SharpCap Forums

Hi everyone,

I just started astrophotography using a Skywatcher 150/750, EQ-5 and for Deepsky a Canon EOS-1300D.
I'm quite new to Sharpcap and the Svbony. Due to weather conditions I was only able to test both on sun and moon. My main problems are the settings for recording. So many options. I tried capturing avi files in RGB and switched to Ser and RAW16. I just don't know the best values for Gamma or Gain. I know it depends on Object and Conditions, but are there some basic rules, like leave Gamma at 1 and Gain low?
Maybe some of you have a similar setup and can give me a hint into the right direction! Thank you!

Hi,

there are generally 3 main slider controls to adjust - exposure, gain and black level (sometimes black level will be called offset or brightness). It's usually best to leave other control (sharpness, gamma, colour adjustments, contrast, etc) at their default values. While adjusting those other controls might make the image on-screen look prettier, you can get the same effects by adjusting the final image in an image editing program without the use of those controls changing the data saved to image/video file in ways that could be hard to undo in later processing.

For the sun and moon, the approach is relatively easy...

* Set the camera to RAW8 - RAW16 is not needed for this sort of imaging
* Set the exposure to about 30ms to try to get about 30 frames per second
* Set the gain to minimum

If the image is too dark, turn up the gain to brighten it. On the other hand, if it is too bright, turn down the exposure.

This approach will not go too far wrong to get you started.

cheers,

Robin

Thanks Robin.

That should help for getting started.
I also tried the Polar Alignment using Sharpcap last night. Though it wasn't perfect I think it helped. Next time I'll give the Push to find a chance. The program seems to be rich of so many features!