Evaluation of a scientific CMOS camera for astronomical observations

We evaluate the performance of the first generation scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera used for astronomical observations. The sCMOS camera was attached to a 25 cm telescope at Xinglong Observatory, in order to estimate its photometric capabilities. We further compared the capabilities of the sCMOS camera with that of full-frame and electron multiplying CCD cameras in laboratory tests and observations. The results indicate the sCMOS camera is capable of performing photometry of bright sources, especially when high spatial resolution or temporal resolution is desired.