6
7
Once your prerequisites have been
installed, you will be prompted to
install the G3 ASCOM driver and
Camera Studio software (Figure 4.3).
Note that ASCOM is only required
if you intend to use the camera in
another program, such as Nebulosity
and MaxIm DL, or if you wish to use
the camera as an autoguider. Click
Orion Camera Studio Application to
install the software.
Do no plug the StarShoot G3 camera
into your computer until you have com-
pleted the software and driver instal-
lation.
Connecting the Camera to the PC
After the software and drivers have
been installed, connect the camera to
the USB port on your computer using
the supplied USB cable. You do not
need to plug in external power yet.
Windows will automatically detect the
camera and install it onto your com-
puter. Wait for the message to appear,
Device Installed Successfully.
3. Software
Walk‑through
Camera Studio is an easy to use yet comprehensive imaging program that
controls your G3 for image capture, and provides the processing tools to
assemble your image and export it. The following section of the manual will walk
you through the basic features of the software –
Camera Control, Capture,
Calibrate, Process and Save & Export.
3.1 Camera Control
(Figure 5)
The
Camera Control tab first appears on the right hand side of the screen when
you open
Camera Studio. This tab allows you to connect to the camera, activate
the cooler and set the cooling temperature, adjust the gain and offset (not rec-
ommended), or enable faster readout for quick image downloads.
Connect/Disconnect
Connects the G3 and instantly dis-
plays the CCD temperature. The G3
camera must be plugged into your PC
before you click
Connect.
Cooling
The
CCD Temperature will always
display while the camera is connected.
To use the TEC, plug the 12V power
cable from your power source (field
battery or other) to the G3 camera.
The fan will automatically power on.
Click
Cooler On. Set the Target (°C)
to approximately 7°C lower than the
current CCD temperature reading. Do
not click
Cooler On until external power has been plugged into the G3.
Gain
This feature allows you to manually adjust the analog gain and offset. The
default values have been selected for your camera and should normally not need
adjustment. However, you may make adjustments to customize your settings.
Default values are
Offset 127 and Gain 185.
3.2 Capture
(Figure 6)
The
Capture tab sets your exposure time, exposure type, save path, subframing,
and other options.
Exposure
Set the exposure time in seconds. You can also specify fractions of seconds, like
0.5 seconds or 1.75 seconds, for example.
Type
Choose from
Light, Dark, Flat, and Bias. Most of the time you will only need to
choose from
Light and Dark frames, but for the best results, you can also take
Flat frames. See “Astronomical Imaging – Dark Frames, Flat Fields”. To start
imaging or focusing, take
Light frames.
Bin
You can bin
1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2. For most imaging, you should always keep
the setting at
1x1, which provides the full resolution of the camera. Binning 1x2
or
2x2 for example, will group the pixels together to collect more light at the
expense of resolution.
1x2 will group 2 vertical pixels for every 1 horizontal pixel,
2x2 will group 2 horizontal and 2 vertical pixels, and is most commonly used to
quickly find and frame a celestial object. Binning in these modes provides faster
download times and greater sensitivity.
Figure 5.
Camera Control window.
Figure 6.
Capture window.
Figure 4.3.
