Intervalometer option for the main camera (see thread for details)?

marcdota

I mean, the ASIAir Pro already has a 2.5mm jack that's used in all common intervalometers. Yes it will be up to the user to find the appropriate cable for their camera (or ZWO can just sell it themselves for a new small income vertical). If I were to spec the minimum viable product (MVP) functionality out, I'd like the ff:

no need for image saving in the ASIAir Pro ie all images are saved in the digital camera (this might come across as insulting since this is obviously the case with all intervalometers but I need to make sure this is clear)
selecting 'intervalometer' in the main camera selection will disable some irrelevant menus and functionality (eg storage location, focusing via main camera, filter wheel, etc) but will open up a new option screen (delay before first shot, shutter speed, delay between shots, number of frames, etc)
the intervalometer is integrated with the dithering menu (eg if I set the intervalometer to take 100 frames then set to dithering every 5 frames, then the mount should dither 20x)

Now - I know a lot of us want to piggy back a DSLR/MILC camera for say wide field or broadband capture and control it via the same ASIAir Pro. I get it; but the specs above is for a MVP release. A master-slave functionality will take up much more time to think through, develop, and test.

Thanks for reading and hopefully this gets considered in the next release!

Tech@ZWO

Intervalometer option has already been conveyed to our ASIAIR team. Thanks!

marcdota

@tech@zwo#48689 thanks for the feedback. That said - how far down the development backlog is it, and what can the community do to help the dev team in determining the interest for this (ie it helps them to plan the development of a product that users actually want)?

Thanks!

Tech@ZWO

marcdota
An intervalometer allows you to set time intervals between exposures and also how many exposures are to be taken over a pre determined length of time. DSLR cameras have done this as a common feature but fast F 2.0 lenses like Hyperstar for Celestron SCT telescopes make it desireable to take wide-frame field of view night sky images featuring a slow motion moving sky as the Earth turns. The intervalometer function is easy for ZWO to add in ASI CAP and ASL Live and ASIAIR PRO because you have Shooting Scheduler already with DELAY and INTERVAL already but this is only optomized for Deep Space Long exposures. You are missing the fact that with your wonderful ASI183MC Pro you can take 20m images at very fast frame rates so there is no need for long exposures, even on DSOs.
The only capability I need that is not currently a possibility in the current models of ZWO cameras or software including the hardware ZWO ASIAIR PRO is time lapse photography.
DSLR cameras can take exposures at pre-set time intervals. This is used to show motion but not like a smooth video. This shows the whole night sky slowly turning as Earth rotates. Very impressive photos of the Milky Way galaxy filled night sky photos are available on the internet. I only own ZWO products. I do not want to buy a Nikon, Canon, or any other DSLR camera. In ZWO ASIAIR PRO, under the option for Shooting Schedule. You can set DELAY time and also INTERVAL. I believe you can add say taking a group of photographs, (say 100 exposures), at preset intervals (say 5 minutes to 1 hour) over a present length if time (say for 6 hours total time). ZWO could add this as a firmware uupdate to ASICAP and ASI LIVE and ASIAIR PRO for only a small investment in programming but capture many, many more market share competing with all DSLR products by simply adding time-lapse capability to your products as a new and important feature. Someone will do this and they will sell thiusands of products, why not ZWO?
I think you are talking about the same thing, right? Feature request has been recorded does not mean we will implement right now. Details can be also discussed then. We will contact you guys when the time came.

marcdota

@tech@zwo#48724 ok, I get where the disconnect is.

The proposed intervalometer function is intended to be used by a lot of "non-supported" cameras (mostly DSLRs and MILCs) so users can utilize the dithering capabilities of ASIAir Pro as long as their camera supports remotes/intervalometers. This is not for ZWO cameras. Unfortunately whatever "intervalometer" functionality some DSLRs/MILCs have is insufficient for deep sky astrophotography and a lot of beginner astrophotographers start with the equipment that they have - usually DLSRs or MILCs and camera lenses.

As mentioned, an intervalometer function is not expected to handle/cover image storage and other advanced functionality that are astrophotography-specific. All we ask is a means to specify

a delay before the first picture is taken
how long each exposure is
how many exposures to take

and that the ASIAir Pro triggers the camera's shutter via the 2.5mm port such that it's integrated with the dithering functionality e.g.

wait for the specified delay
open the shutter via the 2.5mm port for the specified exposure length
close shutter via 2.5mm port
dither along the RA/DEC axes
wait until the rig is stabilized based on the guidescope
repeat the process for the specified number of exposures

That's it. This integration with the ASIAir Pro's dithering function will set you apart from other intervalometer manufacturers. This will also save you guys the effort of integrating different brands and models like how you are doing now for say, the Nikon Z series. Most intervalometers work across different brands/models since there seems to be a standard protocol, it's just a matter of having different brand/model-specific cables.

Now, I get the concern that introducing this functionality might eat into ZWO camera sales. I believe it will have an opposite effect. An intervalometer functionality will further lower the barrier of entry for people new to the hobby (those who only have DSLRs or MILCs) and will allow them to have an early taste of the good stuff (dithered images, all-in-one automation, etc) so to speak. It's a fact DSLRs and MILCs can never beat dedicated cameras in terms of performance or functionality in astrophotography, and the sooner people max out their existing cameras, the sooner they'll buy the dedicated cameras and related gear. Which ZWO has, and is already known to work well with their existing ASIAir Pro ie it's easier to get buy-in if a user knows the upgrades will work with his/her existing gear.

If I can help clarify this further just drop a line. Thanks for reading and support in this one.

Anth

hello, I currently have an asiair pro with an asi6400mc. but when i go to the mountains i equip myself light and i also have an olympus that i use with these lenses. that's why this intervalometer option will be very useful for those who don't have a canon or nikon. if it was possible to integrate it into the software choice.

JeffMorgan

I have the ASIAir and ASI2600MM and just bought an absolute encoder mount. The mount is capable of dithering on a timer, but the first temperature-induced EAF event will spoil that strategy.

The mount is also capable of great accuracy without guiding. Unfortunately, no way I can see to coordinate the ASI2600 exposures with the mount dithering feature - unless I use the guide module and a guide camera.

More absolute encoder mounts are coming to market, it would be nice to use them with the ASIAir. As it stands now, I will have to replace my ASIAir with something like NINA running on a PC.

bguthrie

Can this already be done with an elaborate Plan mode?

I would like to capture some exposure brackets of the upcoming Solar Eclipse, to ensure that I capture the best Corona possible. Can I not setup a plan that gets one image at .1 seconds, one at 1 second, one at 2 seconds, one at 3 seconds, etc... then do it all again? How many iterations can we have in a single plan?

Tech@ZWO

bguthrie Thank you for your feedback, currently you can set a interval delay in autorun mode.