Fivel

Hello to all. I have been (on a Mac) using Siril to merge ser videos. Siril is free and cross platform. It can also stack and do some post processing of the ser videos. I use Planetary System Stacker more though for the stacking. It works a bit like Autostakkert. It has wavelets and can re-align the color shifting caused by atmospheric distortion. So there are more decent, free apps available for the Macs. Also for the Mac, I may use Lynkeos for its post processing tools. Unfortunately it does not work with ser videos. Here is my recent Jupiter image. I have an 8" Meade SCT and captured with a ZWOasi 183mc and oaCapture. All this was done on a Mac mini. Merry Christmas to all!! Fivel

Hi scribblecrans. For planetary stacking and processing there is a free Mac app called Planetary System Stacker. The main issue is that it requires "terminal" command line installation and opening. I was able to install and try it out and I am not code savvy. Here is a link to the website: https://pypi.org/project/planetary-system-stacker/ It has great support on Cloudy Nights and some here. It should do well, once you get it (and the python dependency) installed. Good luck Fivel

In answer to your question, I use Siril for almost registering and stacking, and some post processing. Then I finish up with Affinity Photo (AF). Siril has some great post stacking tools for getting the colors correct, such as Photometric Color Calibration. That tool uses plate solving to get the star colors correct. AF is half price with the latest versions. It is equivalent to Photoshop and has some astrophotography specific tools, such as astro stacking and Background removal tools. It also has many color pallets and can work in 32 bit operations. May you get the colors you desire. Fivel

Hello to all, I hope everyone is staying healthy. To James or anyone else that can help, I have two issues. 1. How do I set the capture older? I can easily set it in oaCapture. 2. When I start the capture, I get this error "Output is not Writable". This could be related to the first issue. Is there a user manual for oaLive? When will there be more capture settings available, such as using "Darks", Noise Reduction and ROI settings for planetary captures? Thank you for any help here. Fivel

Hi again James. How is time in your observatory going? As to oaCapture ver. 1.7.0 for Mac, it just crashes when I try to connect to the camera. In your installation package for OSX (Sierra for me) is the a dependency missing for the camera? Has this dmg package been tested with Sierra? I did not have this issue with the previous 32 bit app, as to crashing. Do I need to re-install libusb for instance? Stay healthy. Fivel

Here is a smartphone adapter that was well reviewed by Mike Weasner on his website. Levenhuk A10 Universal Smartphone Adapter for Telescopes, Microscopes and Binoculars Just Google this to find vendors and prices. Fivel

Hello and welcome to this great endeavor. As to iPhone apps, check out Mike Weasner's great review of three new apps. http://www.weasner.com/co/Reports/2020/04/28/index.html Of course, there are several more apps available for the iPhone., such as Nightcap Camera. These are image capture pass, but you will need some others for guiding and post processing. A web search should help there. Enjoy the ride and stay healthy. Fivel

Thanks Frank for that info. I thought that the (now sadly deceased) owner of Astronomics, may have said that several months ago, when I was asking about spacing. I think he said that no additional spacers are needed. Yet, the info that comes with the reducer says to use the 55mm spacing. I am not using a "T" ring, but have some spacers of the same length. I hope that solves my issue. Dark skies for you. Fivel

Hello to all.I just bought an Astro Tech (AT) .8 focal reducer/flattener model ATR8 for my scope, and ZWO camera.I have the AT 80mm/F480mm ED triplet scope and the ZWO1600MC-C camera.The FR/FF is apparently made by GSO. The manufacturer recommends a spacing (FF rear shoulder to camera sensor) of 55mm.I tried some images, but that spacing seems to much. The stacked images show a large central bright image circle surrounded by a more normal brightness. Also the stars are showing coma. So it seems that the image circle isn't covering the sensor properly.Is anyone familiar with this FF/FR and the actual spacing needed for this scope and camera combination?Thank you for any help with this. Fivel

For Gimp, there is either Gimp 2.10 native or MacGimp 2.10 native. I have used both. Also I mostly use Affinity Photo. Fivel

Hello James and Happy new Year! I was wondering how the coding is coming, to correct the issues I previously posted? Is version 1.7 almost ready for primetime? The other capture app is still controlling my camera properly. But I hope to get back to using oaCapture soon. Fivel

Hello. I the app will not allow me to change the debayer matrix pattern, wether I set the camera to RAW or RGB mode. The app stays in the mono default and the other options are greyed out. My camera (ZWOasi1600mc-c) is an OSC camera. The matrix pattern is GRBG. I did ensure that any capture is stopped before trying to set the matrix. Please advice me of the correct steps to allow all the matrices to be effective. Thanks. Fivel

Thanks again James. Just as a reminder, it wasn't a crash, it just was inconsistent when controlling my camera. The last time I checked, I couldn't get longer than 1 minute exposures, even with 90 seconds set. The time before that, I had set 2 minute exposures to get 90 seconds. When the weather improves a but, I will reboot my Mac Mini to see if that helps. Maybe the computer and oaCapture have and issue, even though the others apps were fine at the low temps. Fivel

Thanks Lames, you are a real blessing. I look forward to trying that new version. Fivel

Hello again James. So, I know this is a busy holiday time and hope that soon you can figure something out. Merry Christmas to you and your family. How is your observatory doing so far? I just checked the ZWO website and there is no need for a MAC specific driver to download. I guess it is included with the OS. As I mentioned, but my typing did not complete, other capture apps have no issue controlling the cameras on my MAC. I saw a similar issue posted here a couple of years ago, with an older version of oaCapture. That individual had a memory trap or leak issue. I believe that was fixed by you in the later versions. Thanks again. Fivel