SharpCap 4.0 Beta Now Available

Discussions, Bug Reports and Issues related to Beta versions of SharpCap
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#91

Post by admin »

Hi,

I can see the bug with the settings - I will have that fixed for the next update.

Not getting a problem with live stacking - can you make it happen with the test deep sky camera (and if so, can you share your problem sequence please).

Not sure about closing the sequence progress window - that is designed to show all the time a sequence is running so you can stop it/see progress (otherwise the menus are all disabled, so you can't do anything). So, by design you can't currently close it until the sequence stops, by which point the sequence is no longer running so can't close it. Catch 22! I will have to think about that...

cheers,

Robin
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#92

Post by mikenoname »

admin wrote: Tue Jan 05, 2021 5:08 pm Not getting a problem with live stacking - can you make it happen with the test deep sky camera (and if so, can you share your problem sequence please).
Just tested it tonight and the problem doesn't seem to happen with the test deep sky camera so I will have to look into this more.

Mike
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#93

Post by admin »

Hi Mike,

thanks for checking - the great thing is with the sequencer is that if you do pin down the cause you can easily share the steps needed to make the bug happen :)

cheers,

Robin
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#94

Post by mikenoname »

Robin,

Found what appears to be an issue with 3.3 during my live stream last night where the stacking process seems to have started adding a bunch of noise but did not create the noise in 3.2. Here is the link to the livestream:

https://youtu.be/OyMhpkWhj-s

The issue starts at about 2:00:28. I didn't notice it at the time, but as soon as the second sub is added to the stack, watch how the right end of the live stack histogram get suddenly really noisy. I then start to notice all the noise being added around M42. I then spent a while trying to figure it out (which may or may not contain useful information for you).

At 2:23:40 I have restarted 3.3 to see if SharpCap just needed a restart, and then when that doesn't solve the problem, I close 3.3, open 3.2 and stack the same object to find that the problem doesn't seem to exist in 3.2.

Then I close 3.2, go to another object, and at about 2:49:05 I start using 3.3 again and the problem disappeared! (Perhaps just the brightness of M42 that caused this???)

Maybe this is nothing, but given that 3.3 is a beta, I will just let you know about anything weird I come across when using it. Let me know if you need any further info (logs or the like).

Mike
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#95

Post by admin »

Hi Mike,

thanks for sharing, nothing obvious jumps out from viewing the video so far as to the cause - could you save some of the raw frames the next time you catch it happening and share them with me (along with the dark, flat and a saved processed frame). Live stacking now saves most of its settings into the CaptureSettings.txt file saved with the stacked image, so if you could share that too, it helps me to set up the same configuration that you are using.

Cheers, Robin
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#96

Post by mikenoname »

If it happens again, you bet.

Mike
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#97

Post by mikenoname »

One more thing I noticed in my stream is that the mount movement hotkeys (Ctrl+ I/J/K/L) were a bit hinkey. Sometimes after slewing to an object they would work and other times I would have to go into the mount control panel, click on one of the arrow buttons to make the scope move, and then the hotkeys would work again.

I'll see if I can narrow it down to a pattern with more use...
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#98

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Hi Mike,

it might depend on where you've clicked most recently when doing other things – i.e. which part of SharpCap has the focus and is receiving mouse/keyboard messages. It's supposed to work for everything, but it wouldn't be beyond the bounds of possibility that some parts of the UI doesn't pass the messages on correctly.

Cheers, Robin
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#99

Post by admin »

Hi folks,

I've just uploaded a new update to the beta version with quite a few changes in – certainly worth a look if you already been testing out the previous beta versions.

New in this update:
  • A new sequence generation 'Wizard' - this will make creating a sequence much easier than the current editing system (the editing system will remain for advanced users and the natural geeks among us).

    The idea is to have a series of choices that you can make that affect the setup of your capture sequence, then define a list of captures that need to be completed, and then a number of steps to carry out at the end. SharpCap will use your choices to generate a sequence automatically for you without having to use the editor.
    Capture.PNG
    Capture.PNG (36.11 KiB) Viewed 1406 times
    I'm very open to suggestions for what options to includ in the before/after sections as well as what needs to be configurable for each capture.

    .
  • Some guiding options have moved to the main settings - these will affect dithering in live stacking and in the sequencer, and open the way for including other guiding applications.
    Capture2.PNG
    Capture2.PNG (24.88 KiB) Viewed 1404 times
    Note: MGEN3 is not written properly yet and PHD hostname/port changes do not work in this version (but will in the next update)

    .
  • Improvements to still mode support - more bits of SharpCap now work with the camera in still mode (focus tools, smart histogram, etc). You also see some (possibly) helpful text if you open a camera in still mode.
    Capture3.PNG
    Capture3.PNG (20.86 KiB) Viewed 1405 times
cheers,

Robin
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Re: SharpCap 3.3 Beta Now Available

#100

Post by mikenoname »

Apologize if this is a dumb question, but what is the best methodology for upgrading from one beta to the next? Uninstall and reinstall or just install over the top? Do settings need to be saved? Etc.
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