SharpCap Forums

When I am livestacking (deep sky), I find that when I center the mid-range slider at or near the image peak I get the best picture. However, if I let it live-stack for a while (say, 5 minutes or so) without adjusting anything, I find that the peak has migrated away from the mid-range bar. This sometimes causes the image to disappear or become too dim over time, and I have to move the mid-range slider back again to match the signal peak.

Is there a way to have the mid-range slider always match the signal peak, so I don't have to continually move it? That would be useful, since sometimes I have to step away from my computer for a few minutes (for example at a star party), and it would be good to return to it and see the same bright image as when I left. Any suggestions?

Or, maybe I am not livestacking correctly - any advice will be appreciated!

Hi,

yes, this is a new feature coming in SharpCap 4.2 (you can try out the SharpCap 4.2 beta versions already - check out the beta testing forum for more info on what's coming up). What you will need is to tick the new 'Track Histogram Stretch/Colour Balance' box in the live stack histogram area, then SharpCap will do what it can to keep the same sort of stretch as the stack evolves over time.

At the moment, the stretch tracking only deals with brightness level changes - I am working on an enhancement that will also deal with situations where the colour of the background changes (for instance if you start imaging during the last stages of twilight, so the first frames start out with a dark blue background which gradually fades).

cheers,

Robin

I am looking forward to trying it! That sounds like a great update, and will allow for leaving the computer for longer periods of time while still maintaining a great image on the screen. Particularly useful at star parties I think, where we tend to socialize and leave our set-ups for a while.