How do I determine the gamma neutral point for a ZWO ASI178MC?

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Shannon
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How do I determine the gamma neutral point for a ZWO ASI178MC?

#1

Post by Shannon »

I noticed SharpCap sets my gamma to "50" by default in "Image Controls". When I read the SharpCap documentation, it was pretty clear that neutral gamma is "1", but it seems like other astrophotographers swear that is not the case and neutral gamma is closer to 40 or 50.

Can I go with "1" being neutral gamma and if not, how do I determine neutral for my setup? I am assuming I want my gamma to be neutral during acquisition so I can pull the most detail out. In this case, a bright galaxy like NGC6946, the Fireworks Galaxy. I have a terrible mount, so I am doing 15s exposures with the gain set at 250. This is on an 8" SCT with an f/6.3 reducer.

If neutral gamma is not where I actually want to be, how do I determine the best gamma setting?

Thank you!
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admin
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Re: How do I determine the gamma neutral point for a ZWO ASI178MC?

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

as far as I know the neutral gamma for the ZWO camera is 50 - anything higher or lower than that means that a stretch of some sort is being applied. If you want to be absolutely sure about this then I'd suggest asking on the ZWO forums to confirm.

cheers,

Robin
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turfpit
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Re: How do I determine the gamma neutral point for a ZWO ASI178MC?

#3

Post by turfpit »

Gamma=50 as the recommended setting is mentioned a lot in here https://zwoug.org/

I have used that setting to good effect on an ASI120MC.

Dave
Shannon
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Re: How do I determine the gamma neutral point for a ZWO ASI178MC?

#4

Post by Shannon »

Thank you for the responses! I'll go with 50 for now then and assume that is neutral.
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turfpit
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Re: How do I determine the gamma neutral point for a ZWO ASI178MC?

#5

Post by turfpit »

I used gamma=50 for these viewtopic.php?f=16&t=353

Dave
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