The ORCA-Flash4.0 scientific CMOS camera from Hamamatsu includes ImageConductor Connectivity, a built-in camera function that automatically senses which of the camera’s two output connections, USB 3.0 or Camera Link, is being used. The ORCA-Flash4.0 has both USB 3.0 and Camera Link connections - the standard product comes supplied with a USB 3.0 board and cable only. The default USB 3.0 configuration provides 30 frames per second imaging at the full 2K x 2K resolution. If a faster frame rate is needed, the camera can be upgraded, without any modifications to the camera, by purchasing the high-speed PCI x8 Camera Link board and cable. The addition of the Camera Link board to a user’s computer makes 100 frames per second of full-resolution data possible.

This scientific CMOS camera has quantum efficiency values of over 70% at 600 nm and 50% at 750 nm. When evaluating camera performance, the noise specification is rms noise. In every configuration and at every speed, the ORCA-Flash4.0 has 1.9 electrons rms (1.3 electrons median) read noise. Additionally, the ORCA-Flash4.0 features 6.5 μm × 6.5 μm pixel size, suitable for microscopic applications. The ORCA-Flash4.0 camera is intended for microscopy applications such as super-resolution microscopy, TIRF microscopy, ratio imaging, high-speed calcium ion imaging, FRET, and real-time confocal microscopy.

Hamamatsu