Hello!
I've made a module called astro a couple of years ago, which I never published because of three reasons.
1: the source code is messy
2: it has never been tested thoroughly
3: it stayed in a highly experimental state
But finding it on a VM a couple of years later, I thought it may worth to share (in spite of the fact that the reasons listed above still apply
)
Someone may find it useful or may improve it, who knows.
You can find the source code at the bottom somewhere.
Basically it's got three functions, which can help you setting up your EQ mount for astrophotography:
- camera alignment (by drawing a horizontal line, really)
- polar alignment (D.A.R.V. or Drift Alignment by Robert Vice)
- star focusing using the half flux diameter formula
- bonus: you can also change the color scheme to dark red
The basic idea comes from a video on youtube (link is below), where the guy uses a laptop, and a software called BackyardEOS to do the drift alignment & star focusing, but carrying around a laptop with all the other gear can be a bit how ya doin'. Since we already have a nice intervalometer built into magic lantern, I thought it would be nice to have everything built into the camera.
Here's the video:
https://youtu.be/zQB6UnrTEEM?list=PLdSieE6m2qgtXhHODxebbiRg5INaL5IpF&t=1693
In order to do the drift alignment, basically you'd have to burn a star's trail into the image using a long exposure, which of course requires the shutter.
Using this module you don't have to release the shutter, it recognises the star (which is used for the alignment) at given points of the screen, then it draws some lines to show it's path.
Something like this:
As you can see, the star arrived a bit above the starting point, so you need to do some adjustments...
(But doing it in BackyardEOS is more precise though, cause you have a high res picture which can be analyzed much better)
And to get an idea, here's how the star focusing works:
Basically, the sharper the star is, the lower the HFD value and the higher the Max pixel value should be.
(by doing some quick tests I've noticed that sometimes the HFD value continues to go down even when we're going out of focus
)
As I've said, it was a highly experimental thing...
Maybe I could fix the bugs, if I had some spare time, or I could just share the source..
If you're brave enough, you can give it a try, here's the module, compiled using the latest build.
I've only tried it on a 550D so be aware. Oh and do it on your own risk!
550D only: astro.rar
Here's the independent module (no custom menu, no telescope icon):
You'll find the functions inside the Focus menu.
(According to the compiler: Will load on: 500D, 50D, 550D, 5D2, 5D3, 600D, 60D, 650D, 700D, 7D, EOSM)
Should run on "all" cameras: astro.mo
Never tested though...
You can find the source code here: source
What do you think? Share your opinion!
I've made a module called astro a couple of years ago, which I never published because of three reasons.
1: the source code is messy
2: it has never been tested thoroughly
3: it stayed in a highly experimental state
But finding it on a VM a couple of years later, I thought it may worth to share (in spite of the fact that the reasons listed above still apply
)Someone may find it useful or may improve it, who knows.
You can find the source code at the bottom somewhere.
Basically it's got three functions, which can help you setting up your EQ mount for astrophotography:
- camera alignment (by drawing a horizontal line
, really)- polar alignment (D.A.R.V. or Drift Alignment by Robert Vice)
- star focusing using the half flux diameter formula
- bonus: you can also change the color scheme to dark red
The basic idea comes from a video on youtube (link is below), where the guy uses a laptop, and a software called BackyardEOS to do the drift alignment & star focusing, but carrying around a laptop with all the other gear can be a bit how ya doin'. Since we already have a nice intervalometer built into magic lantern, I thought it would be nice to have everything built into the camera.
Here's the video:
https://youtu.be/zQB6UnrTEEM?list=PLdSieE6m2qgtXhHODxebbiRg5INaL5IpF&t=1693
In order to do the drift alignment, basically you'd have to burn a star's trail into the image using a long exposure, which of course requires the shutter.
Using this module you don't have to release the shutter, it recognises the star (which is used for the alignment) at given points of the screen, then it draws some lines to show it's path.
Something like this:
As you can see, the star arrived a bit above the starting point, so you need to do some adjustments...
(But doing it in BackyardEOS is more precise though, cause you have a high res picture which can be analyzed much better)
And to get an idea, here's how the star focusing works:
Basically, the sharper the star is, the lower the HFD value and the higher the Max pixel value should be.
(by doing some quick tests I've noticed that sometimes the HFD value continues to go down even when we're going out of focus
)As I've said, it was a highly experimental thing...
Maybe I could fix the bugs, if I had some spare time, or I could just share the source..
If you're brave enough, you can give it a try, here's the module, compiled using the latest build.
I've only tried it on a 550D so be aware. Oh and do it on your own risk!
550D only: astro.rar
Here's the independent module (no custom menu, no telescope icon):
You'll find the functions inside the Focus menu.
(According to the compiler: Will load on: 500D, 50D, 550D, 5D2, 5D3, 600D, 60D, 650D, 700D, 7D, EOSM)
Should run on "all" cameras: astro.mo
Never tested though...
You can find the source code here: source
What do you think? Share your opinion!