Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Nov 25, 2020 7:31:46 GMT
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Here's a little guide for anyone who might be interested in recording the night sky.
I've copied a few in from previous nightsky threads, but please disregard if this doesn't interest you
First Off - Equipment:
Computer
Camera - sensor/lens must be good for F/2.8 or (better) F/1.4
USB Cable (5m max)
Optional: Allsky Enclosure, Dome, Dew Heater Ring + 12v cable
I've used Sharpcap software - it's easily the most user-friendly, but many also recommend Firecapture. Here's my little guide for Sharpcap and Time Lapse Creator
the important thing to remember with Sharpcap is - although it is freeware, there's a couple of really useful aspects that require paying a £10 license fee to unlock. far and away the key function to unlock is "darks". You can try capturing without "darks" but you'll see that - even on the coldest nights you'll always get some hot pixels. If you use dark subtraction it does a great job of removing these.
SHARPCAP INSTRUCTIONS: - ver 3.2 is great for win 7, 8 and 10 www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap/downloads
manual is here: docs.sharpcap.co.uk/3.2/
Once downloaded and installed, here's how to set it up:
♦ plug camera usb cable into computer, windows will detect all Zwo cameras
♦ run Sharpcap
♦ Menu > Cameras > Select your Zwo camera (you won;t need to do this again, unless you connect other cameras to Sharpcap)
CAPTURE PROFILES - (big box running down right side of Sharpcap window)
♦ Colourspace = RGB
♦ Capture Area = select best resolution available for your camera
♦ Output Format = JPEG
♦ Exposure = 465ms
♦ Gain = 450
You shouldn't need to change anything else at this stage. You can always do this after your first test captures.
NOTE: more exposure = more noise. always compensate using Gain.
DARK SUBTRACTION:
Definitely gets the most out of the camera and the software. If you decide to pay the £10, this is how you apply darks (should be done before every session - as sensor has to be same temperature as when capture takes place. Skip this section if not purchasing license to use "darks".
♦ cover the dome with something black
♦ Menu > Capture > Darks - choose 10 (this only takes one minute).
♦ Once done, go to config menu (right side of window) scroll to bottom, and
> select SUBTRACT DARKS > Browse - this should take you to the location of your dark frames. Once selected these will be automatically subtracted from the captures you're about to take.
CAPTURES:
Much will depend upon what length of playback clip you want. My figures below give approximate 2 mins of playback @ 24FPS, once converted to timelapse, and a small interval = less risk of missing movement in the sky
♦ Menu > Start Capture
♦ tick "perform a Sequence of Captures
♦ Sequence length = 2880
♦ Interval Between Captures = 00:00:02
Adjust these to suit yourself. A general rule: @24fps, 1 minute of playback = 1440 frames = 48mins total capture duration.
♦ Start Capture.
Next step is creating Timelapses from your collected images:
TIME LAPSE CREATOR [freeware]
www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/time-lapse-creator/9p7tv6jcl1s3?activetab=pivot:overviewtab
initial setup - do all in this order:
♦ Quality = 1080p
♦ FPS = 24, you can go right down to around 5fps, but any moving stuff like satellites and planes will look jerky. Worth experimenting to see what you're happiest with.
♦ Bitrate = no change
♦ select folder to import images from (usually the location of your Sharpcap captures), software will begin importing files
♦ once message "timelapse created successfully" appears, click save
you should now have a clip that you can playback in your favourite media player app
Here's a little guide for anyone who might be interested in recording the night sky.
I've copied a few in from previous nightsky threads, but please disregard if this doesn't interest you
First Off - Equipment:
Computer
Camera - sensor/lens must be good for F/2.8 or (better) F/1.4
USB Cable (5m max)
Optional: Allsky Enclosure, Dome, Dew Heater Ring + 12v cable
I've used Sharpcap software - it's easily the most user-friendly, but many also recommend Firecapture. Here's my little guide for Sharpcap and Time Lapse Creator
the important thing to remember with Sharpcap is - although it is freeware, there's a couple of really useful aspects that require paying a £10 license fee to unlock. far and away the key function to unlock is "darks". You can try capturing without "darks" but you'll see that - even on the coldest nights you'll always get some hot pixels. If you use dark subtraction it does a great job of removing these.
SHARPCAP INSTRUCTIONS: - ver 3.2 is great for win 7, 8 and 10 www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap/downloads
manual is here: docs.sharpcap.co.uk/3.2/
Once downloaded and installed, here's how to set it up:
♦ plug camera usb cable into computer, windows will detect all Zwo cameras
♦ run Sharpcap
♦ Menu > Cameras > Select your Zwo camera (you won;t need to do this again, unless you connect other cameras to Sharpcap)
CAPTURE PROFILES - (big box running down right side of Sharpcap window)
♦ Colourspace = RGB
♦ Capture Area = select best resolution available for your camera
♦ Output Format = JPEG
♦ Exposure = 465ms
♦ Gain = 450
You shouldn't need to change anything else at this stage. You can always do this after your first test captures.
NOTE: more exposure = more noise. always compensate using Gain.
DARK SUBTRACTION:
Definitely gets the most out of the camera and the software. If you decide to pay the £10, this is how you apply darks (should be done before every session - as sensor has to be same temperature as when capture takes place. Skip this section if not purchasing license to use "darks".
♦ cover the dome with something black
♦ Menu > Capture > Darks - choose 10 (this only takes one minute).
♦ Once done, go to config menu (right side of window) scroll to bottom, and
> select SUBTRACT DARKS > Browse - this should take you to the location of your dark frames. Once selected these will be automatically subtracted from the captures you're about to take.
CAPTURES:
Much will depend upon what length of playback clip you want. My figures below give approximate 2 mins of playback @ 24FPS, once converted to timelapse, and a small interval = less risk of missing movement in the sky
♦ Menu > Start Capture
♦ tick "perform a Sequence of Captures
♦ Sequence length = 2880
♦ Interval Between Captures = 00:00:02
Adjust these to suit yourself. A general rule: @24fps, 1 minute of playback = 1440 frames = 48mins total capture duration.
♦ Start Capture.
Next step is creating Timelapses from your collected images:
TIME LAPSE CREATOR [freeware]
www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/time-lapse-creator/9p7tv6jcl1s3?activetab=pivot:overviewtab
initial setup - do all in this order:
♦ Quality = 1080p
♦ FPS = 24, you can go right down to around 5fps, but any moving stuff like satellites and planes will look jerky. Worth experimenting to see what you're happiest with.
♦ Bitrate = no change
♦ select folder to import images from (usually the location of your Sharpcap captures), software will begin importing files
♦ once message "timelapse created successfully" appears, click save
you should now have a clip that you can playback in your favourite media player app