Jupiter only grey scale

Discussions of using SharpCap for Planetary Imaging
Buckrogers
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Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 2:22 pm

Jupiter only grey scale

#1

Post by Buckrogers »

Hey guys,

I captured Jupiter last night but it only showed as grey scale. After I processed with PIPP, AUTOSTKERT then REGISTAX, no color showed.
Not sure what I did wrong, this is a color camera

Files attached.
Attachments
20_13_17.CameraSettings.txt
(745 Bytes) Downloaded 78 times
Jupiter with moons.PNG
Jupiter with moons.PNG (278.04 KiB) Viewed 2296 times
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turfpit
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Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#2

Post by turfpit »

Buck

Some suggestions:
  • The posted image is massively over-exposed, so it is hard to tell if it is colour or mono.
  • The capture area is very large which will result in a slow frame rate, think more 640x480 for Jupiter.
  • Turn Debayer Preview ON, then you will see colour on the screen during capture.
  • Use SER as the capture format.
When you next try a capture, hold down the control key and then connect the camera in SharpCap. This will put the camera settings back to defaults for SharpCap. To start with, only change settings in Capture Format and Area and Camera Controls (keep life simple).

Enable the histogram (from the Toolbar), select Logarithmic and undock it. This will result in a small histogram which I find more useful. Set the gain to around 70% of maximum. Adjust the exposure until the white bar is around 60% on the histogram. When the screen looks similar to the image below, Capture 1000 frames.

Capture.JPG
Capture.JPG (79.95 KiB) Viewed 2283 times


To process, drag and drop the SER file onto the Autostakkert Open button and follow the usual steps. The Autostakkert output file can be processed in Registax. In Registax, use the RGB Balance button and Autobalance to balance the colours.

balance-colour.JPG
balance-colour.JPG (60.17 KiB) Viewed 2283 times


An over-exposed Jupiter to show the moons, note what happens to the histogram:

over-exposed.JPG
over-exposed.JPG (87.97 KiB) Viewed 2283 times


The above should get you going, note the settings given are suggestions, there will need to be some experimentation for optimum results. See viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1156 for further processing info. I only had a mono camera when I wrote that. Given the recent questions on the forum, it would probably be useful for me to redo the document with a colour camera.

Two questions:
  • What is the default setting for Brightness in SharpCap for the NextImage 10?
  • What steps did you carry out in PIPP?
Dave
Buckrogers
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 2:22 pm

Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#3

Post by Buckrogers »

Dave,

Awesome explanation. Thank you so much. I read a document on this site HOWTO Debayer Captured Images
Using PIPP (Planetary Imaging PreProcessor. This was an excellent doc which helped me see colors now. The next time I use sharpcap I will save the image as SER and will use your suggestions. I guess it's too late now to play around with these many files I have lol. Next time I use sharpcap, I'll reply with what the default brightness is.

question, how did you manage to get 640x480? When I switched to that last night, Jupiter was way off. I can only use MAX to get in line.
Something to do with that ROI box. Apologies, I'm a newbie just getting into astrophotography.
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turfpit
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Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#4

Post by turfpit »

I read a document on this site HOWTO Debayer Captured Images
Using PIPP (Planetary Imaging PreProcessor
Another of mine - I learnt a lot from writing that one.
how did you manage to get 640x480
Start off with the largest capture area and get the object centred. Step down to the next capture area. The object will have shifted. Re-centre and step down again. If you have a ROI box (once below the maximum capture area) then that can be dragged around until the object comes back into view.

Another trick is to de-focus Jupiter which makes it very large and easier to find.

Eventually I got to the point where I align the mount with the camera in place rather than the eyepiece. This was the big step forward. I use a Celestron Skyris 618m, max area is 640x480, and have no trouble landing on planets but it is down to experience & practise.

The SER format will deal with large files and will be helpful when you try some lunar captures.

You are just going through the usual learning steps. My first ever image was of Saturn using a Nexstar 6Se and Celestron Solar System Imager - it took 3 nights to get the planet on the camera sensor.

Dave
Buckrogers
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Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 2:22 pm

Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#5

Post by Buckrogers »

Thank you so much for your assistance. I was able to capture Jupiter last night with all the details and instructions you provided. You wanted to know the brightness level for my camera? The max is 138. Also, I have a 5 min SER video. Is there a way I can clean up ie make it clearer and have a 5 min video not just captures? I know I can probably tweak this more but here is the result of my first picture of Jupiter.
Attachments
Jupiter.PNG
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turfpit
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Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#6

Post by turfpit »

Looks like this is starting to work for you. Got the brightness=138 thanks. Can you post the camera settings file?

One of the problems with Jupiter is that it has a very fast rotation, therefore long videos can introduce 'smearing' in the finished result. The best way to mitigate this is via increased fps. For the examples I have shown recently I can capture 1000 frames in ~30s (44fps with ZWO ASI120MC USB2). With the Skyris 618M USB3, I can get 120fps.

The answers are in the camera settings file. Atmospheric conditions (and elevation) have big impact on image quality. The idea of stacking is to introduce a quality score and throw away the worst fames.

My best ever Jupiter was data June 2017 - this is the highest elevation (above 45°) Jupiter has ever been for me. The capture was 35fps. After stacking, the only processing was set wavelet slider 2 to 20. That was done by Damian Peach at his planetary workshop. He said " that is about as good as you will get with that data". Damian is ruined by access to 1 metre scopes for his planetary imaging http://www.damianpeach.com/picdumidi2017.htm.

Jupiter.jpg
Jupiter.jpg (57.12 KiB) Viewed 2140 times





Dave
Buckrogers
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Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#7

Post by Buckrogers »

Actually, brightness max is 168. Here are the camera settings. I have to say this quite enjoyable.

[NexImage 10]
FrameType=Light
Debayer Preview=On
Output Format=SER file (*.ser)
Colour Space=RAW8
Capture Area=640x480
Pan=2224
Tilt=220
Frame Rate Limit=Maximum
Gain=250
Exposure=3.291s
Timestamp Frames=Off
Brightness=168
Background Subtraction=Off
Planet/Disk Stabilization=Off
Banding Threshold=35
Banding Suppression=0
Apply Flat=None
Subtract Dark=None
Display Black Point=0
Display MidTone Point=0.5
Display White Point=1
Notes=
CPWI=RA=21:39:55,Dec=-15:22:47 (JNOW)
TimeStamp=2021-10-19T23:49:13.6922190Z
SharpCapVersion=4.0.8185.0
StartCapture=2021-10-19T23:49:10.3903604Z
MidCapture=2021-10-19T23:49:41.5693604Z
EndCapture=2021-10-19T23:50:12.7475508Z
Duration=62.357s
FrameCount=866
TimeZone=-4.00
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turfpit
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Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#8

Post by turfpit »

SER, RAW8 and 640x480 look right.

The brightness of 168 - I would be inclined to have brightness = 0. Hold the CONTROL key down and connect the camera - this will force defaults. What is the range on brightness? Also what is the range on gain?

Exposure is 3.29s which is returning around 800 frames in a minute. If we can get the exposure to 30ms or less then expect to capture 2000 frames in a minute.

Are you connected to a USB3 port, with the camera directly to the capture machine?

A capture screen showing the histogram (like mine above) would be useful now as well.
Buckrogers
Posts: 78
Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 2:22 pm

Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#9

Post by Buckrogers »

I am connected to a usb3 port on my windows tablet.
I don't see a slider for the range on gain but I can type in a number.
Will try with a brightness of 0
Attached is the histogram.
Gonna be awhile before I can redo this as the next few days, ugly weather.
Attachments
Histogram.PNG
Histogram.PNG (10.68 KiB) Viewed 2012 times
Buckrogers
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Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 2:22 pm

Re: Jupiter only grey scale

#10

Post by Buckrogers »

Here are a couple of more histograms. I noticed i'm only getting 11fps?
Attachments
Jupiter Historgram.PNG
Jupiter Historgram.PNG (459.51 KiB) Viewed 1919 times
Jupiter Histogram2.PNG
Jupiter Histogram2.PNG (456.29 KiB) Viewed 1919 times
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