Orion 52084 instruction manual Image Processing, Light and Dark 2x2 Modes, Dark Frame Calibration

4.Select Single in the box beneath Mode.

5.Set the Seconds to 0.1 for now and click Expose. You want the Max Pixel to read somewhere around 20000. Adjust the exposure time as needed until the Max Pixel is close to 20000.

6.Select Autosave (5-10 images) in the box beneath Mode.

7.Choose a file name to save your flat fields. You should include “flat” in the file name to easily find it later, e.g. “OrionNebulaFlat”.

The flat fields also need dark frames.

8.Set the Mode in the Camera Control window to Dark Raw 1x1.

9.Rename the Autosave file to include “darkflat” so you can easily find the file later when calibrating.

10.Use the same exposure time as your flat field and click Expose.

Light and Dark 2x2 Modes

For added convenience and versatility, the StarShoot Pro’s individual pixels (light-detecting sites) can be “binned” into units of two-by-two pixels (i.e. four individual pixels create one binned 2x2 pixel). This creates larger and more sensitive pixels, but with decreased resolution. This can be useful for some types of astronomical imaging, such as capturing faint nebulae. It can also be useful for quickly checking the image centering and orientation before using the normal Light Raw 1x1 mode to actually capture images.To use in “2x2” mode, select Light Mono 2x2 mode for capturing “light” images, and Dark Mono 2x2 mode to capture dark frames for averaging and subtracting. Images can be combined and processed in the same way as Light Raw 1x1 images.

By binning the images in 2x2, you will bypass the RGB filter built into the cam- era; so the resulting binned images will be black and white, without the ability to convert to color.

3. Image Processing

After all your image data is captured, you are ready to process your images to a final resultant image. All of your light images, dark frames, and flat fields must be processed to create your final astro-image. MaxIm DL Essentials also contains additional image processing functions (in the Process menu) to fur- ther enhance your astro-image.

Dark Frame Calibration

The dark frames you previously saved will be subtracted from your “light” images.

1.Select Setup Calibrate from the Process menu.

2.Click Remove All if any filenames appear in the window.

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