Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
Well, it shipped today, earlier than I thought. Now if I can just keep my computerized hand control from going nuts on me, like it has been, I should be using the camera early next week, provided seeing is OK. You wouldn't believe the hell I'm having getting a replacement comp. hand control for a 4 year old Celestron 8i. Tried every major dealer and most small dealers. Websites say they have them, but they don't. They all say "get it from Celestron directly". And it takes an act of Congress and 2 hours on hold with Celestron trying to talk them into selling me one.
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
Got in the DBK. Quick question I'm hoping someone can answer. Is Y800 the mode to record in? And, do I leave the exposure on "Auto"?
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Mick Hyde
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/22/06
Posts: 888
Loc: Swindon, UK
|
|
Congrats on getting a DMK. What a camera.
I only use Y800, but never use auto exposure. I try and leave the gamma as low as possible to keep the contrast level up and normally trade off the gain with the fps.
--------------------
Mick.
http://astromick.blogspot.com http://mickhyde.googlepages.com Swindon CSC
Celestron 9.25 XLT, Canon EOS 400D, DMK21AF04AS.
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
I should of known about the auto-exposure. Stupid question! I've ran my Toucam with it off for 5 years. What I'm wondering is if it will adjust itself when I change from 30fps to, say, 15fps. Can I turn it off and not worry about changing it each time I shoot an avi?
In regard to Y800, please correct me if I'm wrong on this, it allows you to shoot uncompressed and the image you see is monochrome on the screen. UYVY is recorded in color. The Y800 allows you to get the color back in Registax, but I don't use Registax to process my avis. Takes way too long. I do use registax to stack 3 FIT files created by K3ccd though. Since I'll be recording at 15 fps or 30 fps as a standard, I think UYVY should be the way to go based on how I process. It will just give me a larger file in the end than Y800. ???
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Mick Hyde
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/22/06
Posts: 888
Loc: Swindon, UK
|
|
I know that you use the 'debayer options' in Registax to obtain colour, not sure how other s/w does it.
--------------------
Mick.
http://astromick.blogspot.com http://mickhyde.googlepages.com Swindon CSC
Celestron 9.25 XLT, Canon EOS 400D, DMK21AF04AS.
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
I'll see if Registax lets me access the debayer options with FIT files. Thanks Mick.
Joel
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
Can someone give me some standard exposure settings for shooting at 30 fps and 15 fps? I guess that is my biggest question.
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
rumples riot
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/01/04
Posts: 2295
Loc: South Australia
|
|
Go into IC Capture and go to view then open Histogram. Set it to read log. Increase your gain until it reads 250 and you are exposing at the correct levels. Follow that all the time and you will get evenly exposed images.
Later when processing remember to drop 0.2 for Gamma. It will look nice then.
Paul
--------------------
EARTH AND COSMOS
My Solar System Imaging BLOG
How to peltier cool a C14 SCT
SOUTH CELESTIAL POLE
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
Thanks Paul! I'll most likely curse myself for saying this, but seeing is forecast to be good here this evening, so I should be imaging in about 2 1/2 hours. I'm going to shoot several sequences at different settings to try and get the feel of the camera. I won't learn unless I dive in. Thanks again...
Joel
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
Well, seeing conditions were about as bad as I've ever had. Go figure. To the naked eye, it looked like a perfect evening. I even broke out the toucam to make sure something wasn't wrong with my camera. Everything worked fine, but I'm going to have to have some better seeing to really learn the ins and outs of the camera. The clear sky clock has never been this far off.
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
So why are 1700 frames from the DBK over 1 gig? I realize it has to do with the mode, and not being in Y800, but I'm curious why they take up so much more memory.
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
I did run into an issue a few times with the 6 pin connection to the camera not being snug enough and while recording I would get "device not found". The situation was fixed by unplugging the camera from the 6 pin wire and the camera's power source, then plugging it back in. Didn't happen a lot, but enough to be a bit annoying. I sent TIS an e-mail asking if they have ran into that with others and I'm going to look closer at it today to see if I can do some sort of easy fix.
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Mick Hyde
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/22/06
Posts: 888
Loc: Swindon, UK
|
|
Maybe buy a different firewire cable Joel, mine fits quite snug. There could be a very slight difference in spec from one make to the next 
--------------------
Mick.
http://astromick.blogspot.com http://mickhyde.googlepages.com Swindon CSC
Celestron 9.25 XLT, Canon EOS 400D, DMK21AF04AS.
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
Thanks Mick. Mine is fairly snug, but I think the problem is mostly on my end. The firewire cable is a much heavier, bulkier and a stiffer cable than I had with my toucam. I image through a diagonal which causes the cable to go up few inches then loop downwards towards the ground. Any movement on my part can cause the cord to move some. I think my 2 fixes would be either to get rid of the diagonal or just get some electrical tape and tape the cord to the side of the camera where it hangs down to prevent any movement at the port connection. That would take the stress off of the port connection. Does that make sense?
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
Here is my homemade fix to keep the plug in place and eliminate stress on the port from the weight. You can see how stiff the cable is. Seems to do the trick.
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
|
gazerjim
Postmaster
Reged: 02/12/04
Posts: 7726
Loc: About where I thought I was......
|
|
The real fun with cable starts when cold temps turn them into semi-flexible rods.  Fixing the cable to the camera body as you have done is probably a good idea.
--------------------
Jim Fisher
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Henry J. Tillman
|
Mick Hyde
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/22/06
Posts: 888
Loc: Swindon, UK
|
|
I must admit that I never use a diagonal except for observing. But this looks like a good enough fix. I suppose the only other things to use would be a cable tie or one of those cable clips screwed into the base somehow.
--------------------
Mick.
http://astromick.blogspot.com http://mickhyde.googlepages.com Swindon CSC
Celestron 9.25 XLT, Canon EOS 400D, DMK21AF04AS.
|
rumples riot
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/01/04
Posts: 2295
Loc: South Australia
|
|
I had this problem of non recognition at one point too. Perhaps this is what was happening.
--------------------
EARTH AND COSMOS
My Solar System Imaging BLOG
How to peltier cool a C14 SCT
SOUTH CELESTIAL POLE
|
Lunatiki
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 1252
Loc: Amarillo, TX
|
|
When it does lose connection and can't recognize the camera due to the port connection/wire moving around, I found out that I must also unplug the camera from the power source (same wire as the firewire) and plug it back in for the software to recognize the camera. Not sure why, but it works.
Edited to add: Make sure you have your polarity correct when you plug in the power source to the firewire cable. Its marked +/-
--------------------
Mars Watch
All images taken with:
Celestron NexStar 8i SCT
DBK 21AF04.AS
K3ccd/Registax4/PSP8
ALPO Member #4287
Edited by Lunatiki (09/20/07 03:02 PM)
|
gazerjim
Postmaster
Reged: 02/12/04
Posts: 7726
Loc: About where I thought I was......
|
|
Quote:
Edited to add: Make sure you have your polarity correct when you plug in the power source to the firewire cable. Its marked +/-
If you are using the standard DC plugs, be aware that most power supplies have center pin as + and outer shell -, but some are the opposite. Depending on how the device is designed, plugging with the wrong polarity can be a minor annoyance or a major disaster.  Polarity is usually diagrammed somewhere on the adapter case. (in teeny raised lettering  )
--------------------
Jim Fisher
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Henry J. Tillman
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
[Re: 
Edit
Reply
Quote
