Dithering with v2.1.1

Support and help for digiCamControl (no bug report)
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Juno16
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 12:57 am

Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by Juno16 » Mon May 06, 2019 1:08 am

Hi DigicamControl support,

I have been using DigicamControl for astrophotography with my Nikon D3300 and it has been great. Awesome software and the only AP camera control software that will control my D3300.
Thank you very much for DigicamControl.

I just started to dither with PHD2 v 2.6.6. I couldn’t find any documentation in the DigicamControl manual but I was helped by Peter Wolsley on the OpenPHD Guiding group. Dithering works, but has the issue below.

DigicamControl sends a dithering command to PHD and before it can settle, DigicamControl sends a second dither. The first dither fails, but the second dither settles fine.

Please read the response from Andy on the OpenPHD Guiding group below.

Jim,

Thanks for the logs. We're seeing that DigicamControl is connecting to PHD2, sending an old PHD1-style dither command, then disconnecting. 2 seconds later it re-connects to PHD2 and sends another dither command and disconnects. This happens every time so you are getting two back-to-back dithers between each sub. PHD2 is reporting the settling of the first dither as failed in the logs because of the immediate arrival of the second dither before the first dither has settled. Even though this is essentially harmless (more dithers allow the lock position to drift farther from the starting position), you might still want to report it to the DigicamContol developers so they can fix it.

Andy

Please let me know if there is anything I can set up in DigicamControl to remedy the double dither.

I don’t think that the DD is causing me any great issues, but if you have any suggestions, I would appreciate it!

Thanks for your help!

Jim

Dithering with v2.1.1

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southwind
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 2:54 pm

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by southwind » Mon May 13, 2019 3:11 pm

Hi Juno 16

I read your question about dither problem on PHD forum.
I am now trying Digicamcontrol like you.
My setup work correctly.
I do not have double dither you claimed, when i tested Dithering to PHD2
My test condition is listed bellow.

Diigicamcontrol

use Bulb mode
capture time 60
number of photo 5
time between 30
PHD move3
wait for PHD 30
Automatically PHD yes

PHD2 setup
camera simulator
mount on camera

OS windows10 pro 64bit

Digicam control send dither to PHD2 only once after capture.
Would you notice me about your Digicamcontrol setup?

Regards

southwind

Juno16
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 12:57 am

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by Juno16 » Tue May 28, 2019 1:19 am

Hi Southwind,

My apologies for not seeing your post earlier.

My settings in Digicamcontrol as as below.

Diigicamcontrol

use Bulb mode
capture time 120
number of photo 100
time between 30
PHD move1 or 2
wait for PHD 30
Automatically PHD yes

Looks very similar to yours.

I imaged several nights ago and Digicamcontrol was sending four dithers after each image!
PHD2 Dithering Capture.JPG
PHD2 Dithering Capture.JPG (28.64 KiB) Viewed 7052 times
Luckily that the last dither settles within my current 60 second total time between images, so my images are not effected. Still odd though. Especially after reading the replies on the PHD forum.

Other than the dithering issue, I really appreciate DigicamControl. I really like and use the focus feature in live view. Compared well to a Batinov mask.

Thanks for your reply.

Jim

Juno16
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 12:57 am

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by Juno16 » Wed May 29, 2019 3:15 am

Hi southwind,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I rely on DigicamControl since it is the only Astro camera tethering software that I have found that supports my Nikon D3300. Fabulous software!

I use very similar settings as you. See below.

Diigicamcontrol

use Bulb mode
capture time 120
number of photo 100
time between 30
PHD move 1 or 2
wait for PHD 30
Automatically PHD yes

The last PhD2 session from several nights ago, DigicamControl was sending 4 dithers after each image. All still settled down within the 60 second total pause, so I guess that the four dithers really don’t hurt.

Thanks for sharing and if you see anything wrong with my settings, please let me know.

Thanks,
Jim

southwind
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 2:54 pm

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by southwind » Wed May 29, 2019 3:02 pm

Hi Jim

I tested Dither same as yours.
I could not find Double-Dithers.
I can't find a solution for this problem.
If possible,try this script listed bellow.
This script is for my EOS kiss X5.
I inserted 5 second waiting before capture.

<dccscript>
<commands>
<loop loopcount="5">
<wait time="10"/>
<bulbcapture capturetime="25" iso="800"/>]
<phdguiding waittime="3000" movetype="Move 3" />
<wait time="30"/>
</loop>
<loop loopcount="5">
<bulbcapture capturetime="20" iso="800"/>]
<phdguiding waittime="2000" movetype="Move 3" />
<wait time="30"/>
</loop>
</commands>
</dccscript>

Copy- Paste to script editter and save this scrpt
you can load to bulb mode.

Thanks
south wind

Juno16
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 12:57 am

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by Juno16 » Mon Jun 03, 2019 12:06 am

Hi Southwind,

Thanks for the response. I have not had a chance to get out because of weather, but I have tried and do not see that Digicamcontrol will let me paste your script into my script editor. I am sure that I am doing something wrong, but so far, I have had no success with the paste.
I did also look at the software PHD Dither written by Bruce Waddington that is supposed to work with PHD2. I have tested it in simulator mode and it works fine, except for a way to stimulate the dither. PHD Dither also is configurable for settling parameters. There is a
dither script (Dither_Script.vbs) with the PHD Dither software that can be configured in the camera control software (Digicamcontrol?) to stimulate a dither. Do you know of a way to use the script editor to launch Dither_Script.vbs after each capture?

Again, thank you Southwind for your assistance!

Jim

michael8554
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:15 pm

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by michael8554 » Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:36 am

Hi Juno16 and Southwind

I only get one Dither with a Canon 6D and Windows 7.

I have similar settings to yours, but "Automatically PHD2 Guiding after photo captured" is NOT ticked - I have no idea what this does ?

Previously I used DitherMaster. It detected images being downloaded, and this initiated a Dither in PHD2, but it too caused two Dithers.

Michael

southwind
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 2:54 pm

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by southwind » Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:12 pm

Hi Juno16 and michael8554

Thank you for the good information.
Unfortunately i do not know how to handle vbs files in this application.I have no knowledge.
How to load the script to Bulb mode are bellow.
There are 2 ways that i could load.
1. Copy the script.
Open script editor(menu-Pluggins-Tools-Script execution)
Paste these script and save the script with a dccscrpt extension.
make a file such as (test.dccscript)
2.Copy the script.
Open MS notepad.
Paste it to MS notepad
Save the this file with a dccscript extension.(or save a txt extension and rename to dccscript)

Cheers
Southwind

Juno16
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 12:57 am

Re: Dithering with v2.1.1

Post by Juno16 » Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:25 pm

Hi Southwind and michael8554,

The information and help is very much appreciated!

I will try the script editor. Thank you very much for the guidance there.

Michael8554, thanks for the info also. I did try DitherMaster and it worked well with a file save. I only had one dither!
This is the config menu from PHD Dither.
38F9F7A9-B030-4782-B3D3-06D5B8D2C011.jpeg
38F9F7A9-B030-4782-B3D3-06D5B8D2C011.jpeg (25.31 KiB) Viewed 7022 times
There are more dithering functions available with PHD Dither than DigicamControl or DitherMaster, so I will try PHD dither, but I don’t have the ability in DigicamControl to stimulate the dither in PHD Dither. I have been messaging Bruce (PHD Dither developer) about a way to stimulate a dither, but so far, all that I have is the timer (a helper app Bruce includes with the download). Using the timer app works well in simulation except that I have to manually start it after the first image capture at the start of the “pause” or “wait” step in DigicamControl. I’m shooting 120 second subs with a 60 second wait step for sensor cooling which gives plenty time for the dither to settle.

Thanks to you both. I will let you know how it works out.

Thanks,
Jim

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