ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

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ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by Valery »

Hi all,

Question to those who shoot with ZWO ASI290MM camera .

In the video recording program FireCapture V2.6.08, this camera, when recording at 8 bits in full format instead of 170 frames per second, gives only 80-82 frames per second. When switching to 16bit recording mode, the speed drops to 10-13 fps!

I could not find any settings affecting the recording speed in the maximum resolution. I have installed the latest drivers from ZWO website.

Please, help to find the solution.


Thanks in advance.


Valery


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by bart1805 »

Hi Valery, you could try to switch on "High speed mode" in the camera settings.


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by Valery »

bart1805 wrote: Fri Oct 19, 2018 2:37 pm Hi Valery, you could try to switch on "High speed mode" in the camera settings.
Hi Bart,

This is FireCapture, not SharpCap. In the SharpCap I use "High speed mode" and have 170fps, as expected.

The problem is that with FireCapture I can get only 80fps. And I prefer FireCapture interface much more than SharpCap.


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by PDB »

Hi Valery,

You are running at max speed with the 12 bit ADC. At high-speed you use the 10bit ADC and then you get 170fps.
Should be possible to select this in FC as well (at least with my cams I can), but it is hidden in the camera control panel behind the "gear" icon. Just press that one for specific camera options.
FC.JPG
FC.JPG (12.2 KiB) Viewed 2462 times
ZWO Specs:
USB3.0 MAX FPS(12bit/10bit)
1936×1096: 82.2/170
1280×960: 93.6/193.9
640×480: 184/381.2
320×240: 355.9/737.5
2X2Bin :968×548: 82.2/170


Regards,

Paul


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by bart1805 »

Yep, that’s the way to choose highspeed in FC.


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by Valery »

PDB wrote: Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:24 pm Hi Valery,

You are running at max speed with the 12 bit ADC. At high-speed you use the 10bit ADC and then you get 170fps.
Should be possible to select this in FC as well (at least with my cams I can), but it is hidden in the camera control panel behind the "gear" icon. Just press that one for specific camera options.
FC.JPG

ZWO Specs:
USB3.0 MAX FPS(12bit/10bit)
1936×1096: 82.2/170
1280×960: 93.6/193.9
640×480: 184/381.2
320×240: 355.9/737.5
2X2Bin :968×548: 82.2/170


Regards,

Paul
Thanks, Paul.

Now it works, but at 130-140fps. With somewhat smaller ROI it works at 170-180fps.

Valery


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by PDB »

Maybe you have some other parameters set in FC that influence speed?
-USB bandwith
-Gamma: if set, disable it. Since ZWO removed that from the driver, Torsten built a software solution in FC. If you are running on the edge of speed in your PC that can reduce capture speed. (Software gamma can always be done in post, so there is little use, and for focusing there is the screen adjustment that you enable when you need it. Can also slow down, so only use when needed and then turn off, or reduce display fps when capturing)

Don't know if the 290 supports overclocking. (In my version the can't set the overclock anymore with the ASI 120, that makes it app. 20% faster, but not all cams support overclocking)

Regards,

Paul


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by Valery »

PDB wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:22 am Maybe you have some other parameters set in FC that influence speed?
-USB bandwith
-Gamma: if set, disable it. Since ZWO removed that from the driver, Torsten built a software solution in FC. If you are running on the edge of speed in your PC that can reduce capture speed. (Software gamma can always be done in post, so there is little use, and for focusing there is the screen adjustment that you enable when you need it. Can also slow down, so only use when needed and then turn off, or reduce display fps when capturing)

Don't know if the 290 supports overclocking. (In my version the can't set the overclock anymore with the ASI 120, that makes it app. 20% faster, but not all cams support overclocking)

Regards,

Paul
Gamma does not affect the fps. Absolutely. And you are wrong thinking that neutral gamma is the best. You will sure loss and add a lot of problems imaging with neutral gamma vs optimally stretched histogram when imaging.
I have experimented with different gamma recording and found that histogram should be filled for about 70-80%.
This is not the case with a neutral gamma.


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by Merlin66 »

Valery,
What’s the difference working with neutral gamma (50) and using unity gain and then altering the exposure value to give a good histogram?


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Re: ZWO ASI290MM is too slow in the FireCapture V2.6.08

Post by PDB »

Gamma does not affect the fps
Sorry Valery but it DOES when it is applied in software on the frame before it it is saved to disc. Try it with a fast camera and larger sensor an you will notice howmany frames are dropped (and not because of a slow disc). Every frame needs some time to be handled and the longer that takes, the more frames you will loose (compared to the theoretical max frame rate of the cam) It depends on:
-size of the image
-framerate of cam
-CPU power to handle the frame before the next one comes from the cam.

(Probably Filip (GreatAttractor) can confirm, he has a lot of experience, more than i have, in doing modifications to Planetary Imager)

This of course is not true when Gamma is handled in the camera hardware itself. (There are a few cam who do that)

Regarding Neutral gamma: don't see your point about not getting a good histogram with neutral gamma, but your images are always good so if it works for you that is ok for me.

P


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