OmegaCAM : wide-field imaging with fine spatial resolution

OmegaCAM is the wide-field camera for the VLT Survey Telescope being completed for ESO's Paranal observatory. The instrument, as well as the telescope, have been designed for very good, natural seeing-limited image quality over a 1 degree field. At the heart of the project are a square-foot photometric shutter, a 12-filter storage/exchange mechanism, a 16k x 16k CCD detector mosaic, and plenty of software for instrument control and data handling, analysis and archiving.