Touptek Cam

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Bernie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 7:49 pm

Touptek Cam

#1

Post by Bernie »

Hello
I'm new here in the forum and make the first attempts with a Toupcam and Sharpcap. I would like to use Sharpcap, although I know that the Ascom driver has certain weaknesses.
But unfortunately I have some strange artifacts - either on a picture or on a video (please compare Attachment).
Can anyone help me?
Please excuse my beginner question.

With the DirectShow Camera Driver I do not have these problems. But I don't want to use it, because it can only take 8bit pictures.

Thanks a lot!
Bernie
Attachments
Capture_00001.CameraSettings.txt
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Capture_00001.jpg
Capture_00001.jpg (300.92 KiB) Viewed 2199 times
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admin
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Re: Touptek Cam

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

I guess that you are referring to the fine 'chessboard' pattern that appears to be present all across the image – this is what you tend to see when you take a RAW image from a colour camera and look at it in an imaging application that doesn't understand that the image needs to be debayerd to extract the colour information from the grid of pixel values.

See the attachment to the first post in this thread for much more information on what this is all about and what you need to do : viewtopic.php?t=254

Cheers, Robin
Bernie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 7:49 pm

Re: Touptek Cam

#3

Post by Bernie »

Hello Robin
Many thanks for the quick response. Yes, that is indeed the case that I have referred to the chessboard pattern.
Please excuse my stupid question, I have only done deepsky photography with mono CCD cameras so far.

Now I choose with the Ascom drivers RGB (and 12bit). But I can only select RAW8 and not RGB in "Capture Format and Area" under "Colour Space". Is there an explanation for this? Thanks a lot!
Bernie
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Re: Touptek Cam

#4

Post by admin »

Hi,

I think that's because the Ascom driver for those cameras only ever gives back a raw image – i.e. one that shows the grid pattern of the different colour filters on the sensor. Some Ascom drivers may offer to create a colour image from this and in that case SharpCap would show the option for RGB, but obviously not in the TT driver.

SharpCap itself will automatically turn these images into colour for you, but as you've noticed when you save them they have the chessboard pattern instead. This is usually reckoned to be a good thing – not only does it make the saved images three times smaller, but it means that when you do process them using a tool that can convert that pattern into the colour signal, you can use algorithms that produce the highest quality images rather than those that are simplest or run the fastest.

Cheers, Robin
Bernie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 7:49 pm

Re: Touptek Cam

#5

Post by Bernie »

Hello Robin
Thank you! Now I have understood; I will work with PIPP to convert the videos and pictures.

Have a nice day
Bernie
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