images were than meticulously pieced together and colour balanced to create a seamless single mosaic. The record breaking mosaic is 87.4 megapixel in resolution with a Moon diameter of approximately 9550 pixels, allowing for features as small 0.6 miles to be seen.

To achieve the high focal length needed for the Guinness World Record the Lunar World Record Team chose Lumenera’s SKYnyx2-0 and INFINITY2-1 CCD cameras. The cameras, running at 30fps, were used with a red filter which included IR block coating to prevent blooming and glare in the night time images. The team also used Lumenera’s LuCam Software to gather the captured data from the cameras.

Sales of the Guinness World Record setting image will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. In support of this remarkable astronomy achievement, fund raising competitions were held by Lumenera’s employees and contributions raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust were matched by the Corporation.

“I am very proud our cameras were selected for this ambitious and innovative undertaking.” stated Huw Leahy, President, Lumenera Corporation. “Congratulations to the UK-based Lunar World Record Team for this notable achievement and their support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.”

For more information or to purchase a poster of the image visit www.lunarworldrecord.com, or contact Lumenera at marketing@lumenera.com.

About Lumenera
Lumenera Corporation, a division of Roper Industries, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, is a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance digital cameras and custom imaging solutions. Lumenera cameras are used worldwide in a diverse range of industrial, scientific and security applications.

Lumenera solutions provide unique combinations of speed, resolution and sensitivity in order to satisfy the most demanding digital imaging requirements. Lumenera customers achieve the benefit of superior price to performance ratios and faster time to market with the company's commitment to high quality, cost effective product solutions. For further information about Lumenera, please visit www.lumenera.com or call 613-736-4077. To receive Lumenera press releases as they are issued, contact us at marketing@lumenera.com.

Excellent color reproduction and unbeatable price — capture high quality images with the SKYnyx2-1

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – July, 20, 2006 -Lumenera Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance digital cameras and imaging solutions, today announced the introduction of the SKYnyx2-1 – its newest product offering for the popular SKYnyx CCD camera series.

The SKYnyx2-1 presents astrophotographers with yet another exceptional megapixel camera for solar, lunar and planetary imaging. The SKYnyx2-1 delivers outstanding performance with a 1.4 megapixel CCD image sensor, and supports 15 frames per second at full 1392 x 1040 resolution, ROI, binning, and a signal to noise ratio of 66dB. As with the entire line of Lumenera cameras, no framegrabber is required. Simple plug-and-play through a USB 2.0 interface allows for fast image capture and transfer. Offered with both color and monochrome capability, SKYnyx cameras are fully integrated with the most popular astrophotography software applications available today.

 “This recent addition to our CCD camera line provides exceptional sensitivity and low noise characteristics.” stated Obiora Okoye, SKYnyx Product Manager, Lumenera Corporation. “We have had tremendous success with our SKYnyx camera series since we launched in May 2006. The SKYnyx2-1 will ensure our success continues, offering customers another cost-effective solution.”

The SKYnyx2-1 is now available. For more information visit www.lumenera.com.

About Lumenera
Lumenera Corporation, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, is a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance digital cameras and custom imaging solutions. Lumenera cameras are used worldwide in a diverse range of industrial, scientific and security applications.

Lumenera solutions provide unique combinations of speed, resolution and sensitivity in order to satisfy the most demanding digital imaging requirements. Lumenera customers achieve the benefit of superior price to performance ratios and faster time to market with the company's commitment to high quality, cost effective product solutions. For further information about Lumenera, please visit www.lumenera.com or call 613-736-4077. To receive Lumenera press releases as they are issued, contact us at marketing@lumenera.com.

Purpose built solution for planetary, solar and lunar imaging offering excellent color reproduction and unbeatable price

OTTAWA, ON – May 15, 2006 -Lumenera Corporation, a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance digital cameras and imaging solutions, today announced the launch of SKYnyx - a new line of CCD astro imaging cameras offering high sensitivity for lunar, planetary and solar imaging.

Further expanding its product portfolio, Lumenera has leveraged its leading-edge product design and reliability to create this new line of USB 2.0 megapixel cameras. Built on Lumenera’s latest generation platform, SKYnyx cameras offer reduced noise levels and power consumption than their predecessors, and eclipse the imaging performance of webcams and astro cameras found on the market today.

The SKYnyx product line features two distinct cameras offering high frame rates, low noise and superior bit-depth for stunning image quality and contrast:

SKYnyx2-0
Capture crisp, clear images with this 640x480 pixel format camera. Excellent sensitivity allows for high framerates with 60 fps at full resolution, >100 fps with ROI and binning. The SKYnyx2-0 is based on the Lu075’s proven technology, named a Hot Product for 2006 by Sky & Telescope Magazine.

SKYnyx2-2
Based on Lumenera’s line of purpose-built industrial and scientific cameras, the SKYnyx2-2provides exceptional sensitivity and low noise. This camera delivers outstanding performance with 2.0 megapixel resolution, ROI, binning, and a signal to noise ratio of >60dB.
As with the entire line of Lumenera cameras, no framegrabber is required. Simple plug-and-play through a USB 2.0 interface allows for fast image capture and transfer.  Offered with both color and monochrome capability, SKYnyx cameras are fully integrated with the most popular astrophotography software applications available today. 

“This new line of cameras is aimed at amateur and professional astrophotographers who demand improved sensitivity and performance,” commented Obiora Okoye, SKYnyx Product Manager, Lumenera Corporation. “Leveraging the advanced capabilities of our existing camera line, SKYnyx cameras provide exceptional performance at an affordable price and reinforce our leadership position in the astro imaging market.”

Damien Peach, a world-renowned amateur astrophotographer, has had much success with Lumenera’s suite of astro imaging cameras. “These cameras have yielded the detailed view of two storms merging, and the discovery of Jupiter Jet Stream acceleration. The combination of these cameras coupled with modern telescopes, finally arms amateurs with the tools to reveal planetary detail previously only seen by spacecrafts.”

Sold through independent distribution channels, SKYnyx cameras are now shipping with unit pricing beginning at US$995 for the SKYnyx2-0, and US$2,295 for the SKYnyx2-2. Due to customer demand, plans are already in place for expanding the SKYnyx camera line in the coming months.

About Lumenera
Lumenera Corporation, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, is a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance digital cameras and custom imaging solutions. Lumenera cameras are used worldwide in a diverse range of industrial, scientific, security and astrophotography applications.

Lumenera solutions provide unique combinations of speed, resolution and sensitivity in order to satisfy the most demanding digital imaging requirements.  Lumenera customers achieve the benefit of superior price to performance ratios and faster time to market with the company’s commitment to high quality, cost effective product solutions.  For further information about Lumenera, please visit www.lumenera.com or call 613-736-4077. To receive Lumenera press releases as they are issued, contact us at marketing@lumenera.com.