8
Take some time to use the camera and Orion AmCap software during the day to
become familiar and comfortable with their basic operation. For best results, you
can optimize your images with the
camera controls.
Camera Controls
For best images, you can adjust the camera controls though Orion AmCap to fine
tune the image. You can see how the camera controls affect an image in the
Live
Video Window.
From the Options menu choose
Video Capture Filter
and you can access the cam-
era controls under Video Proc Amp, Camera and Advanced tabs. Here you will find
the
Brightness, Contrast,
Gamma, Hue,
Saturation
(level of color),
Sharpness
(keep this low as it can add noise), and
Exposure
controls.
The
Exposure
control
is a gain adjustment that allows additional flexibility in adjusting image brightness.
You can either manually adjust this by unselecting the
Auto
box and manually
moving the slider
,
or have automatic adjustment by leaving the
Auto
box selected
.
Other options such Gamma and White Balance will aid in tuning the live view how-
ever it is recommended to only modify exposure and brightness if images are to
be software processed later.
To return the camera controls to their default settings,
click the
Reset
button.
The other camera controls are available by
selectin
g
Video Capture Pin from the
Options menu. This accesses the Stream Format property sheet, which allows
you to set additional parameters. The
Frame Rate should generally be left at 30
frames per second for the sharpest planetary images. This value may be over-
ridden if the use Frame Rate box is checked in the Capture -> Set Frame Rate
menu. (You can also use the
Video Capture Filter selection described previously
to adjust image brightness.)
Try several different settings to get a feel of how the camera controls work and
affect the resultant image on the computer screen. The
Brightness and Exposure
controls are the ones you will use the most. The telescope being used, seeing con-
ditions, and object being imaged will dictate how these camera controls should be
set. Usually Exposure will be set first and then Brightness is adjusted as needed.
Astronomical Imaging
Now that you’re familiar with basic camera and software operation, it’s time to take
the SSUEII out at night under the stars to capture some astronomical images. We
recommend starting with the Moon, as it is easy to acquire into the camera’s field
of view, and typically does not require stacking of multiple exposures as planetary
images do.
Imaging the Moon
Imaging the Moon is much like imaging terrestrial objects during the day. Since the
exposure is very short, it is not critical that the telescope be precisely polar aligned.