Hey Angus. I have an issue with my AA294C that I sent Altair an email about months ago. I also contact Land Sea & Sky, where I bought the camera and neither have got back to me. Do you have a specific contact ghat I can try? Haven't been able to use that camera in some time. It is still under warranty as I bought it in late August.
@@nocturneastro2539 hey Angus, yeah I got it worked out. Nick at Altair Astro looked into it and got it figured out. Ended up being a fault camera and I have since been sent a replacement. All in good in the cosmos.
If you do, push for a factory repair or exchange. Don't crack it open yourself (makes no sense to buy something and then do additional repairs at your own risk)
I’m glad you had a good experience with Altair Astro. I had the complete opposite experience with them. This comment is being written one year after this video was shot so maybe their support has degraded since then. I bought the 26C from Altair and it arrived completely non responsive. Altair asked me to ship the camera back to them in the UK so they could look at it. It cost me $250 to ship in the way they asked. They said there was nothing wrong with the camera and were going to ship it back to me and not provide me any offset of the cost I incurred to ship it to them. I would rather they shipped me a new camera off the shelf because I wasn’t interested in receiving what sounded like an intermittently defective camera back, but they weren’t interested in doing that so I had to fight just to get my money refunded. I am still out $250 for shipping it back to them as they requested. I’d avoid Altair altogether and look at QHY or the base manufacturer for all of these cameras - Touptek and Risingcam.
Please note that Altair don't actually make this camera its a rebrand, A company called ToupTek that makes them and they get rebranded by all sorts of companies. The fact that this camera and ZWO's have the same exact issue is super interesting! Can't be that the same OEM makes both?
Orion telescopes also has the G26C which has the same IMX571 sensor. Altair seems very good with support. I was surprised that ZWO has ppl do the repair. this will definitely steer me away from ZWO. I've always had similar great support from Orion Telescopes. congrats on the mono camera replacement. I'm working on getting the Mono IMX571. I've always loved the Altair Purple!! clear skies.
spoiler aletrn, Oion, Altair astro, Omegon, Rising cam, are all rebranded Touptek cameras with some firmware tweaks.For consumer market the only brands that do make their own design of the imx571 are Moravian, ZWO and QHY
Zwo have stopped asking people to clean their own and have partnered with companies to either replace or clean. This was announced just recently. In the last 8 weeks
I have the ZWO 2600mc, but I think I mentioned that to you on fb. I dont have this issue yet, only used it twice in the fall before it got too cold out. I have taken it out of the case a douple times just to check, but so far so good. Im only at the part where you said comment, so Idk if you talk about it later, but Im hoping that its a small % of the total cameras that have the issue and maybe Ill be one of the lucky ones!
I guess you didnt hear that ZWO now has a dedicated facility/vendor in England and the US where any owners that experience this leak problem can send it to be cleaned.
Don't know why they would call the thermal paste separating an "assembly error"', as it seems to me by "separate" they mean that the oil separated out of the thermal paste, which also explains why they're using a different thermal paste. Altair could have been using the same thermal paste that ZWO is.
You response for the ZWO statement is slightly out of date. They in late 2021/early 2022 stated they have setup a repair/replacement service in the UK, Europe and the States. Russell Astrophotography got his sorted via this new arrangement via 365astronomy in the UK, under the guidance of ZWO.
In europe? That's interesting, because when I reported oil leak issue to ZWO in September 2023, they requested me to send camera to their maintenance point in China rather Europe. Problem solved by having the sensor and body professionally cleaned at my expense in my country in one day and costed me equivalent of $20, where it's still cheaper than shipping to China and return custom fees. And no issue after cleaning, but I had to adopt additional power voltage stabilisation and temperature ramp for cooling down and warming up the sensor. These are silicone oil fumes from the thermal pads when the camera cools or heats up too quickly. When working in the field or in temp below 0, a 12v voltage stabilizer is recommended. Lack of components securing against sensor overheating and low quality thermopads are the root cause of this issue, but luckily camera is not damaged, only requires complete interior cleaning and replacement of dessicant tablets.
2600 owner,had the oil leak, opened the camera used a cleaning kit that cost 10 bucks…not a big deal. The camera has desiccant plugs that should be replaced periodically, so opening the camera is part of equipment maintenance anyway. To each his own.
I've heard that the Altair Astro version is vacuum sealed and thus it's not advised to open it, nor do I need to microwave or replace the desiccants. I don't like the idea of ZWO needing to periodically cracked open. There's not another similarly priced mirrorless camera that requires you crack it open periodically for drying.
Hi Angus, let me chime in, the heatsink compound before applying needs to be mixed up and I am thinking while they applied the paste to the heat sink it was not mixed and separated and while it gets warm could have been the reason. Also as for warranty 2 years or 3 years they SHOULD repair at NO COST! I will not purchase from them because of that as this is a assembly issue and there fault the factory in China. As for ZWO SHOULD NOT NEED TO CORRECT A FACTORY ISSUE...BAD ZWO!!
Actually, it is a bad idea to use thermal paste, because of this issue. There is another way to use a good thermal transfer material there instead of thermal paste, but I will not give this advice clear here, cause I do not want to help the manufacturer for free. I am working with a german telescope dealer on this issue, already with very good results. I mention I have experience with Peltier cooling tech.
If you're in the EU don't try to save pennies if you have the chance to buy from a European distributor. Guarantee has very strong regulations and the distributor is responsible to handle issues. If there is a dispute you can contact the economic inspection of your country (for something that expensive it's worth it). Good luck trying to sue a company somewhere in China
Hey Angus. I have an issue with my AA294C that I sent Altair an email about months ago. I also contact Land Sea & Sky, where I bought the camera and neither have got back to me. Do you have a specific contact ghat I can try? Haven't been able to use that camera in some time. It is still under warranty as I bought it in late August.
Hey buddy, I am sorry I didn't see this. Do you still need the contact info?
@@nocturneastro2539 hey Angus, yeah I got it worked out. Nick at Altair Astro looked into it and got it figured out. Ended up being a fault camera and I have since been sent a replacement. All in good in the cosmos.
Bought a 2600MC in October 2021 from TS Optics, 4 months in and no sign of the dreaded oil leak issue.
If you do, push for a factory repair or exchange. Don't crack it open yourself (makes no sense to buy something and then do additional repairs at your own risk)
Ooo. Not sure if I’m worried, I have the QHY268M, no issues so far, I also have a ZWO 2600MC which to date hasn’t had the known issue widely reported.
I’m glad you had a good experience with Altair Astro. I had the complete opposite experience with them. This comment is being written one year after this video was shot so maybe their support has degraded since then. I bought the 26C from Altair and it arrived completely non responsive. Altair asked me to ship the camera back to them in the UK so they could look at it. It cost me $250 to ship in the way they asked. They said there was nothing wrong with the camera and were going to ship it back to me and not provide me any offset of the cost I incurred to ship it to them. I would rather they shipped me a new camera off the shelf because I wasn’t interested in receiving what sounded like an intermittently defective camera back, but they weren’t interested in doing that so I had to fight just to get my money refunded. I am still out $250 for shipping it back to them as they requested. I’d avoid Altair altogether and look at QHY or the base manufacturer for all of these cameras - Touptek and Risingcam.
Please note that Altair don't actually make this camera its a rebrand, A company called ToupTek that makes them and they get rebranded by all sorts of companies. The fact that this camera and ZWO's have the same exact issue is super interesting! Can't be that the same OEM makes both?
Orion telescopes also has the G26C which has the same IMX571 sensor. Altair seems very good with support. I was surprised that ZWO has ppl do the repair. this will definitely steer me away from ZWO. I've always had similar great support from Orion Telescopes. congrats on the mono camera replacement. I'm working on getting the Mono IMX571. I've always loved the Altair Purple!! clear skies.
spoiler aletrn, Oion, Altair astro, Omegon, Rising cam, are all rebranded Touptek cameras with some firmware tweaks.For consumer market the only brands that do make their own design of the imx571 are Moravian, ZWO and QHY
Zwo have stopped asking people to clean their own and have partnered with companies to either replace or clean. This was announced just recently. In the last 8 weeks
I have the ZWO 2600mc, but I think I mentioned that to you on fb. I dont have this issue yet, only used it twice in the fall before it got too cold out. I have taken it out of the case a douple times just to check, but so far so good. Im only at the part where you said comment, so Idk if you talk about it later, but Im hoping that its a small % of the total cameras that have the issue and maybe Ill be one of the lucky ones!
I hope so too!
I guess you didnt hear that ZWO now has a dedicated facility/vendor in England and the US where any owners that experience this leak problem can send it to be cleaned.
I truly hope that is the case and paying customers don't need to jump through hoops to get their cameras repaired.
Don't know why they would call the thermal paste separating an "assembly error"', as it seems to me by "separate" they mean that the oil separated out of the thermal paste, which also explains why they're using a different thermal paste. Altair could have been using the same thermal paste that ZWO is.
They all could be using the same paste as instructed by the Head Master: Sony 😅
Agree at 100% Thanj for this video!
You response for the ZWO statement is slightly out of date. They in late 2021/early 2022 stated they have setup a repair/replacement service in the UK, Europe and the States. Russell Astrophotography got his sorted via this new arrangement via 365astronomy in the UK, under the guidance of ZWO.
In europe? That's interesting, because when I reported oil leak issue to ZWO in September 2023, they requested me to send camera to their maintenance point in China rather Europe. Problem solved by having the sensor and body professionally cleaned at my expense in my country in one day and costed me equivalent of $20, where it's still cheaper than shipping to China and return custom fees. And no issue after cleaning, but I had to adopt additional power voltage stabilisation and temperature ramp for cooling down and warming up the sensor. These are silicone oil fumes from the thermal pads when the camera cools or heats up too quickly. When working in the field or in temp below 0, a 12v voltage stabilizer is recommended. Lack of components securing against sensor overheating and low quality thermopads are the root cause of this issue, but luckily camera is not damaged, only requires complete interior cleaning and replacement of dessicant tablets.
2600 owner,had the oil leak, opened the camera used a cleaning kit that cost 10 bucks…not a big deal. The camera has desiccant plugs that should be replaced periodically, so opening the camera is part of equipment maintenance anyway. To each his own.
I've heard that the Altair Astro version is vacuum sealed and thus it's not advised to open it, nor do I need to microwave or replace the desiccants. I don't like the idea of ZWO needing to periodically cracked open. There's not another similarly priced mirrorless camera that requires you crack it open periodically for drying.
Nice video. I recently ordered this camera .
Hi Angus, let me chime in, the heatsink compound before applying needs to be mixed up and I am thinking while they applied the paste to the heat sink it was not mixed and separated and while it gets warm could have been the reason. Also as for warranty 2 years or 3 years they SHOULD repair at NO COST! I will not purchase from them because of that as this is a assembly issue and there fault the factory in China. As for ZWO SHOULD NOT NEED TO CORRECT A FACTORY ISSUE...BAD ZWO!!
Actually, it is a bad idea to use thermal paste, because of this issue. There is another way to use a good thermal transfer material there instead of thermal paste, but I will not give this advice clear here, cause I do not want to help the manufacturer for free. I am working with a german telescope dealer on this issue, already with very good results. I mention I have experience with Peltier cooling tech.
If you're in the EU don't try to save pennies if you have the chance to buy from a European distributor. Guarantee has very strong regulations and the distributor is responsible to handle issues. If there is a dispute you can contact the economic inspection of your country (for something that expensive it's worth it). Good luck trying to sue a company somewhere in China
Admiring the pretentious cool guy wall of crap.... LMFAO
Hehehe thanks!