Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by Ewan »

I can't help with much sorry Alexandra but I thought the 8Bit-16Bit button etc auto detects the input file & adjusts accordingly.
I am sure if you try to load an 8Bit file & select 16Bit the image goes to pot, havn't used it in a while though same as most. Just trying it on my 'Heart & Sol' captures but all the files show as 16Bit in AS!

Can't say I use FC as Genika does all I need it to & overall (to me) is more user friendly.
I was going to go down the route of a separate PSU for the PG IMX174 but think I will stick to the USB powering for now as It just seems to work but as Mark said I guess different laptops may give different mileage.

For me in Genika Mode 0 or 7 seems to have no ill effect in capture speed that's worth pointing out & the only time fps is really affected is when using full res & different Bit depths.

From all the reading I have done most tutorials on capturing data always say 16Bit is better & having seen some Lunar examples from shade to light I have to agree, can't add what you don't capture is how I look at it.

Hope you get things sorted Alexandra
Atb


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by Merlin66 »

Just re-visiting this topic.....

Did we find any more info/ data to add to the discussion?

I'm thinking in FC you need to tick the 16bit box to get any of the "benefits" of an SER capture - the frame rate rapidly drops.....


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by PDB »

In my opinion SER has always advantages except for disk space. SER format records exactly what the camera records, while in AVI you are never sure how the content is modified due to compression algoritms. (16 bit data transfer from camera doubles so you need a fast USB, processor and disk to keep it running at full speed. I have managed to build one pc on which I see no frame rate drop in 16 bit even with the ASI178 which has 3096x2080 pixels)

Rgrds,

Paul


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by Merlin66 »

Thanks,
I'm running the ASI 174 and ASI 183 on a MSI "gaming " laptop - i7, USB3 16Gb memory and a 1Tb SSD drive.
With FireCapture I'm seeing a drop in fps when I use SER 16 bit setting....
I'll double check all my settings and confirm the impact.


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by PDB »

The ASI 174 has very fast frame rates, so that might indeed cause some drops, and the ASI 183 is huge ...
As SSD i am using these M2 SSD cards which fit directly onto an M2 slot in the motherboard. In PCI mode I can get read speeds of over 1000Mb/sec and write speeds over 350Mbits/sec. Unfortunately not easy, or not possible to build these into a laptop.

P


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by marktownley »

Hi Folks, Happy New Year everyone.

I think I have the solution to the bit setting conundrum, certainly with my PGR cameras.

Firstly make sure the camera is configured to be running in raw16 in flycapture, next, boot up firecapture and select 16 bit, then, instead of ser files select fits files, then record images as normal. I have 3 PGRs that have 10, 12 & 14 bit ADCs, when I open the recorded images up in AS3 for stacking they all they show the native bit depth of the ADC of the particular camera. AS3 can incidentally stack FITs files, and ImPPG can process FITs files.

I've only been playing with dummy data for this, but will certainly explore it's effectiveness in actual images later in the year when the sun is higher in the sky.

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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by Montana »

Thanks Mark, mine are still all over the place and I get hanging as well. It sometimes waits a few minutes records 40 frames, then waits for another minute, then records a few more. It all started when I used the powerleads for the battery pack and I have had woe ever since. I get hanging, strange bit depths, Firecapture 2.3 won't work anymore etc etc. I have downloaded new versions of Flycapture, Firecapture and I have never ironed out the bugs. I have gone back to USB power but have to put up with the bugs. I hate it all now as I am not computer literate and the Hubby gets annoyed. I just put up with it now. I never have a problem with the trusty DMK41 and IC Capture :)
Alexandra


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by marktownley »

Something else to try then; in firecapture > settings > general > 'tick' use ram buffer (experimental!) - this will pull up a numerical input box for the amount of Mb of ram ascribed. Mine defaults at 256Mb, whack this up another Gb or so to 1256Mb of ram. This might give your copy a bit more horsepower to play with, it should help the stuttering.


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by Montana »

Thanks Mark, will do :) I never ever had a problem with version 2.3. It is such a pity it won't work anymore.

Alexandra


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by marktownley »

I'm running 2.5 currently, though looking on the FC website it seems 2.6 is the most current. I will have to give it a try...


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by DavidP »

At the beginning of this thread, it was mentioned one could set bit depth in AS3.
It was suggested to click "autoscale" off to enable this.
I can not for the life on me find "autoscale".
Any help?


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Re: Noise, Firecapture and imaging questions

Post by PDB »

Hi,

it's in the window that shows the image.
There is a green box Scaling (FITS/SER)
There is an "auto" tick box.

Rgrds,

Paul


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