Settings retention

[rogastro]

Hi Robin

After the last 3 updates in 4.1, I've noticed that when I re-open SharpCap it retains all my previous settings with the exception of the black level which now seems to default to 496 rather than 50 which is my normal setting. Previous versions retained all my settings.

I have an Altair Astro 269c Pro Tec. I have 2 laptops, one using Windows 10, the other Windows 11 and it does the same on both operating systems.

Thank

Roger

[admin]

Hi Roger,

that's odd. I have the same camera here, so I just tried with the very latest 4.1 and it seems to restore the black level fine for me.

I presume you are using the 'auto restore camera settings' feature to get back to the last used settings - if so then a file will be stored on disk with the settings that SharpCap will reload, so it would be interesting to see the contents of that file.

In windows explorer, go to the folder

Code: Select all

C:\Users\<<your windows username>>\AppData\Roaming\SharpCap\CaptureProfiles

In that folder should be a file called '_autosave (AA269CPRO).ini' - that file contains the settings that SharpCap saved when the camera was last closed, so when you re-open the camera, SharpCap will try to reload those settings. You can look at the file with Notepad if you want to check what black level value is stored in the file.

If it is 50 stored in the file and SharpCap is still setting 496 when you re-open the camera, please post the contents of the file here so I can try to re-create your setup exactly in my testing.

thanks,

Robin

[rogastro]

Thanks Robin.

I have tried as you have suggested but I've not been able to find the relevant folder. That's likely to be my fault as I'm not a 'techie'. I have attached 4 photos which I hope may help. I've tried my own (not very scientific) tests and can confirm that all the settings are retained if I use anything other then RAW12. If I use an older version of SharpCap (4.0) which I still have, that retains all settings including RAW12. I will see you at PAS on Saturday where it might be easier to discuss. Regards, Roger

[admin]

Hi Roger,

yes, we can discuss at PAS, but perhaps I can give you an easier way to find the settings folder...

* Make sure you have created at least one capture profile for your camera using the 'Save As...' button to save the current settings to a capture profile as shown here : https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/4.1/#Capture%20Profiles

* Having done that, press the 'Manage...' button to manage capture profiles - see https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/4.1/#Captur ... Management

* Locate the saved profile for your camera in the view on the left (you may have to expand the camera entry in the left hand side to see the profile)

* Click on the saved profile to select it - the contents will be shown in the panel on the right

* On the far right of the management window, click the 'Show on Disk' button, which will open the folder where SharpCap stores capture profiles - the autosave file should be in that same folder.

cheers,

Robin

[rogastro]

Hi Robin

Thank you for the instructions - very straightforward. Here is the last one I actually used. Hopefully I've done it correctly.

Thanks

Roger

[admin]

Hi Roger,

thanks for finding and sending that file - it certainly has the correct value of 50 saved, so we know that any issue must be in loading the settings, not saving them.

I have put a 269C into the kit box for the show, so if there is a quiet moment we can test there, although mine is the fan-cooled, not the PROTEC version. The Altair cameras are a bit odd for the black level because the range changes as you move between different bit depths. SharpCap tries to adjust for this, so if you set a level of 10 in RAW8, it will change automatically to 160 in RAW12 and back to 10 if you go back to RAW8 (keeping the same actual background brightness by doing this). I could imagine that maybe this code could activate when it shouldn't, except that I don't see it happening when I test here.

One more thing to check - in the 'Manage capture profiles' window - have you set a default profile for that camera? If there is a default profile set then it will load every time the camera is opened and override the 'settings from last time' option. If that profile is set up and contains a high black level valuek, that could explain it.

cheers,

Robin