353 replies to this topic

[JethroXP]

While I'm using Eclipse Orchestrator to create and manage the sequence for my Nikon Z6, I'm also bringing my RedCat51  /ASI2600MC Pro / AM3 setup as a backup to capture a similar sequence of images.  I used EO to generate the timings and exposure lengths for the various phenomena, and then ported those into the SharpCap script syntax.  I did this by changing the settings in EO to match my RedCat51 even though my Nikon Z6 was attached.  It took a lot of testing and getting familiar with the delays in switching camera settings and writing to disk, but I finally have a full script that captures everything from C1 to C4.  I've attached it for anyone curious what the syntax looks like.  Keep in mind that the exposure values are unique to my setup, and the timings are using to the location I'll be at in Texas.  If you want to replicate this for your setup you'll need to adapt the values and the timings for your location.  Even the number of shots is based on the tested performance of my gear and might be different on yours.  I'm not sharing this because I think this exact script will work for anyone else, rather only because I thought others trying to do something similar might benefit from the structure and the methods I chose in the SharpCap script.

Attached Files

•  SharpCap Test Script.txt   53.35KB   679 downloads

[RonH47]

Thanks, so much, I am planning to do roughly the same thing, and your script will probably save me hours of head-scratching.

[JethroXP]

You are welcome!  A couple things to keep in mind, and this was directly from Dr. Glover (author of SharpCap) from some back and forth we had in the SharpCap forums, is that LIVE mode is best for rapid image capture where the setttings remain unchanged.  And when you do change settings between LIVE mode captures there is a chance that the first few captures have not yet taken the new settings.  This is why when I’m changing settings to bracket the shots in Totality I switch to STILL mode.  STILL mode has two benefits, you can precisely specify the time of the shot, and you guarantee that the settings are locked in.  However STILL mode shots have a lot more shot-to-shot delay. 
 

Also, while the script uses timings down to 1/10th second, when you load it in SharpCap it will only display down to whole seconds, however Dr. Glover assures me it is executing with sub-second precision.  Also, if you save the script with the SharpCap editor, it will wipe out the sub-second timings, this is just a current limitation of the UI.  So editing and saving in a text editor like Notepad is best.

Edited by JethroXP, 07 February 2024 - 11:42 AM.

[Smitty14]

Jason,

 

In this world, there are givers and takers.  You my friend are a true giver! Thank you for sharing your work.  I am sure this will help and assist those using SharpCap.

 

Mark

[R Botero]

Good stuff Jason!

 

I am also using SharpCap but will be sticking to the Sequencer tool and live view.  I use SharpCap for planetary imaging and have been testing it with my ASI2600MC for the last year or so on the Sun.  I am capturing SER videos though, not individual files for each of the phenomena/durations.  I will extract the 16bit frames from those if necessary but most likely will let AutoStakkert stack the best of each SER run.

 

I have posted about this in the other eclipse threads over the last few months.

 

Roberto

[astrohamp]

Are there ways to expedite (speed up) single image capture settings changes in the Sharpcap Sequencer?

 

Have a 14 count Still Mode sequence set up with 'Deep Sky Sequence Planner' using static Gain only changing exposures from 1/2000 to 2s.  It is taking 45 seconds to run.  This will not cycle as rapidly as I had hoped.

 

I suspect it is USB down load speed for the images. Maybe the mount PC.

If not I will have to work on my bracket exposure choices selecting fewer better researched for the broad dynamic range of the eclipse.

[cskozlowski]

I have been taking a close look at your script - I also plan on doing a similar thing.  I was wondering a few things regarding your script

 

1.  Why don't you just do a REPEAT loop for all the images (100) from C1 to beginning of C2?

2.  Same question for C3 to C4 ? 

[JethroXP]

Are there ways to expedite (speed up) single image capture settings changes in the Sharpcap Sequencer?

 

Have a 14 count Still Mode sequence set up with 'Deep Sky Sequence Planner' using static Gain only changing exposures from 1/2000 to 2s.  It is taking 45 seconds to run.  This will not cycle as rapidly as I had hoped.

 

I suspect it is USB down load speed for the images. Maybe the mount PC.

If not I will have to work on my bracket exposure choices selecting fewer better researched for the broad dynamic range of the eclipse.

I ran into that issue too, I originally wanted to capture a lot more bracketed images but the delay in changing settings is very slow.  This is why testing with your own setup is so critical.  The only way I was able to improve the speed slightly was by ensuring SharpCap was writing to the fast drive on my miniPC.  It’s a MeLE quieter 4, with the C: on eMMC storage and a data drive on NVMe.  SharpCap defaults to the C: for storage, but switching it to write to D: increased the write speed by 2x.  That helped some, but I believe the bottleneck for settings changes is the USB interface itself.

[JethroXP]

I have been taking a close look at your script - I also plan on doing a similar thing.  I was wondering a few things regarding your script

 

1.  Why don't you just do a REPEAT loop for all the images (100) from C1 to beginning of C2?

2.  Same question for C3 to C4 ? 

Only because I wanted to give them unique file names so I could distinguish them later.

[cskozlowski]

Here is my sequencer script for the 2024 Eclipse.  I will be in Killeen, TX for the event.  

 

 

Attached Files

•  2024 Eclipse Sequence.txt   2.43KB   378 downloads

[astrohamp]

Thanks Jethro' I'm just about out of things to try.  HD is fast, RAM is maxed out at 32Gb with only 2 of the several hundred frames being used during the sequence.  Even Task Manager shows little CPU use.  Will Keep at it.

 

Will look at your sequence csk'.  Maybe seeing what is working for folks will help my process and add it to others posted for viewing.

[Brentless]

Here is my sequencer script for the 2024 Eclipse.  I will be in Killeen, TX for the event.  

Brilliant, this is just what I've been looking for and makes so much sense.  I'm loading it up right now to give it a whirl.  So many kudos!

[R Botero]

I suggest changing the ROI you guys are capturing files or videos at depending on what features are being imaged. No point in imaging full resolution if you are only exposing for Baily’s beads or proms or earthshine. Extend for outer corona, etc. That will make your frame rates a lot faster and you’ll get many more pictures to choose from. 
 

Roberto

[R Botero]

See here: https://www.cloudyni...ing/?p=12994022

[cskozlowski]

I suggest changing the ROI you guys are capturing files or videos at depending on what features are being imaged. No point in imaging full resolution if you are only exposing for Baily’s beads or proms or earthshine. Extend for outer corona, etc. That will make your frame rates a lot faster and you’ll get many more pictures to choose from. 
 

Roberto

I will take a look at your suggestion.  I am new to SharpCap and the sequencer so adding another variable (ROI) during a relatively short event (15 to 20 seconds) is a bit of worry.  In fact,  I am more concerned that I have the exposure setting (set to 1ms) correct during this portion of the event.  My loop for capturing Bailey's beads currently runs 10 times with 10 captured live images per loop cycle (100 images).  I even have a .5 second delay in the loop because my current thinking is that 100 images was sufficient, perhaps I should consider removing the delay and get more images. 

 

Note:  I just changed my Baily's Beads exposure setting from 1ms to .000125s (1/8000) based on suggested settings from Xavier Jubier's calculator.  To be honest, this is a tough thing to test prior to the event - so fingers crossed that it works. 

Edited by cskozlowski, 11 February 2024 - 09:53 AM.

[Brentless]

Weird sequence question (posting on sharpcap forum too), if I am using the "wait until" delay action, it appropriately is using the localtime of my machine, but the "loop until" repeat action is using UTC.

 

Anyone else seeing that in their testing, or is there a setting somewhere maybe I have overlooked?

 

In this case, told it to wait until 11:33 PM which it does, but had to set it to 5:34 AM (UTC is +6 hours for me) to loop for 1 minute and technically end at 11:34

Attached Thumbnails

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[Edward Nash]

Can someone kindly explain how to implement the script into Sharp Cap?

 

I am new to Sharp Cap and I want to use my ZWO 678MC on a canon lens.  

 

Do you cut and paste your script somewhere into SC or do you run the .txt file?

 

I will be in Arkansas and using EO on my other setup which a Canon camera and should be able to update your script data from that info.

 

I want to use the ZWO678 to basically shoot time-lapse of the whole event C1 to C4.  I will be tracking on a Celestron SLT for that.

 

Thank you for your help.

[Brentless]

To build the sequences (I'm pretty sure requires you to have Pro license, someone else can correct if I'm wrong about that), open up SharpCap, then go to Sequencer in the top menu, and select "Edit".

 

That will get you to the screen where you can either build or load sequences.

 

You can drag and drop them in order, or load a sequence (for example the file that posted up above), but needs to be saved as a .scs file, which the sharpcap sequencer file format.

 

Then you can see what it looks like, and rearrange items and edit properties on specific items.

[markmanner]

Here is my sequencer script for the 2024 Eclipse.  I will be in Killeen, TX for the event.  

Thanks for sharing this.  Why are you using tiff vs. fits for the captures? Is there a difference in cycle time using one or the other? Also, what telescope are you using with the ASI 174?

Best,

Mark

[cskozlowski]

Thanks for sharing this.  Why are you using tiff vs. fits for the captures? Is there a difference in cycle time using one or the other? Also, what telescope are you using with the ASI 174?

Best,

Mark

Both are lossless file formats.  I couldn't comment on one being more efficient (faster) than the other when it comes to saving them in real time.  I modified the code to use FITS file format since it looks to be much more broadly used in the astrophotography world.   I use an Orion 80ED (triplet) 80mm f/6 scope. 

Edited by cskozlowski, 11 February 2024 - 11:33 PM.

[cskozlowski]

Weird sequence question (posting on sharpcap forum too), if I am using the "wait until" delay action, it appropriately is using the localtime of my machine, but the "loop until" repeat action is using UTC.

 

Anyone else seeing that in their testing, or is there a setting somewhere maybe I have overlooked?

 

In this case, told it to wait until 11:33 PM which it does, but had to set it to 5:34 AM (UTC is +6 hours for me) to loop for 1 minute and technically end at 11:34

I am also having a 'time-of-day' issue for my 'repeat until' loops as well.  I thought the 'wait until' and the 'repeat until' both would use local time and that is causing me a massive headache at the moment.  

 

Note:  I just ran a quick test and the 'Wait Until' is using local time and the 'Repeat Until' is using UTC time.  Time to write a bug report to StarCap.  My script depends heavily on 'time of day' so now I have some fixes to make to my script.

Edited by cskozlowski, 11 February 2024 - 08:43 PM.

[cskozlowski]

Can someone kindly explain how to implement the script into Sharp Cap?

 

I am new to Sharp Cap and I want to use my ZWO 678MC on a canon lens.  

 

Do you cut and paste your script somewhere into SC or do you run the .txt file?

 

I will be in Arkansas and using EO on my other setup which a Canon camera and should be able to update your script data from that info.

 

I want to use the ZWO678 to basically shoot time-lapse of the whole event C1 to C4.  I will be tracking on a Celestron SLT for that.

 

Thank you for your help.

I can post the *.scs sequencer script file (sequencer program).  I don't think there is a simple/easy way to import the text file into the sequencer.  You will need the 'pro' license which is $18US. 

[Edward Nash]

I can post the *.scs sequencer script file (sequencer program).  I don't think there is a simple/easy way to import the text file into the sequencer.  You will need the 'pro' license which is $18US. 

I already have the PRO license and the latest version as of today.  I was able to open the .txt file in the sequencer and it populated it, then edit.  I then "save as" to the proper file format (.scs).

 

Thank you to those who put the work into the scripts and then shared them.  

 

Does anyone have a idea though how much disk space for the files will be required running this script?

[R Botero]

I will take a look at your suggestion.  I am new to SharpCap and the sequencer so adding another variable (ROI) during a relatively short event (15 to 20 seconds) is a bit of worry.  In fact,  I am more concerned that I have the exposure setting (set to 1ms) correct during this portion of the event.  My loop for capturing Bailey's beads currently runs 10 times with 10 captured live images per loop cycle (100 images).  I even have a .5 second delay in the loop because my current thinking is that 100 images was sufficient, perhaps I should consider removing the delay and get more images. 

 

Note:  I just changed my Baily's Beads exposure setting from 1ms to .000125s (1/8000) based on suggested settings from Xavier Jubier's calculator.  To be honest, this is a tough thing to test prior to the event - so fingers crossed that it works. 

Here's a copy of the latest version of my Sequence (using SharpCap Pro of it makes any difference?) and imaging using a 92mm f/5.3 refractor and an ASI2600MC.  This is the 20th version of my sequence. I've been practicing with this setup under the sun, moon and inside over the last 18 months or so. Lately, I've been concentrating on running totality simulations using EclipseDroid (Android app) which nicely times totality from 1m 30s before C2 and gives me warnings for C2, mid eclipse, C3, etc. It also lists % obscuration which are useful for estimating what features to concentrate on.  There are many other apps that can do this; for example Solar Eclipse Timer and Eclipse 2.0.   EclipseDroid can also control a DSLR from my phone if I so wished.

I could implement "Wait for Time" right at the beginning of it, but I'm comfortable that triggering the Sequence 20 secs before C2 gets me roughly to the right exposure settings depending on the feature visible. Obviously this will vary depending on one's setup, frame rate speed of read-out, PC write speed, USB traffic, etc. Practice makes perfect!

This sequence will capture some 4000 frames for me to review and stack. All at 0 gain and 16-bit format. 

There's nothing preventing the above going t*ts up though, so consider all lucky imaging and take it as it comes. I'll press Run 20 secs before totality and will forget about it for 4 and 1/2 minutes!

 

Roberto

Attached Files

•  SolarEclipse2024Test20.scs.txt   1.99KB   185 downloads

Edited by R Botero, 12 February 2024 - 03:54 AM.

[Brentless]

Roberto, are you seeing a need to mess with focus throughout your testing?  Or just focused on timing and storage/ speed

 

I'm currently planning on using a William Optics 70mm Zenithstar (430 mm FL reduced down to 340mm with a 0.8x reducer), though waffling on using the reducer or not. Will use a ZWO ASI071MC.  Will be somewhere in Arkansas, just making the call the night before on where. 

 

I'm currently using the Solar Eclipse Timer app on Android for my timing testing. 

 

I'm thinking of doing the same thing and manually triggering the totality portion like you called out.