Is the ToupTek ATR2600MM worth it?

For narrowband on an APS-C telescope it gives you the IMX571 mono sensor for less than ZWO's version. It is not a first camera: mono needs a filter wheel and filters.

Is the ATR2600MM the same camera as the ATR2600M?

Yes. ToupTek sells it as the ATR2600M (part number ATR3CMOS26000KMA), the mono twin of the colour ATR2600C.

What did I capture with it?

Four nebulae through the Askar SQA55 in one August night: the North America, the Veil, the Elephant's Trunk and the Heart and Soul, 14 to 29 subs of 180 s each in S, H and O.

How cold does it run?

ToupTek rates the cooling at 35 C below ambient on short exposures and 42 C on long ones. I run cooled cameras at a -10 C set point; my stack headers do not record the temperature.

What back focus does it need?

17.5 mm from the sensor with the M42 adapter, or 12.5 mm with the thinner adapter in the box; ToupTek's filter wheel and extenders make up the usual 55 mm.

How much does the ATR2600MM cost and where can I buy it?

The prices I recorded: £1,488 at Dark Clear Skies (UK), in stock; $1,899 at Agena Astro (US), in stock; $1,899 at ToupTek Astro (Global), in stock.

What have I not tested on the ATR2600MM?

LRGB imaging, guiding, and ToupTek's read noise and full well figures: not tested.

ToupTek ATR2600MM review: the IMX571 mono camera

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 29 cameras on my board, against price
Rank	Camera	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	SVBONY SV705C	93 out of 100	£229
2	SVBONY SC571CC	90 out of 100	£1,029
8	ZWO ASI2600MC Duo	83 out of 100	£1,849
9	ZWO ASI585MM Air	83 out of 100	£1,099
19	ToupTek ATR2600MM	73 out of 100	£1,488
20	ASI 4400MC	72 out of 100	£3,299
22	Altair Hypercam 585MM	71 out of 100	£445
28	ZWO ASI183MC	38 out of 100	£549
29	Nikon COOLPIX P1000	32 out of 100	£787

Contents

01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
02 Specifications and features
03 The rig on the mount
04 How good is it? Here is what it captured
05 Raw against finished
06 Tested numbers and the download
07 Should you buy it?
08 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 73/100

Reviewed 5 Aug 2025 Updated 24 Sep 2026

Rank: #19 of 29 cameras
Verdict: Worth a look

Written by Damon Scotting 5 min read

Buy it if

You want a cooled APS-C mono camera for narrowband and already own a filter wheel and filters
You want the IMX571 mono sensor for less than ZWO charges for it
Your telescope has an APS-C image circle, like a small Petzval or a 60 to 100 mm refractor

Skip it if

You are starting out: a colour camera needs no filter wheel and no filters
You have few clear nights: one colour image from mono takes several filtered runs
Your astrograph covers full frame and you want the widest field it can give

Specifications and features

Against the cameras I have reviewed

Compare with

ToupTek ATR2600MM reviewed #19 of 29	ZWO ASI2600MM Air #7 of 29	ZWO ASI2600MM #25 of 29	ToupTek ATR2600C #10 of 29	ZWO ASI533MM #24 of 29	ZWO ASI6200MM Pro #18 of 29
Recorded UK price	£1,488	£2,499	£2,059	£1,127	£999	£3,999
Stars for Your Buck	73/100	84/100	62/100	80/100	66/100	74/100
Sensor	Sony IMX571 mono, back-illuminated	Sony IMX571, with a built-in SC2210 guide sensor	Sony IMX571	Sony IMX571 colour, back-illuminated	Sony IMX533	Sony IMX455, back-illuminated
Format	APS-C, 23.4 x 15.7 mm (28.3 mm diagonal)	APS-C, 23.5 x 15.7 mm	APS-C, 23.5 x 15.7 mm	APS-C, 23.4 x 15.7 mm	1 inch square, 11.31 x 11.31 mm	Full frame, 36 x 24 mm
Colour or mono	Mono	Mono	Mono	Colour	Mono	Mono
Resolution	6224 x 4168, 25.9 MP	6248 x 4176, 26.1 MP	6248 x 4176, 26.1 MP	6224 x 4168, 25.9 MP	3008 x 3008, 9 MP	9576 x 6388, 61.2 MP
Pixel size	3.76 um	3.76 um	3.76 um	3.76 um	3.76 um	3.76 um
Cooling	Two-stage TEC, 35 C below ambient on short exposures, 42 C on long ones	30 to 35 C below ambient	Two-stage TEC, 30 to 35 C below ambient	Two-stage TEC, 35 to 42 C below ambient	35 C below ambient	Two-stage TEC, 30 to 35 C below ambient
Read noise	0.77 to 2.77 e- (low noise mode)	0.9 to 4.2 e-	1.0 to 3.3 e-	0.79 to 2.77 e-	1.0 e-	0.86 e-
Full well	51 ke- (up to 100 ke- in high full well mode)	50 ke-	73 ke-	51 ke-	50 ke-	51.4 ke-
ADC	16-bit	16-bit	16-bit	16-bit	14-bit	16-bit
Weight	577 g	775 g	700 g	577 g	470 g	700 g
Back focus	17.5 mm with the M42 adapter (a 12.5 mm adapter is also supplied)	12.5 or 17.5 mm	17.5 mm	17.5 mm	17.5 mm	17.5 mm
Interface	USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 hub ports, 512 MB DDR3 buffer	Wi-Fi 5, four USB 2.0 hub ports, 256 GB eMMC	USB 3.0, 512 MB DDR3 buffer	USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 hub ports, 512 MB DDR3 buffer	USB 3.0, 256 MB DDR3 buffer	USB 3.0, two USB 2.0 hub ports, 512 MB DDR3 buffer
In the box	The camera, a 12 V 3.3 A power adapter and cable, a 1.5 m USB 3.0 cable, M48-M42 0 mm, 16.5 mm and 21 mm extenders, a 12.5 mm M42 adapter and a cover	Camera, two 1 m DC power cords, 1.5 m DC extension, two 0.5 m USB 2.0 cables, 16.5 mm and 21 mm M54 spacers, M48 to M54 ring, cable strap, hex wrench, quick start guide	Camera, lens cover, T2-M48 16.5 mm extender, T2 21 mm extender, M42-M48 adapter ring, two USB 2.0 cables, USB 3.0 cable, padded bag, hex wrench, quick start guide	The camera, a 12 V 3.3 A power adapter and cable, a 1.5 m USB 3.0 cable, M48-M42 0 mm, 16.5 mm and 21 mm extenders, a 12.5 mm M42 adapter and a cover	Camera, lens cover, T2-M48 16.5 mm extender, T2 21 mm extender, M42-M48 adapter ring, T2-1.25 inch adapter, four spacer rings, 1.25 inch nosepiece, two USB 2.0 cables, USB 3.0 cable, padded bag, quick start guide	The camera, M48-M48 16.5 mm and M54-M48 21 mm extenders, an M42M-M48F adapter, a dust cover, a 2 m USB 3.0 cable, two 0.5 m USB 2.0 cables, a hex key, a quick guide and a camera bag

The rig on the mount

On the TeSeek 11, then on six other mounts

How good is it? Here is what it captured

Four targets

Veil Nebula, ToupTek ATR2600M, SHO

Integration: 54 min (18 x 180 s)
Field: 5.1 x 3.4 degrees
Telescope: Askar SQA55
Camera: ToupTek ATR2600M
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: Veil Nebula (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992)
Type: Supernova remnant
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

North America Nebula, ToupTek ATR2600M, raw stack (not yet processed)

Integration: 45 min (15 x 180 s)
Field: 5.1 x 3.4 degrees
Telescope: Askar SQA55
Camera: ToupTek ATR2600M
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: North America Nebula (NGC 7000)
Type: Emission nebula
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Elephant's Trunk Nebula, ToupTek ATR2600M, raw stack (not yet processed)

Integration: 1 h 27 min (29 x 180 s)
Field: 5.1 x 3.4 degrees
Telescope: Askar SQA55
Camera: ToupTek ATR2600M
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC 1396)
Type: Emission nebula
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Heart and Soul Nebulae, ToupTek ATR2600M, raw stack (not yet processed)

Integration: 42 min (14 x 180 s)
Field: 5.1 x 3.4 degrees
Telescope: Askar SQA55
Camera: ToupTek ATR2600M
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: Heart and Soul Nebulae (IC 1805 and IC 1848)
Type: Emission nebulae
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Raw against finished

Tested numbers and the download

The 1 target, the unprocessed side against my finished image, each with its integration, the camera and the palette:

Veil Nebula (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992): 54 min (18 x 180 s) of light, ToupTek ATR2600M, SHO, the SHO stack as it came out of stacking, before my processing

Finished image

Licence: for personal use, credit Damon Scotting. Both JPEGs 4,096 x 2,738 px.

-10 C sensor set point the set point I run every cooled camera at

265 mm focal length, plate solved on the Askar SQA55, which Askar states at 264 mm

5.1 x 3.4° field of view 6,224 x 4,168 px on ToupTek ATR2600M

25.9 MP ToupTek ATR2600M 6,224 x 4,168 px, 23.4 x 15.7 mm

Should you buy it?

73/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

The Sony IMX571 mono sensor: 25.9 megapixels of 3.76 micron pixels on APS-C, with a native 16-bit ADC.
In one August night it gave me four nebulae in S, H and O, 3 h 48 min of subs in all.
Two-stage cooling rated at 35 C below ambient on short exposures and 42 C on long ones.
Less than the same sensor from ZWO: £1,488 at Dark Clear Skies against £2,059 for the ASI2600MM P25 at First Light Optics.
Zero amp glow and a 512 MB buffer, according to ToupTek.

Cons

Mono needs a filter wheel and a set of filters before it makes a colour image.
A colour image means several filtered runs: my four targets shared one night at 42 to 87 minutes each.
First Light Optics does not stock it; in the UK it comes from Dark Clear Skies.

The IMX571 mono sensor in a cooled ToupTek body for less than ZWO charges, if you are ready for a filter wheel and several filtered runs per image.

Who the ATR2600MM is for

Narrowband imager with an APS-C refractor

Buy

The IMX571 mono sensor suits an APS-C image circle, and on my SQA55 it framed the whole Veil loop in one field.

Complete beginner

Skip

Start with a colour camera: mono needs a filter wheel, filters and more clear nights.

ZWO ASI2600MM owner

Skip

Do not switch: it is the same sensor with the same 3.76 micron pixels.

Budget-conscious mono imager

Buy

It costs less than ZWO's ASI2600MM Pro for the same IMX571 mono sensor.

Imager with a full-frame astrograph

Skip

The ZWO ASI6200MM Pro fills a full-frame field; this sensor covers APS-C.

Imager who wants colour first

Skip

The ToupTek ATR2600C is the colour twin of this camera and needs no filter wheel.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

Questions and more about this review

Reviewed by

Damon Scotting

The Telescope Man Verified

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham

About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book

I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded

Seven questions, answered

Questions about the ToupTek ATR2600MM

Reviewed 5 August 2025 ·Updated 24 September 2026

I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded

Is the ToupTek ATR2600MM worth it? For narrowband on an APS-C telescope it gives you the IMX571 mono sensor for less than ZWO's version. It is not a first camera: mono needs a filter wheel and filters. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Is the ATR2600MM the same camera as the ATR2600M? Yes. ToupTek sells it as the ATR2600M (part number ATR3CMOS26000KMA), the mono twin of the colour ATR2600C. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
What did I capture with it? Four nebulae through the Askar SQA55 in one August night: the North America, the Veil, the Elephant's Trunk and the Heart and Soul, 14 to 29 subs of 180 s each in S, H and O. What I captured ↓
How cold does it run? ToupTek rates the cooling at 35 C below ambient on short exposures and 42 C on long ones. I run cooled cameras at a -10 C set point; my stack headers do not record the temperature. Tested numbers and the download ↓
What back focus does it need? 17.5 mm from the sensor with the M42 adapter, or 12.5 mm with the thinner adapter in the box; ToupTek's filter wheel and extenders make up the usual 55 mm. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
How much does the ATR2600MM cost and where can I buy it? The prices I recorded: £1,488 at Dark Clear Skies (UK), in stock; $1,899 at Agena Astro (US), in stock; $1,899 at ToupTek Astro (Global), in stock. A record, not a live price The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
What have I not tested on the ATR2600MM? LRGB imaging, guiding, and ToupTek's read noise and full well figures: not tested.