I have just bought and ASI 2600mc Pro
I also have and 533.
For example, for the 533 the configuration of the ASCOM driver have presets for unity gain (gain 100, offset 70)
What values I have to input for my 2600 for GAIN and OFFSET (the ASCOM unit gain values)
Thanks a lot and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
The default value of unit gain for 2600(gain 0, offset 50)
We recommend the ASIstudio, you do not to set the gain and offset manually.
Or you are using the ASCOM, we also recommend keep the default gain and offset, especially for the new users.
Following up on this but the 2600mm, based on the graphs, it seems gain 100 activates the HCG mode, which is ideal for imaging. However, in the most recent driver (downloaded today) you can't exceed 100 at all. Is 100 in the current driver the HCG mode?
crgood2
Yes, gain 100 activates the HCG mode.
When Gain=100, the readout noise will drop a lot but the dynamic range will still be in a high standard, but with the increase of gain, the readout noise will not drop significantly,
but the dynamic range will drop dramatically, so we limit the gain to 100.
Why limit the gain to 100? There are situations in astroimaging where a higher gain may be desired, knowing that the dynamic range is reduced. For example, plate solving and focusing will benefit from higher gains to reduce exposure times. A wide dynamic range is not required.
Is there any way that you can modify the ASCOM driver for the ASI 2600 to allow the full range of gain to be set manually or programmatically from SGP, etc?
Mark W
mdwetzel
We limit the gain range to 0-100. When Gain=100, the readout noise will drop a lot but the dynamic range will still be in a high standard, but with the increase of gain, the readout noise will not drop significantly,
but the dynamic range will drop dramatically, so we limit the gain to 100.
I understand your reasoning. I am well aware of the loss in dynamic range with increasing gain, but there are some instances where faster imaging is beneficial without requiring a wide DR. For example, if I shoot narrowband and then want to capture some RGB data for star color, higher gain will allow me to do this in a short amount of time. Stars do not really require really high DR. Setting the ASI 2600 gain to 150 or 200 would accomplish what I have done with my ASI 1600. Also, I captured high gain (200) subframes in Ha for the Horsehead Nebula to blend with Lum, RGB data taken at gain 139 (unity). Let the user determine the gain and offset. We understand the tradeoffs between DR and noise.
Mark
This is an unsatisfactory suggestion. I use SGP for controlling and automating astroimaging sessions. SharpCap cannot do this. I have used SGP for several years with an ASI 1600MM Pro with no issues. I spent much more money to get the capabilities of the ASI 2600. The ZWO ASCOM driver limits the utility of the ASI 2600. It seems to me that enhancing the ASCOM driver to allow manual setting of gain and offset across the full range of the camera makes more sense than limiting it. I can control the 1600 gain to any value I choose from SGP. Why would you limit it for the ASI 2600? Restricting the gain to a maximum of 100 severely limits the speed of autofocus, plate solving, etc. where a higher gain would be used.