Beginners Workflow for Live Stacking plus focus and target Tips
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:22 am
Just like normal photography, the key to good images for EAA or AP is to adjust the exposure time and gain to achieve a good "signal" in the histogram. When you have that good key "signal" displayed in the histogram, it means you have neither under nor over-exposed the image and can begin stacking - assured that you have the best possible data in the images.
But beginners to EAA or AP often struggle getting any image at all, or at best some image no-where near as good as they expected. And if they ask forums for what settings they use on different targets, they will get all manner of different settings. The reason is that others use the same camera on different mounts and telescopes so have adjusted the camera(s) to suit their equipment.
This video therefore goes through how a beginner should use the two simple settings of Exposure time and Gain in conjunction with the Display Histogram to get the "good" signal which allows a good exposure to stack. Furthermore, I suggest how you should focus the camera, as well as what targets a beginner should concentrate on ... for at least 3 months! Why? Because the "good" signal in the Display Histogram can be created by many combinations of gain and exposure! So in the video I show how you can easily find those settings and adjust the times to suit your "taste". Be it long exposures at low noise (gain) settings for AP and Eq mounts, all the way down to extremely short exposures at high noise (gain) settings for EAA.
NOTE - While I use the Sharpcap Camera Folder option I am NOT saying you MUST use that too. You will use the Camera Control menu to set Exposure and Gain with your camera connected! I have just used Camera Folder to demonstrate with real raw frames from a night out recently. As where I live a Hurricane (well Cyclone in my country) is just offshore and we have had weeks of rain and flooding and wind. So bored and nothing to do, I made the video to help you all out . Cheers
https://youtu.be/0Fvm_DjOgaY
But beginners to EAA or AP often struggle getting any image at all, or at best some image no-where near as good as they expected. And if they ask forums for what settings they use on different targets, they will get all manner of different settings. The reason is that others use the same camera on different mounts and telescopes so have adjusted the camera(s) to suit their equipment.
This video therefore goes through how a beginner should use the two simple settings of Exposure time and Gain in conjunction with the Display Histogram to get the "good" signal which allows a good exposure to stack. Furthermore, I suggest how you should focus the camera, as well as what targets a beginner should concentrate on ... for at least 3 months! Why? Because the "good" signal in the Display Histogram can be created by many combinations of gain and exposure! So in the video I show how you can easily find those settings and adjust the times to suit your "taste". Be it long exposures at low noise (gain) settings for AP and Eq mounts, all the way down to extremely short exposures at high noise (gain) settings for EAA.
NOTE - While I use the Sharpcap Camera Folder option I am NOT saying you MUST use that too. You will use the Camera Control menu to set Exposure and Gain with your camera connected! I have just used Camera Folder to demonstrate with real raw frames from a night out recently. As where I live a Hurricane (well Cyclone in my country) is just offshore and we have had weeks of rain and flooding and wind. So bored and nothing to do, I made the video to help you all out . Cheers
https://youtu.be/0Fvm_DjOgaY