First Mars, help please!

[Notty]

Sorry this pathetic blob isn't a joke, this is Mars and actually the best I could do last night, but I'm scratching my head as to what I'm doing wrong.

It's captured though Fire Capture about 500 frames stacked from a QHY5L-IIC through a 3xBarlow on a SW200PDS.  I have even attempted to sharpen it.

I do not understand:  

1. Why it's a wierd green colour (I understand that GR is the correct debayer mask for this camera)

2. Why there is no surface detail at all, when I have seen some amazing pics?

all my combinations of exposure down/gain and gamma up and vice versa just either made this flat blob darker or lighter.  I don't think it was a focus issue either.

Looking visually through the scope I wasn't able to see much more than this, but I am not sure how much you can see visually anyway?

Any help would be most appreciated.

Andy

[leelee970]

Hi Notty,

I saw your question on my post but thought it better to reply here to your post.

here was the setting for my first Mars capture using the QHY5LII and Firecapture software.

By no means is the image great but seeing that I had other issues this was not a too bad a result for first light.

so here is the log from Firecapture

FireCapture v2.3  Settings
------------------------------------
Camera=QHY5LII
Filter=L
Profile=Mars
Diameter=13.37"
Magnitude=-0.87
CM=97.9°  (during mid of capture)
FocalLength=3980mm
Resolution=0.19"
Filename=235649.avi
Date=140514
Start=235649.953
Mid=235842.460
End=000034.968
Duration=225.015s
Date_format=ddMMyy
Time_format=HHmmss
LT=UT
Frames captured=8301
File type=AVI
Extended AVI mode=true
Compressed AVI=false
Binning=no
ROI=252x250
FPS (avg.)=36
Shutter=3.861ms
Gain=516
USBTraffic=1
Contrast=0 (off)
WGreen=139
WRed=119
Gamma=100 (off)
WBlue=150
HDR=off
HighSpeed=on
Brightness=0 (off)
Histogramm(min)=1
Histogramm(max)=153
Histogramm=60%
Noise(avg.deviation)=n/a
Limit=none
 

and here was the result of 15% best frames stacked in AS!2, then wavelettes adjusted in Registax 5 to sharpen the image, then final processing done in Gimp

[leelee970]

forgot to mention X2 barlow and 1.5 drizzle used in AS!2 to enlarge the size of image.

also ROI set to smallest to give high frames per second.

[Notty]

Thanks for that, the funny thing is my settings weren't that dissimilar... did you use debayering mode GR?

[SJP]

It looks just like my Mars images before stretching and applying wavelets in Registax 6.  You can already see the polar cap and some dark surface details, a little processing will bring them out.

[Notty]

Oh dear mine is after sharpening in paint.net! Is that lurid green colour normal then? Do you stack and process in mono then apply the mask at the end?

[leelee970]

Try Autostakkert (AS!2) for stacking. Registax 6 (wavelettes, RGB aligin), and Gimp

all free to download and all very good.

Lee

[Notty]

Thanks Lee, I've put it though all those but I think my source data might be the problem.  Looking at your settings your colours are all different to mine, can you tell me how you had it set up for debayering, if at all?  i'm assuming your QHY is the colour one?  Thanks

[Notty]

Yikes I've managed to tease some surface contrast on this, but does anyone have any idea why the colour is still weird lurid green?  I really don't understand in the contect of RG, GR etc and what the colour levels are doing in post editing, as it's impossible to play around with just one without it affecting the rest.  I naiively assumed with a colour camera it would take the right colours, or basically so at least.

[Barv]

Hi Notty.

Does your camera have an IR cut filter fitted? If not, this is the first thing I would get when trying to image Mars. I would also use your scope/imaging train on something terrestial during the day, then you would be able to see if the colour setting is wrong in the camera. If you run your images through PIP, which is a free program you can test the colour patterns on the debayer settings live, so you should then be able to sort it. Hope this all helps!

Regards

Harvey

[Notty]

Hi Harvey, thanks for the tip.  I've done some digging and apparently the QHY5L-iic has a IR filter built in.  If some of you guys who use it can tell me what setting you use that would be great, or is it a case of using a different debayering mask for different situations?  Or is one mast hard wired to a particular type of sensor?  I really don't understand this area very well at all.

[Barv]

Hi Harvey, thanks for the tip.  I've done some digging and apparently the QHY5L-iic has a IR filter built in.  If some of you guys who use it can tell me what setting you use that would be great, or is it a case of using a different debayering mask for different situations?  Or is one mast hard wired to a particular type of sensor?  I really don't understand this area very well at all.

Notty

I dont use that camera so I cannot advise on that, but if you image something then go into PIP there is a test button there where you can go through the different rgb settings until the image looks right.

Cheers Harvey

[Notty]

Thanks Harvey but I have a couple of problems trying this, firstly pipp seems to want a file to be uploaded rather than give the option of a live readout, and secondly I've tried getting the qhy5l-ii to give me any kind of picture of anything during the daytime and it just can't. I've tried all sorts of focussing but is there a trick to getting these things to work in the daytime?

[Barv]

Can you not use the camera on the end of the scope and point at an object, or is it fixed in an obsevatory?

Cheers Harvey

[Notty]

That's what I've been trying to do but just get a solid screen of the ambient colour, sort of. Eg pointing at trees yields solid green, sky is white(?) however a brick wall is black!

[Space Cowboy]

I use this cam but I use EZ planetary which is a simpler program to use (firecapture is great but more complicated for beginners).

I select GR to set the colour by moving the colour sliders (usually blue way to the right and red 25% from the left) or select global wb which works like auto wb. Then switch back to RAW mode and capture the avi which needs to be 10-20000 frames for Mars (usually a 5-6 min avi). Leave gamma at default setting.

Stack in Autostakkert which does not always choose the correct bayer mode (may need to select force GRBG bayer).

Hope this helps I'm sure its just camera settings that are causing your problems.

[DrRobin]

Hi Andy,

I think Stuart has hit the nail on the head, It looks like something autoselecting the debayer mode. Try setting this manual, just step through them until it looks correct.

Some cameras/software have an auto white balance and planets like Mars which is very red sometimes fool the auto select. Try turning off all auto select options and set them manually.

Most of all don't give up, my first Mars was a blob and it took 2 seasons to get anything better.

Robin

[Notty]

Thank you everyone for your tips, especially Stuart... having finally got an EZ to repeat an image on screen (I think it's a bit unstable on my system) I managed to get sensible colours by following your tips, but I have to ask, how on earth did you know to do that in the first place?!  It seems like there is a different "answer" to this question of colours for each capture program.

Also, are we saying that it is best to capture in RAW always rather than colour, then apply the debayer after?  If as I am now using the AS!2 then Registaxx process which one would be the better stage to apply the debayering in and why?

Much happier now, it actually looks a bit like Mars at a squint!  I've blown it up but I'm sure I could sharpen it up even more when I know what I'm doing.

[astroavani]

I have a 5L Qhy color and use the Fire Capture version 2.2 ! Really the debayer to use with this camera is the GR option. I use Astronomik L filter that blocks both UV and IR as the colors are perfectly normal since you open the window range and set the color balance to become more like the colored Mars . Also recommend using the AS ! 2 stacking eao do it select the color option that says bayer GRBG force , but this will only work if you have made the catch with the option debayer disabled. You turn debayer only to verify the actual color that the planet has and then when you have to capture disable it because it saves memory and disk space . However when you stacking on AS ! 2 he will stay with the normal color you set .

To capture a greater number of frames simply activate the high-speed mode also in the range window!

Sorry if it got complicated, my english sucks i I depend translator !

Avani .

PS : Under a Mars done as I explained using the Fire Capture and Qhy 5L color:

[Notty]

Again, thank you for that your images are beautiful. I got sensible looking colours in EZ Platerary only using GR, but in FireCapture NONE of the debayer methods give anything sensible (bright pinks, greens or yellows), and there does not seem to be the facility to change the colour levels with sliders like there is in EZ.

Regarding the IR filter, I'm confused; is your QHY5 the first version if so did it not have an IR filter built in? The spec for the QHY5L-ii says it had one already built in, but something is making your colours right in FireCapture but not for me!

[astroavani]

My camera is Qhy 5L II color, and really it came with an IR filter low quality that I replaced with a filter of L Astraonomik. But this has nothing to do with the colors obtained in FC. I have difficulties with English but I understand the colors you obtaining vary by debayer option is enabled. In my case using GR get the closest to the real color. But I call attention once more you must activate debayer just to see the color that the camera is capturing. After adjusted the color you turn off the camera and leave debayer apparently catching black and white. As I said earlier I Regulate the colors tab in the range FC to open the options window appear with Blue W, W Green, W and Red, stirring slider I set the color to my liking.