Sorry if these are basic question…still learning. I would like to see how the “ideal exposure” feature in image statistics works but not sure of what settings I need for the drop down box in the control panel and camera equipment panel should be. I use 139 (unity gain) and 1x1 binning for most images, should gain be changed for binning at other than 1x1? And what about the window “camera gain (e/ADU)”, how do I know what to put in there?
And while I am here…I have a LX600 12" 2438mm focal length @ F/8. Is there a big difference in using 1x1 vs 2x2? And how about with a .62x reducer @ F/5?
Thanks,
John
Hi John,
No need to change the gain for binning at other than 1x1. The ZWO cameras accomplish binning by averaging the signal level of the binned pixels, so there is no increase in signal for binned vs non-binned exposures.
Unity gain by definition is 1 electron per ADU. For other gain levels you can consult the manufacturer’s data. For your camera you can find it here (scroll down to the second chart):
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/products/asi-cooled-cameras/asi1600mc-cool/
If you have software that can read the FITS header from the image file, you can also find the e/ADU recorded there - it’s called “EGAIN”.
With your telescope’s long focal length, you have enough resolution to bin 2x2, even with the focal reducer. There will be some increase in signal to noise ratio with binning compared to un-binned, though it may not be very noticeable. The most noticeable difference will be smaller files (1/4 the size of un-binned with 2x2 binning), therefore less storage space used.
With the ZWO cameras, binning is accomplished by the driver after the image is retrieved from the camera, unless “hardware binning” is selected in the camera settings. SGPro does not expose the hardware binning option, so there will be no increase in download speed with binning selected.
Don
Thank you for the info. We may have some clear skies tonight so I can run a few test shots.
John
