9 replies to this topic

[starrycanuck]

I'm testing the free version of Eclipse Orchestrator with my Nikon Z7II (at Moonglow's suggestion as v3.8 does not officially list any Z mount bodies on the support Nikon body list).

 

I'm new to EO but have managed to get my Z7II connected and taking exposures manually and via a very basic test script. The problem is that EO seems to always set the camera to capture JPG.

 

I always shoot RAW but when setting up exposure parameters using “Camera/Single Exposure w/ Settings”, the camera always gets reset to capture JPG. Exposures are taken and saved as JPG. Worse, the same thing happens when taking exposures with a script

 

If I manually reset the file type to “RAW” in the Z7II itself and then only use “Camera/Push Shutter (F1)”, the exposures are saved as RAW as intended. The problem is that there is no practical way to go in and constantly reset the camera to RAW after every scripted exposure.

 

So ...wondering if anyone else is using Eclipse Orchestrator with a Z mount body and experienced a similar problem.

 

I have sent the details to Moonglow as well.

[starrycanuck]

With some further testing, the problem seems to be Eclipse Orchestrator’s internal enumeration of Nikon file types doesn’t align with the Nikon Z7II list … turns out if you tell EO to use “RAW+F-JPG”, it actually sets the camera to simple “RAW” which is what I need.

 

Hopefully a simple fix for Moonglow to make … based on the recent beta version, it seems they’re working on support for the newer Canon mirrorless so hopefully Nikon mirrorless support is not far behind.

[Domer]

I have sent the details to Moonglow as well.

How did you do that?  Their website claims they offer technical support via phone and email, but there is no contact information anywhere on their website.

[tinydog]

I'm new to EO but have managed to get my Z7II connected and taking exposures manually and via a very basic test script. 

How did you get EO to recognize your Z7ii? I have mine plugged in via USB (desktop and laptop), and EO doesn't seem aware that there's a camera attached. Telling EO to activate the shutter does nothing. Is it necessary to create a script before the app will recognize the camera?

 

Similarly, the Android app EclipseDroid (which I used flawlessly in 2017) doesn't recognize my Z7ii either, even with a USB OTG adapter.

[starrycanuck]

How did you get EO to recognize your Z7ii? I have mine plugged in via USB (desktop and laptop), and EO doesn't seem aware that there's a camera attached. Telling EO to activate the shutter does nothing. Is it necessary to create a script before the app will recognize the camera?

 

Similarly, the Android app EclipseDroid (which I used flawlessly in 2017) doesn't recognize my Z7ii either, even with a USB OTG adapter.

I have a USB-C 3.1 cable connecting to my Win10 laptop’s USB-C port. I was able to do the hardware configuration … in the selection menu for attached camera, there was a single, odd looking string in the list of attached camera which evidently was the Z7II. Once I selected that and gave it a name, things worked ok except you have to specify “RAW+JGP(Fine)” to get the file type set to RAW in the camera.

 

The other anomaly I’ve noticed (and have heard from other Nikon F mount users), EO will set an absurd shutter speed of 1/65535 for the diamonds. Uncorrected (I edited mine the fastest 1/8000 the Z7II supports), EO trips the shutter but the camera quietly ignores the invalid shutter speed and uses whatever speed was currently set (1/320 in my case).

 

Running the entire script for testing, the log shows exposures typically running .1s late except when there are shutter speed changes where the delay can be in the .3s - .5s range.

[tinydog]

I have a USB-C 3.1 cable connecting to my Win10 laptop’s USB-C port. I was able to do the hardware configuration 

Thank you for the insights. By chance are you using the beta version of EO, 3.9.1? When I initially installed it, I failed to notice that the release version 3.8 was from 2019. The beta is from 2023, and supports some more modern cameras (including the Z 7ii, though untested by the developer). Credit to CN users AsleepAtTheScope and KevinMerchant for giving me the heads up on the version! Now that my camera is recognized, I can work on the script.

[starrycanuck]

Thank you for the insights. By chance are you using the beta version of EO, 3.9.1? When I initially installed it, I failed to notice that the release version 3.8 was from 2019. The beta is from 2023, and supports some more modern cameras (including the Z 7ii, though untested by the developer). Credit to CN users AsleepAtTheScope and KevinMerchant for giving me the heads up on the version! Now that my camera is recognized, I can work on the script.

I am now but had previously been using the 2019 release. The only change I noticed when I upgraded were changes to the Besselian co-ordinates (which was actually the reason I upgraded). I don't see the Z7ii on the supported camera list but it does seem to work sufficiently well ... I'll take it.

[KevinMerchant]

I have a USB-C 3.1 cable connecting to my Win10 laptop’s USB-C port. I was able to do the hardware configuration … in the selection menu for attached camera, there was a single, odd looking string in the list of attached camera which evidently was the Z7II. Once I selected that and gave it a name, things worked ok except you have to specify “RAW+JGP(Fine)” to get the file type set to RAW in the camera.

 

The other anomaly I’ve noticed (and have heard from other Nikon F mount users), EO will set an absurd shutter speed of 1/65535 for the diamonds. Uncorrected (I edited mine the fastest 1/8000 the Z7II supports), EO trips the shutter but the camera quietly ignores the invalid shutter speed and uses whatever speed was currently set (1/320 in my case).

 

Running the entire script for testing, the log shows exposures typically running .1s late except when there are shutter speed changes where the delay can be in the .3s - .5s range.

I was going to mention that these anomalies for Nikon are experienced in the Script Wizard. That is where the bug(s) are.

 

I suspect that even if a workaround had not been discovered, you could still edit the script (in Notepad) to correct the errors, which it sounds like this is what you did. Same would go for the Quality parameter.

 

Once the script has been corrected and Reloaded, EO renders everything fine.

[starrycanuck]

I was going to mention that these anomalies for Nikon are experienced in the Script Wizard. That is where the bug(s) are.

 

I suspect that even if a workaround had not been discovered, you could still edit the script (in Notepad) to correct the errors, which it sounds like this is what you did. Same would go for the Quality parameter.

 

Once the script has been corrected and Reloaded, EO renders everything fine.

Certainly the shutter speed error would seem to be in the wizard logic but the incorrect file type issue seems to be in the hardware configuration and or interface logic as it shows up in manual single exposures as well.

[KevinMerchant]

Certainly the shutter speed error would seem to be in the wizard logic but the incorrect file type issue seems to be in the hardware configuration and or interface logic as it shows up in manual single exposures as well.

Okay. I didn't realize that.

 

In any case, it seems to me this can also be corrected in the script. Just offering a general workaround for anomalies if somebody finds themselves stuck.