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Opticstar DS-336C XL Setup Manual

Long exposure t.e.c. cooled ccd camera
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Microsoft Windows
(64-bit & 32-bit)
XP/Vista/7/8
OPTICSTAR

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Summary of Contents for Opticstar DS-336C XL

  • Page 1 Microsoft Windows (64-bit & 32-bit) XP/Vista/7/8 OPTICSTAR...
  • Page 2 6. Treat the camera glass window with the same care as you would of a photographic lens. Manufacturer’s Warranty This product has a 12 month back to base warranty. For after sales support please contact Opticstar at: info@opticstar.com 15/03/2012 Ä Opticstar Ltd...
  • Page 3 2 ............................14 UNNING EBULOSITY V ................................15 ANEL Advanced Sub Panel ............................15 ................................16 IDEO .................................. 16 UPPORT INSTALLING THE DS-336C XL PLUGIN FOR ASTROART V3/V4 ..............17 ............................... 18 INNING ODES ............................18 IGHER MAGE UALITY ................................. 18 IGHER PEED ................................
  • Page 4 DS-336C XL Setup Guide USB B ............................... 27 PEED USB E ..............................28 XTENSIONS USB P ..............................28 SSUES GOOD PRACTICES..............................29 ..............................29 AMERA LEANING ..........................29 AMERA OWER EQUIREMENTS ....................... 29 VEREXPOSING THE AMERA TO TRONG IGHT SUPPORT ................................... 29 OTHER SOFTWARE..............................

  • Page 5: Introduction

    The camera incorporates thermo-electric cooling (TEC) reducing the levels of noise dramatically during longer exposures The DS-336C XL is the successor to the popular DS-335C ICE but includes a number of significant enhancements such as:  Double the speed and the frame rate in focus and preview modes.

  • Page 6: Installing The Software Drivers

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Installing the Software Drivers Follow the instructions below closely ensuring that you make the right selections. Un-install any previous versions of the software. Insert the supplied CD in the CD/DVD drive. During installation do not allow Windows to automatically select the best drivers.
  • Page 7 DS-336C XL Setup Guide The Windows Found New Hardware Wizard will come into view. If the wizard does not appear, you can install the drivers by right-clicking on the camera entry in Device Manager and select Update Driver Software. Anti-virus software may attempt to block the installation. In such cases the anti-virus software should be temporarily disabled.
  • Page 8 DS-336C XL Setup Guide Windows may display a warning prior to installing the driver software. Ignore the message and select Install the driver software anyway. The drivers installed successfully. Ignore the Windows warning. Once the drivers have been installed, Windows will identify the camera as Opticstar 336C.

  • Page 9: Software Applications

    Nebulosity is a fully featured application that provides camera control and image processing. Nebulosity needs to be installed as a first step but it will not provide DS-336C XL camera support by default. The DS-336C XL software plugin for Nebulosity must be copied into the folder where Nebulosity has been installed.

  • Page 10: Installing Opticstar View

    1. To install View, navigate to the View folder on the CD and open the View_setup.exe file. 2. Windows will display “Welcome to the Opticstar View Setup Wizard”. Click the Next button to continue. Installing Opticstar View. Running Opticstar View.

  • Page 11: C Amera C Ontrol

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Camera Control Run View with the camera connected to the computer. On the right hand side panel application, under Capture tab, the camera will be identified as “Opticstar 336C”. By default, the camera will be running as soon as View opens.

  • Page 12: Colour Adjustment Tab

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Colour Adjustment Tab The first three slider bars labelled: R Gain, G Gain and B Gain, can be used to manually adjust the red, green and blue colour reproduction of the camera. Alternatively, the camera can automatically set these values by pressing the White Balance button.

  • Page 13: Quick Fluro Tab

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Quick Fluro Tab The Quick Fluro tab can be used for fine focusing under challenging conditions such as fluorescence microscopy. View sets a combination of values automatically to assist the user in focusing more precisely. The values set include exposure time, gain and frame rate.

  • Page 14: I Mage P Rocessing

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Image Processing` View can be used to perform measurements on the captured image(s). It is also possible to apply various filters and perform image processing operations. A brief outline of View’s image processing functions is listed below: ...

  • Page 15: Installing Nebulosity V2 And The Ds-336C Xl Plugin

    3. Double-click (LMB) on the setup_Nebulosity2.exe icon. 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to install Nebulosity. To add support for the DS-336C XL camera to Nebulosity v2 please carry out the following steps. 5. Navigate to the \Plugins\Nebulosity2 folder on the CD.

  • Page 16: Main Panel

    4x4 mode reduces the image resolution to one sixteenth (512x384) of the original but the light sensitivity increases by 16 times. Unlike other cameras, the DS-336C XL can perform binning in colour. This is a unique feature only available on Opticstar CCD cameras.

  • Page 17: Video Mode

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide The Offset value controls the camera’s Black Level. Typically, low data values contain more noise (bad data) than signal (useful data). The user can use this setting to modify at runtime the cut-off point between signal and noise. The most appropriate Offset value depends on many factors including the exposure time, gain value, the target, the binning mode, etc.

  • Page 18: Installing The Ds-336C Xl Plugin For Astroart V3/V4

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Installing the DS-336C XL Plugin for AstroArt v3/v4 AstroArt is a powerful image processing software especially designed for amateur astronomers. Before installing the plugin, please ensure that the camera’s software drivers and AstroArt have already been installed on the computer.

  • Page 19: Binning Mode

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Binning Modes There is support for 8 binning imaging modes. These modes have been included in order to maximize the performance of the camera in specific areas including: resolution, colour/monochrome, sensitivity focusing. Mode Binning Bit Depth...

  • Page 20: C Apture S Ettings

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide StarView The StarView window cannot be simultaneously with AstroArt’s capture focus modes. StarView provides a high sensitivity preview mode (6x6 binning) in colour. The exposure time can be set between 100 milliseconds and 10 seconds. The hardware Gain function can be set using the vertical slide bar on the StarView window.

  • Page 21: C Olour S Ynthesis

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Colour Synthesis By default all images captured in AstroArt (but not in StarView) are displayed in raw format. Raw data broadly resembles a monochrome image but in reality it is not. The raw data includes the colour information that can be used to produce a colour image.

  • Page 22: Installing The Ds-336C Xl Plugin For Maxim Dl V4/V5

    MaxIm DL have already been installed on the computer. Follow the instructions below to add support for the DS-336C XL camera to MaxIm DL. 1. Insert the supplied CD in the CD/DVD drive.

  • Page 23: Binning Mode

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Binning Modes There is support for 6 binning imaging modes. These modes have been included in order to maximize the performance of the camera in specific areas including: resolution, colour/monochrome, sensitivity focusing. Mode Binning Bit Depth...

  • Page 24: C Apture S Ettings

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide StarView The StarView window cannot be in use simultaneously with MaxIm DL’s capture and focus modes. StarView provides high sensitivity preview mode (6x6 binning) in colour. The exposure time can be set between 100 milliseconds and 10 seconds.

  • Page 25: C Olour S Ynthesis

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Colour Synthesis By default all images captured in MaxIm DL (but not in StarView) are displayed in raw format. Raw data broadly resembles a monochrome image but in reality it is not. The raw data includes the colour information that can be used to produce a colour image.

  • Page 26: Troubleshooting

    System Requirements The Opticstar DS series cameras require a modern PC running Microsoft Windows (64-bit or 32-bit) XP/Vista/7/8. Please make certain that you have installed the latest windows updates that are available free of charge at www.microsoft.com.

  • Page 27: Camera Driver Check

    “Device Manager”. In Device Manager, the camera will be listed under Imaging devices. Check that the Opticstar driver entry does not show any conflicts. If there is a conflict this will appear as an exclamation mark over the Opticstar driver entry.

  • Page 28: Re-Installing The Camera And Drivers

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Re-installing the Camera and Drivers If you wish to re-install the camera, its drivers and software for any reason please refer to the instructions below. 1. Uninstall the camera drivers (please refer to the previous section).

  • Page 29: Usb E Xtensions

    USB2.0 5 metres repeater cables can be used to extend the total length to an absolute maximum of 25 metres. The DS-336C XL will function with standard USB2.0 repeater cables to a typical cable length of 12.5 meters depending on the type of USB2.0 repeaters used.

  • Page 30: Good Practices

    Never point the camera through a telescope to a bright light source like the Sun without the appropriate filters, doing so will damage the camera sensor! Support For support regarding the Opticstar DS-336C XL please email Opticstar at: info@opticstar.com. Other Software There is some freely available third party software that may be of interest to some users.

  • Page 31: Camera Specification

    DS-336C XL Setup Guide Camera Specification Model Opticstar DS-336C XL Sensor type Sony ICX412AQ Interline CCD Sensor size 8.10mm x 6.64mm (1/1.8") Sensor aspect ratio Resolution 3.3 Megapixels, 2140 x 1560 pixels Pixel size 3.45µm x 3.45µm G Sensitive 455 mV (Gain off)
  • Page 32 DS-336C XL Setup Guide OPTICSTAR Opticstar Ltd, 87 Washway Road, Sale, Gr. Manchester, M33 7TQ, United Kingdom. Tel: +44(0)161 969 9008 – +44(0)161 962 3069 Web: www.opticstar.com – www.opticstar-ccd.com – Email: info@opticstar.com 15/03/2012 Ä Opticstar Ltd...

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