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Old 05-03-2011, 07:24 PM
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strongmanmike (Michael)
Highest Observatory in Oz

strongmanmike is offline
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Canberra
Posts: 17,176
Hi Troy

It's hard for you because you aren't totally familiar with your camera yet but I have had great success with a library of darks and flat darks taken at just one temperature.

With the previous FLI PL11002 (KAI11000 chip) I used the same set of dark frames shot at -35C all year round for nearly three years - no problemo.

With my current FLI PL16803 (KAF16803 chip) I have been using the same dark library set at -30C (made in May last year) all year since with no problems.

The FLI has superior stock cooling to other cameras but the point is that from my experience doing regular updates of darks hasn't been necessary..?

I wouldn't bother with increments either - just complicates things and increases the chance of using the wrong dark folder during processing . Consider your local temperature patterns and your camera cooling specs and perhaps choose two teperatures that should be just comfortably reached by your cooling in winter and in summer and do a dark set at each temperature..? I believe the QSI can go about 38C below ambient..? So given Brisbanes weather stats I would pick -20C for most of the year and -10C for some nights during the hotter summer months and you should always be able to reach these ok? Use the -20 any night you can and only run at -10C if you have to. Of course if you get the water cooling add-on you could go another 5C colder in each case.

By the way, why are you doing "bias" frames? If you use darks you don't need bias frames...? You need light darks and flat darks at each temperature, that's it . Aslo, if you take your flats at the end of the night when it is always cool you will likely always be able to use a -20C flat dark set anyway so wont need to bother having a -10C flat dark set then.

Mike
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