New feature release of AstroDMx Capture with implementation of the
Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC OSC CMOS camera.
Feature release of AstroDMx Capture for all platforms
Version 1.0.5
Mutatis Mutandis.
Nicola has released version 1.0.5 of AstroDMx Capture for Windows, macOS and Linux (including the Raspberry Pi) and Chrome OS.
Click on an image to get a closer view.
There are a number of significant changes in the new version
- Altair camera implementation. (The actual camera implemented was the Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera).
- Added: PNG output.
- Automatic white balance control (DMx Auto WB) independent of any camera specific white balance controls.
- Panning mode with scrollbars in hardware acceleration (drag-panning is still available)
- Thermal controls moved into their own control group.
- Improved cooling functions.
- Automatic selection for display performance.
- Sensor temperature in log and FITS metadata.
- Windows: changed colour of the control group titles.
- SVBONY and QHY SDK version increases.
- Automatic implementation of the correct version of AstroDMx Capture for Linux, based on the CPU and the version of the glibc dependency on the user’s computer. This removes the possibility of a user downloading the wrong version.
- Bug fixes.
DMx Auto WB
Some cameras such as the Atik 320E OSC CCD camera and some others such as the Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera, have a green cast to their images captured in RAW mode.
Altair describes this as a natural result of using true RAW, and the green cast has to be removed in post processing.
AstroDMx Capture now has an option to apply an auto white balance (DMx Auto WB) in the preview AND the saved data when capturing from RAW data. DMX Auto WB can be turned on or off by the user.
The equipment used for the tests on DMx Auto WB. The camera used was an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera
The camera was kindly loaned to us by Dr Simon Helan of the Swansea Astronomical Society so that it could be implemented in AstroDMx Capture.
Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Windows preview of M27 with DMx Auto WB OFF with an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera, a Skywatcher 130PDS f/5 Newtonian reflector mounted on a Celestron AVX GOTO EQ mount
It can be seen that there is a green cast to the preview image which is confirmed by the histogram.
Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Windows preview of M27 with DMx Auto WB ON with an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera, a Skywatcher 130PDS f/5 Newtonian reflector mounted on a Celestron AVX GOTO EQ mount
It can be seen that with DMx WB ON there is now no green cast, which is confirmed by the histogram.
Final image of M27 with an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC
Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Windows capturing data on M17 with DMx Auto WB OFF an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera, a Skywatcher 130PDS f/5 Newtonian reflector mounted on a Celestron AVX GOTO EQ mount.
There is a strong green cast to the image which is confirmed by the histogram.
The brightness of the preview is due to the transform and other controls being applied to the preview.
Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Windows capturing data on M17 with DMx Auto WB ON an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera, a Skywatcher 130PDS f/5 Newtonian reflector mounted on a Celestron AVX GOTO EQ mount.
With DMx WB ON there is no green cast that is confirmed by the histogram.
The same transform and preview image controls are being used here as in the previous screenshot but DMx WB is ON.
Final image of M17 with an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC
Screenshot of AstroDMx Capture for Windows capturing data on M16 with DMx Auto WB ON an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC 14-bit CMOS camera, a Skywatcher 130PDS f/5 Newtonian reflector mounted on a Celestron AVX GOTO EQ mount.
Final image of M16 with an Altair Hypercam 294C PRO 4GB TEC
In a sense, it doesn’t matter whether the white balancing is done before or after capture, but a more pleasing and realistic preview of the image is obtained with the DMx Auto WB ON.
During post processing the removal of the green cast is no longer an issue and other aspects of the image can be concentrated on.
However, if live tracking and stacking was being done by using AstroDMx Capture with DSSL (Deep Sky Stacker Live), pre-capture white balancing would be essential for electronically assisted astronomical viewing, possibly for outreach and general appreciation of the accumulating stacked image. DMx Auto WB ON gives an altogether more satisfying imaging experience than when it is not used.
See my two x-bit blog articles for details on live stacking with AstroDMx Capture and DSSL.
Click on the link to see the full article
Setting up AstroDMx Capture for Windows and Deep Sky Stacker Live (DSSL) to work with each other.
Live deep sky image stacking with AstroDMx Capture for Windows and Deep-Sky Stacker Live.
With AstroDMx Capture now weighing in at more than 66 KLOCs of active code plus 11K lines of internal documentation over 5 operating system platforms, it has been an exhausting time for Nicola, bringing it to release Version 1.0.5.
