SBC 2000 SETTINGS

[steelfixer]

:hello2:Hi all isn't it great to have a home of our own?

Can some one please post some basic settings for the SBC 2000.

Now I have done the remote mod on mine I can finally get to use it in my obs.

I just need some directions in setting up the camera to get the best from it.

Thank you.

Graham

[West End Wendy]

Hi Graham.

I've PM'd you but thought I'd reproduce the info here as well.

These are my settings for the SBC-2000, I'm sure others will do things differently.

The first thing to do is set menu item 1. Lens to "manual", then go to 2. Exposure, which brings up a sub-menu.

I tend to initially set the shutter to manual and about 32 (number of frames accumulated) in order to focus on a bright star. Once focused I switch the exposure to "esc" and "sens-up" to "auto". ("agc" at low). You can then set the maximum frame accumulation to 512 by clicking 4 sens-up. The Brightness control at the top of this menu can be adjusted to your liking but pretty much duplicates that of your monitor or computer screen.

Returning to the first menu, you can experiment with SSNR3, which is the noise reduction. You'll need good tracking to get results with this but in theory it's superb. Just remember to turn it off when you're focussing.

White balance is self-explanatory, but can take quite a bit of experimenting, particularly if you have filters attached. (Don't bother with the auto setting). I use red 430, blue 495 if I have no filters on but you may get different results. This really needs doing in daytime.

The only other thing I would say is to turn the sharpness off. It's in 8.Special/ 1.Image adj, so it's well buried in submenus. To my eyes this keeps the noise more acceptable.

Also remember that your best weapon against low contrast (from LP, moonglow or just the inherent property of the DSO) are the settings on your monitor. Personally I whack the contrast right up and the brightness down, although if you're mainly imaging rather than live viewing you may want to concentrate on capturing as much detail as possible and deal with contrast issues in processing.

Hope that helps,

Cheers,

Tim

[steelfixer]

Hi Tim.

Thank you for the pm the info gives me a great starting point.

Graham

[West End Wendy]

No problem Graham.

Forgot to mention that you will definitely benefit from a focal reducer and you will also need to remove that infra-red filter.

I suspect you know that already, though.

Cheers,

Tim

[steelfixer]

we had an interesting discussion on the old social site about the infared filter and the need to remove it or not.

I have yet to do this as my main interest is in planetary imaging.

I dare say I will need to do the mod if I ever get into DSO.

On the subject of a focal reducer is this a must on a newt I was under the impression that one was only needed on a refracter.

There again I know so little about this brilliant hobby I am probebly wrong, perhaps someone else can advise.

I was intending to run this camera through my newly aquired 5x photo Quality barlow lens. Please dont tell me I have just spent £80.00 for nothing. lol

thanks

Graham

[West End Wendy]

If you're doing planetary imaging then you'll need different settings to mine and you definitely won't need a focal reducer, your barlow sounds ideal, but I'm not an expert on planetary imaging.

You will, of course, need a much lower frame integration number (definitely not 512!). I would set the shutter to manual and experiment.

And yes, I can't see any benefit to removing the filter if you're looking at planets. I may be wrong though...

Tim

[Psychobilly]

IR pass can produce very nice Luminnace data for planetary imaging... and stunning results on lunar...

[West End Wendy]

IR pass can produce very nice Luminnace data for planetary imaging... and stunning results on lunar...

Thanks. That's new to me.

[Psychobilly]

HI tim,

Have a quick look at the info here...

Wavelength of light - Seeing vs. Resolution

Peter...

[West End Wendy]

Thanks Peter - that looks very interesting.