Touptek 678C / image flip feature not available

[Alessandro]

I have just purchased a Touptek 678C,
which works correctly using SharpCap.
I am using the latest version, 4.1.

I have noticed that it is not possible to adjust the white balance in RAW mode, but only in RGB24.
I read on the forum that this is currently a limitation that must be accepted,
not managed by SharpCap but rather due to a limitation on Touptek's side.

However, I have also found that the image FLIP function (horizontal and vertical)
is not available among the image controls in SharpCap in any capture format.
It is completely absent from any control menu.
The Flip function is instead available and working
when using the manufacturer’s software (ToupSky).

Is it possible to address this missing function in the SharpCap menu?

Thanks.

Regards,
Alessandro

[admin]

Hi Alessandro,

if you install the very latest version of SharpCap 4.1 from our downloads page, you should find that you have RGB adjustments in RAW mode for your ToupTek camera - this is very new, so you will not see that feature if your SharpCap is out-of-date.

For the option of flipping the image - that is also only available via the ToupTek SDK in RGB mode (or for mono cameras). However, SharpCap already has an alternative - 'Flip (after Dark/Flat)' in the pre-processing section of the controls. This is available for all cameras and has the advantage that you don't need to make flat and dark frames for each 'flip' orientation you intend to use because the corrections are done before the frame is flipped.

cheers,

Robin

[Alessandro]

Dear Robin,

Thank you very much for the explanations.

I will then proceed to download the very latest version of SharpCap 4.1
directly from your website, so that I can finally make use of the gain/balance controls
of the RGB channels. (I had trusted the update automatically proposed by the program).

Regarding the "SharpCap Flip after Dark/Flat" feature,
I understand its advantages in terms of being able
to change the flip during capture without having to worry
about capturing new darks and flats
but I just ask for confirmation on two points regarding this.

Does this mean that once the flats and darks have been loaded
into preprocessing section, I’ll finally be free
to rotate the image view even in RAW mode?

By capturing images this way
(with calibration frames already loaded and preprocessing enabled),
I’ll be saving already calibrated and final files —
so I would no longer be able to redo flats that didn’t come out well.
In short I wouldn't be able to correct the original/native images afterwards
because they would be lost from my imaging session. Am I right?

[admin]

Hi,

yes, if you use darks or flats in SharpCap and are doing normal SharpCap capturing ('Snapshot', 'Start Capture', 'Quick Capture', etc) then the corrected version with the dark/flat applied (and anything else specified in the 'Preprocessing' controls) is saved to disk.

On the other hand, if you use deep sky live stacking and set it up to save the raw frames as well as saving the stack, the raw frames saved from live stacking are completely untouched images from the camera (none of the pre-processing stuff applied). This does give you the opportunity to completely re-stack/re-process later.

cheers,

Robin