Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

Somewhere to ask questions about the best way to use SharpCap
Forum rules


If you have a problem or question, please check the FAQ to see if it already has an answer : https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap-faqs
Post Reply
GaryS
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 5:18 pm
Location: Boston, USA/Jackson Hole, USA

Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#1

Post by GaryS »

Is it possible for SC to produce the individual, Bias-corrected, Flat frames rather than the totally-automated process of producing only a Master Flat?

I guess I have the same question about Darks - can the individual frames be accessed?

Thanks for your help!
Gary
User avatar
turfpit
Posts: 1779
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:13 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#2

Post by turfpit »

Gary

This viewtopic.php?f=35&t=2552 should get you started. Note that in Sharpcap 4 there is a drop down on the Toolbar to select the type of frame. This is written into the FITS header and may be used by image processing software.

Dave
GaryS
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 5:18 pm
Location: Boston, USA/Jackson Hole, USA

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#3

Post by GaryS »

Hi Dave:
Thats an interesting document but I did not find an answer in it to my question on whether SC can provide individual Dark, Flat and Bias frames.
Cheers
Gary
User avatar
turfpit
Posts: 1779
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:13 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#4

Post by turfpit »

Gary

I might have mis-read your question (should have gone to bed instead). My answer (the document) relates to the traditional way of imaging - capture lights, darks, bias and flat frames, then process them using software such as Deep Sky Stacker, Astro Pixel Processor, Pixinsight, Siril etc. The Capture > Capture Dark or Capture Flat in the menu are designed to produce Master Darks and Master Flats to be applied to light frames captured via Live Stack.

https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/4.0/#Captur ... k%20Frames
https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/4.0/#Captur ... t%20Frames

Please can you delete your identical post in the Tutorials sub-forum to keep answers focused on this thread.

Dave
Broz
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2021 2:12 pm

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#5

Post by Broz »

The way I do it is just to capture still images and set the parameters and names however you want. So I make lights, flats, darks, and dark-flats all the same way, just adjusting things (number of desired frames, temp, gain, offset, exposure time) as appropriate for each image type.
John
GaryS
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 5:18 pm
Location: Boston, USA/Jackson Hole, USA

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#6

Post by GaryS »

Hi Broz
I really appreciate the way Robin set up the Flat generator to allow for automatic subtraction of Bias or Flat Darks. It sounds like the process you are outlining is what I’d do if I were to just produce all the frames, individually in Maximdl.

I was hoping that SC had a process, or simple hack, that retained the auto Bias/auto Flat Darks feature, while allowing the user to capture all the individual corrected flat frames rather than just a Master Flat.
Gary
Broz
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2021 2:12 pm

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#7

Post by Broz »

GaryS,
I've asked Robin the same question, and he said (at least at that time), that the individual frames are deleted after making the master. This may be a change (to keep the individual frames) that he is willing to consider. I think there is value in this for doing best quality livestacking, and then being able to follow up later with post processing where you build your calibration masters in the same software in which you postprocess (PixInsight in my case).
GaryS
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 5:18 pm
Location: Boston, USA/Jackson Hole, USA

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#8

Post by GaryS »

Hi
SC is such an easy and efficient application from the user perspective - especially compared with apps like Maximdl. I appreciate the efficiency of tossing the individual frames and preserving the masters but it would be terrific to have the ‘option’ to keep the individual frames. Sometimes it’s important to inspect the individual frames and toss bad ones with cosmic ray strikes, contrails and the hideous trains of satellites our skies are getting littered with.

If Sharpcap could allow us to preserve frames, as a user ‘option’, I would likely never need to deal with overly complex apps like Maximdl and their awful graphic user interfaces…..
Here’s Hoping!
Gary
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 13177
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
Contact:

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#9

Post by admin »

Hi Gary,

thanks for the feedback - I've been keeping an eye on this thread and similar ones, and do have this on the todo list.

cheers,

Robin
GaryS
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 5:18 pm
Location: Boston, USA/Jackson Hole, USA

Re: Can Sharpcap produce individual flat frames?

#10

Post by GaryS »

Thank you letting me know. SC is amazing already and is responsible for thousands of amateurs and professionals finding great joy in EAA observing. With polar alignment, collimation, FWHM screening, the Sequencer and individual calibration frame capture, it will possibly convert the AP world as well. We all owe you a great debt of thanks.
Gary

ps: charge more…!
Post Reply