Hi Robin,
I downloaded the latest version of SharpCap and it appears to have successfully fixed the problem of changing to a smaller then larger ROI. But I do have a few questions on the intended operation of the software.
1. If I am in the live view mode and I change the ROI, live view stops until I get out of live view then get back in. Is this what was intended?
2. Similar to item #1, if I change the ROI and instead of getting out of live view then back in - I instead select Quick Capture or Start Capture, nothing happens. I have to get out of live view then back in before I can capture pictures.
3. If I select the output format of SER, AVI, WMV or ADV, the software always changes this to PNG when I get out of live view and then back in. Is that what was intended? It does not change the format if JPEG, FITS or TIFF was initially selected.
These appear to be minor quirks but it's not the way I would expect the software to work.
Thanks for your help.
Mike
Capture area problem
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Re: Capture area problem
Hi Mike
#3 is intentional - when you move out of live view then video capture formats aren't appropriate (in still mode you capture frames one at a time), so a still file format is selected instead.
#1 seems to be a bug - the camera is not restarting when you change ROI and you have found a workaround by jumping out of live mode and back in, but that has side effects (#3). #2 is just another manifestation of the same bug - the camera is not providing frames after the ROI change, so capturing does nothing because no frames arrive to save.
I have just tested a selection of QHY cameras here to see if any of mine show the same reluctance to do anything after the ROI change, and unfortunately they all behave themselves. I do have a couple of things to suggest though...
* What happens if you wait about 25s? SharpCap should try to reset the camera after twice the exposure + 20s if no frame arrives from the QHY camera - if that happens there will also be a warning message in the log. If the camera jumps into life after about that period, at least we know that the reset works. If you see the warning in the log but no frames then we know the reset didn't help.
* Try switching the 'force still mode' control from off to on and back to off instead of changing live->still->live mode. It's very likely to have the same effect, but without changing the output format.
cheers,
Robin
#3 is intentional - when you move out of live view then video capture formats aren't appropriate (in still mode you capture frames one at a time), so a still file format is selected instead.
#1 seems to be a bug - the camera is not restarting when you change ROI and you have found a workaround by jumping out of live mode and back in, but that has side effects (#3). #2 is just another manifestation of the same bug - the camera is not providing frames after the ROI change, so capturing does nothing because no frames arrive to save.
I have just tested a selection of QHY cameras here to see if any of mine show the same reluctance to do anything after the ROI change, and unfortunately they all behave themselves. I do have a couple of things to suggest though...
* What happens if you wait about 25s? SharpCap should try to reset the camera after twice the exposure + 20s if no frame arrives from the QHY camera - if that happens there will also be a warning message in the log. If the camera jumps into life after about that period, at least we know that the reset works. If you see the warning in the log but no frames then we know the reset didn't help.
* Try switching the 'force still mode' control from off to on and back to off instead of changing live->still->live mode. It's very likely to have the same effect, but without changing the output format.
cheers,
Robin
Re: Capture area problem
I tried a few things as you suggested. I changed the ROI and then waited several minutes. It did not start displaying images. I checked the log file and it showed that it had tried to restart camera many times.
I then switched on Force Still Mode and then it did start taking images after an ROI change. It also stayed in the SER output format. Could this be the solution? Seems to work fine.
Mike
I then switched on Force Still Mode and then it did start taking images after an ROI change. It also stayed in the SER output format. Could this be the solution? Seems to work fine.
Mike
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Re: Capture area problem
Hi Mike,
thanks for the additional info - it sounds like the steps SharpCap takes to try to restart the camera aren't sufficient in this case, but the full reset of the camera caused by the still mode switch (either from the toolbar or the 'force still mode' change) is. It may be worth reporting the problem to QHY as they will have a similar camera on hand to test with (I don't sadly). Maybe they can fix it in the SDK.
On the workaround level, sounds like the 'force still mode' change (twice) is workable. One more to try is the 'Reconnect to camera' option from the Camera menu, which might do the trick with less clicks.
cheers,
Robin
thanks for the additional info - it sounds like the steps SharpCap takes to try to restart the camera aren't sufficient in this case, but the full reset of the camera caused by the still mode switch (either from the toolbar or the 'force still mode' change) is. It may be worth reporting the problem to QHY as they will have a similar camera on hand to test with (I don't sadly). Maybe they can fix it in the SDK.
On the workaround level, sounds like the 'force still mode' change (twice) is workable. One more to try is the 'Reconnect to camera' option from the Camera menu, which might do the trick with less clicks.
cheers,
Robin