OpenLiveStacker - live stacking open-source software/app for Linux and Android

[Stu]

9 hours ago, Artik said:

Wow  - that is nice indeed.

 Is it using raw images? jpeg? what is subs exposure?

 

And I'll implement it. You aren't the first one asking for this feature. Just unlike ASI, UVC or libgphoto2 that I can easily build and debug on Linux this one is way trickier 🙂

I’m not totally sure! It uses the night mode on the Pixel phones. Basically when the phone is mounted and completely still and under a dark sky it enables the full night mode. This takes a total of 4 mins of exposure in 16 second subs as far as I know. Works beautifully, at least it did on M42, not tried any others yet, that will have to wait for darker nights. Some info here:

https://support.google.com/googlecamera/answer/9708795?hl=en-GB

https://www.androidpolice.com/google-pixel-astrophotography-mode-tips/

[Phillips6549]

Hi Artic

I just tried to use your tool on both a Samsung Galaxy S8+ tablet and a Samsung Galaxy S20 phone (both on Android 13) with my Zwo Asi 120MC-S

In each case the Software detects the camera and asks for permission to use it but then returns an Alert: Failed to open ASI camera 0 code=16: GENERAL ERROR

Does this mean that the USB cannot power the camera?  Or perhaps my USB A to C adaptor is missing something?

The camera is working OK on my Windows Laptop with Sharpcap 4.

Excellent project.

Mark

 

[Artik]

4 hours ago, Phillips6549 said:

In each case the Software detects the camera and asks for permission to use it but then returns an Alert: Failed to open ASI camera 0 code=16: GENERAL ERROR

Good question, you are not the first user reporting that regarding ASI120... You can try ASICap app (their own app to show live video) too see if it works - but usually it isn't and gives same error.

Quote

Does this mean that the USB cannot power the camera?

Good question. I don't know. Try to see if there any power/OTG related settings for the phone.

I asked on ASI dev forum: https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/d/16533-general-error-on-attept-to-open-asi120-camera-on-some-devices

I know some users reported this camera works on some devices and not on others.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Artik

[Phillips6549]

14 hours ago, Artik said:

You can try ASICap app (their own app to show live video) too see if it works -

Yes, ASICap does work with the same equipment.

This also clarifies that the USB ports can power the camera.  Is there anything I can log to help debug your  app?

Edited July 11, 2023 by Phillips6549

[Artik]

17 minutes ago, Phillips6549 said:

Yes, ASICap does work with the same equipment.

This also clarifies that the USB ports can power the camera.  Is there anything I can log to help debug your  app?

Can you please give me exact ASICap version and Android version... I'll add it to the report.

Because it is something on their SDK level... (ahhh I hate closed source libraries...)

Edited July 11, 2023 by Artik

[Phillips6549]

1 hour ago, Artik said:

Can you please give me exact ASICap version and Android version.

ASICap version is 2.0.7 (1260_0804)

Android 13, Security Patch 1st June 2023;  One UI 5.1;  Kernel 4.19.87-26203352

 

Hope this helps

Mark

[Artik]

Ok I've got an updated SDK from ASI. I'll try to release a version today/tomorrow with it for testing @Phillips6549

 

Artyom

[Phillips6549]

Thanks Artik

[han59]

The latest OpenLiveStacker version works well with my ToupTek aps-c IMX571 mono camera. (ATR3CMOS26000KMA). I have the impression that image download works faster then with my ASI1600. The streaming of the highest resolution 6224 x 4168 shows a high frame rate like video. 

Some remarks:

I could not find a setting to switch between HCG and LCG mode. That is something specific for this camera. Not a real problem.
During daylight testing I have the impression that auto exp. does not work well for binning 8x8 or the camera is overloaded with light.
This camera works only when 12VDC is applied like many other cameras. The ASI1600 you can operate without 12VDC and cooling.

Han

 

[Phillips6549]

1 hour ago, han59 said:

The latest OpenLiveStacker version works well with my ToupTek aps-c IMX571 mono camera.

Artyom

I guess this is not the version from the new ASI SDK?  

Mark

[Artik]

7 hours ago, Phillips6549 said:

Artyom

I guess this is not the version from the new ASI SDK?  

Mark

No that was a internal beta,

I have just released 19 with updated ASI SDK (and other things) . Please tell me if it helps. I'll give feedback to ASI ZWO.

https://github.com/artyom-beilis/OpenLiveStacker/releases/tag/beta19

[Artik]

Beta 19: https://github.com/artyom-beilis/OpenLiveStacker/releases/tag/beta19

 

New Features:

• Added support of ToupTek cameras - thanks to contribution of Maxim Tonkikh
• Updated ASI SDK to 1260_0804 - hopefully fixing ASI120 issues on some devices
• Added selecting USB device if more than one connected (fixing crash in previous internal beta)
• Added support of explicit ROI information for stream format list on ASI and ToupTek

[Phillips6549]

11 hours ago, Artik said:

I have just released 19 with updated ASI SDK (and other things) . Please tell me if it helps.

Artyom

Beta-19 has fixed it for me.  Just need the clouds to go away for a while to try it outside. 🌧️

Thanks for your perseverance!

Mark

[Artik]

Beta 21 released: https://github.com/artyom-beilis/OpenLiveStacker/releases/tag/beta21

Bug fixes in Beta21:

• Fixed #67 crash when flats are used on mono frames due to incorrect boundary protection
• Fixed incorrect scaling of touptek raw10/12/14 streams - make sure full 16bit range is filled
• Fixed incorrect warning sent to log

Fixed in Beta 20:

• Added support of Meade cameras based on ToupTek like Meade LPI-GC Adv
• Fixed incorrect flags querying in touptek driver
• Added support of HDR/HCG for touptek cameras

[Artik]

Beta 23 released:  https://github.com/artyom-beilis/OpenLiveStacker/releases/tag/beta23

The biggest new feature is experimental DSLR/DSLM support. 

So at this point following cameras are supported on Android:

• ASI ZWO
• ToupTek including Meade branded ones
• USB Video Class cameras (like sv105, 205 or other standard webcams)
• DSLR/DSLM - experimental - tested on Canon.

It uses libgphoto2 to access the camera (same as Indi or ASIAir) 

So new features:

• DSLR support via libgphoto2
• Added support of stopping stream
• Added logging for camera drivers (touptek and gphoto)

Bug fixes:

• Removed flush option for touptek
• Bug fixes in touptek camera parameters/names

 

So Help Needed

This is first release of DSLR support so testing needed and patience as well. 

How to use. Set camera to manual mode, connect via cable to Android tablet. Select gphoto driver. Upon opening camera first shoot will be done to detect supported output formats. So configure image saving in the camera for raw or raw and jpeg. Once information is retrieved you'll see various supported options and now you can select stream you need and start capturing.

I want you to note an important point: many DSLR cameras have very large frames, their processing (stacking, stretching etc) may take quite a lot of load and time.

Only if you have both strong tablet (6GB RAM, modern CPU) and use long exposures 5-10s you may use full frame raw images. Otherwise I strongly recommend using raw16 or rgb48 with software binning and/or smaller ROI to allow reasonable processing times.

There are two ways of handing binning:

• raw16/bin2-3 - bayer pixels of same color are averaged and new updated bayer pattern in generated (similar to what HW binning is doing in cameras)
• rgb46/bin2-3 - original bayer converted to RGB and that resulted image is downscaled - it should lead to higher quality image, but it may cause misidentification of hot pixels as stars.

So feedback is needed
 

[Artik]

Some testing from yesterday using OpenLiveStacker with DSLR: Canon 7D, 50mm, 2s exposure no tracking, pointing using AstroHopper.

Picture below is area of Sagitta, about 1m total exposure (not much good views from balcony)

Brocchi's Cluster is visible in the low right corner.

[bilkusg]

Many thanks for writing this software. I have a Sony A6000 which I am hoping to test on a Pi4 as soon as the weather in London permits....  I have managed to get the software to control the camera indoors which is a promising start, but I noticed that the number of frames it says it's downloaded is many more than the number of times the shutter has activated on the camera. Is this expected behaviour, or would you like some logging information?

 

[Artik]

At least on canon I have is configured to save both raw and jpeg. So after each shot I download one of them according to stream type and delete them.

 

Also can you please post both camera and ols logs? You can turn camera log from settings 

[Artik]

On 29/09/2023 at 13:11, bilkusg said:

Is this expected behaviour, or would you like some logging information?

So can you give logs so I can review what is going on?

[bilkusg]

On 02/10/2023 at 20:30, Artik said:

So can you give logs so I can review what is going on?

Sorry not to have done this. My canon camera has died, so I can't test or reproduce anything at the moment. I will reopen the issue if it recurs once i'm able to try again.

[Artik]

1 hour ago, bilkusg said:

My canon camera has died

Ohhh...

Also I thought you are trying Sony A6000. Does it work?

 

[Artik]

Show must go on... 

Version Beta24 released: https://github.com/artyom-beilis/OpenLiveStacker/releases/tag/beta24

Changelog

• Android camera is now supported (named Internal):
  • Minimal Android version is Android 7
  • Features: controls of exposure, iso , wb, zoom, focus.
  • Support of jpeg, raw and mono output formats (from YUV), simulated mono16 - binning of mino8 without loosing accuracy
• Gphoto2/DSLR updates
  • Added support of target capture - save on SD card on in memory.
  • Added option not to remove files - to save sequence for post processing offline on SD Card
  • Fixed sequence of image reading - not waiting for capture trigger but rather to file saved. It workaround some capture failures however adds restriction that only one image type can be saved per trigger - either Raw or Jpeg - but not both. Similar behavior to Indi
  • Improved memory useage performance for binning of raw images
• Fixed bug that caused live stream instread of stacked stream to be displayed upon return to live view
• Fixed support of RGB touptek cameras
• Updated ToupTek SDK to version 20231121

Note support of Android camera is experimental.

One issue noticed: default image size is maximum and it can make the app to be stuck. It is better to use images of not bigger than 2MP at most weather raw or jpeg

 

[han59]

Nice. For my Phone, a Samsung S7 the access to the internal camera works.  Installed version beta 25.

Han

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by han59

[blp042]

On 09/07/2023 at 04:06, Stu said:

They are getting pretty good! There is built in stacking with the Google Pixel phones but it doesn’t give a live view. It takes a 4 mins exposure, works pretty well!

Ok, I just found openlivesracker and this photo. I have the same phone. Can you describe you did this?

 

On 09/07/2023 at 04:06, Stu said:

They are getting pretty good! There is built in stacking with the Google Pixel phones but it doesn’t give a live view. It takes a 4 mins exposure, works pretty well!

 

[Stu]

3 hours ago, blp042 said:

Ok, I just found openlivesracker and this photo. I have the same phone. Can you describe you did this?

Nothing clever, just attached the phone to the eyepiece with the scope on an EQ tracking mount. When held absolutely steady, the phone engages Astro mode and it will take a 4 minute exposure made up of 16 second subs. That’s what generated the result posted.