The gain and offset File Name parameters do not work in version 3.0.2.91.
BIAS-g99-20C_0801_t0000_19C_gain_NA_offset_NA_1x1__0001.fit
is an example I just ran.
I do not have any gain/offset values set per event. I am using the driver values.
I assume this probably works if the gain/offset have been set in the event.
I do not use the event gain/offset feature because the values are hidden from normal use, i.e. you have to click into the event settings to see if they are set and what the values are. It is too easy if you are mixing values per event to get them screwed up, so I add the gain value to my target name and only use targets having the same gain in a given Sequence format.
It would be really useful if the gain could be set directly on the event dialog line. There is plenty of room. The progress bar could easily be shortened to make room. There would be no need for an Offset column if we could tell SGP what offset to use for each gain. No need to support multiple gain/offset combinations.
A one character column to indicate the presence or absence of any non-default setting in the event would be very handy, since, other than for gain, Event Settings is probably not used on very many events.
I agree, I added a similar post a while back, but was totally ignored so I’m glad some else has bought it up.
Jun 14
As the Gain/Offset is becoming a more important factor with at least the CMOS camera’s, it would be great to have another Column added to the sequence panel.
Maybe between “Suffix” and “Exposure” and would be named “Gain/Offset”.
The Gain/Offset information would displayed in this panel.
This information would derive from either the Spanner Tool for the Camera or the Event Option, if this is set for that each event.
This would visually aid in what gain/offset is going to be used for that particular event.
Thanks UlteriorModem. Yes, I know that’s how you do it. My point is if you look at your Sequence dialog there is no way of visually seeing if any gains are set on any of the events. This very important, in fact, critical piece of information, is completely hidden. If you have 20 events listed, you have to perform 40 clicks just to get into the Settings dialog, then you have to enter the gain value in each of them. Not only is this a pain in the rear, but every time you have made a change to some of them, you have to do the 40 clicks just to confirm that you have all of them set correctly.
To make matters even worse, if for some events you don’t set the gain, the value the program uses is not the default gain stored in the driver, but the gain value that was used by the most recent event that did have a gain set, which is very unfriendly behavior. In other words, you have to set gain in ALL of the events, or NONE of the events.
My impression from talking to the hardware vendors is that a large majority of new astro cameras being sold are CMOS, so progressively going forward most imagers are going to have at least one CMOS camera. So making CMOS camera usage user friendly is going to be more and more important.
Yes RobinBrown, we are in complete agreement that Gain needs to be included as a column in the sequence panel. However, if SGP allowed the input of the offset value that should be used with each gain value, there would be no need to have a column for offset. Since generally there is a fixed relationship between the two, offset is determined by gain. ZWO provides the following offset values for 3 gain settings for the ASI1600:
Gain Offset
0 10 highest dynamic range
139 21 unity gain
300 50 lowest read noise
Using these manufacturer values for suggested offsets, the following extrapolations follow the curve defined by those 3 points:
A onetime input of the gain values that the user will be using, with the associated offset, makes it unnecessary to input offset anywhere else in the program.