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Old 18-06-2012, 11:02 AM
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EclipseMaestro (Xavier)
Eclipse Maps & Software

EclipseMaestro is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Paris, France
Posts: 19
Quote:
Originally Posted by AstroTourist View Post
We also have accommodation at Trinity Beach for the eclipse and I certainly expect to be catching up with Xavier (and others) then.
Sounds like the Trinity Beach - Palm Cove area will be an IIS focal point.

Terry
Hi Terry,

I'll be staying in Trinity Beach from Nov. 10 to 16. I am renting a couple of apartments among the one we visited together.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidTrap View Post
Xavier has been great to deal with, and will be in Trinity Beach for the eclipse. I hope to catch up with him in November.
DT
You certainly have to!

Quote:
Originally Posted by AstroTourist View Post
But having said that I have heard very good reports about Eclipse Maestro. Xavier is a guy who really is dedicated to getting things to perform to their best, and he is continually updating it.

Terry
It is worth to mention that the software isn't only meant to control DSLRs and SBIG CCD cameras.
It has much more to offer and many of its other features are unique. Here is an example:
Baily's beads simulation

BTW, those interested in getting the best shots of the solar corona should get one of the new SBIG CCD cameras, the Ethernet type ones having a readout of about 1 second. The results that can be obtained will be much better than with any DSLR on the market.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidTrap View Post
I've been corresponding with the author of Solar Eclipse Maestro.

It also appears to play well with Nikon - I believe the author is a Nikon user.

DT
Correct.
Unfortunately I will just mention that I haven't yet had direct access to the latest Nikon cameras: D4, D800 and D3200.
The fact that you had a D800 was great as it allowed to add support for that camera.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidTrap View Post
I did some beta testing for the author to get my D800 working properly. There are a couple of limitations:

It will take a full frame shot every two seconds, as it writes to the card before firing another shot. (I experienced similar problems when trailing eclipse orchestrator)

It will take up to 20 shots at 4fps, but you can't vary the exposure settings during this sequence. I was thinking about using this for the diamond ring, but the camera then locks up for 30secs while it clears the buffer.

You can also switch to DX mode which reduces the time between exposures to 1sec. This might be a better option for the diamond ring, as you could bracket exposures during the sequence.

DT
The limitation isn't only due to the fact that the 80MB file has to be written to the memory card. The write speed is indeed an important factor and one has to use the fastest card available and supported by the camera. However the combination between the Expeed 3 engine and the firmware of the camera appears to be a bit "slow" at processing the massive amount of data. Nikon has clearly some work to do on optimizing the firmware and/or handling the multitasking when communicating with a remote host.
I have to say that most digital cameras often need to have a better and more optimized firmware to really meet our needs during total solar eclipses. The best camera in that regard is the Canon 7D.
In terms of speed the D4 is clearly better than the D800, but the D800 will offer much higher resolution. In other words it all depends on what you want to do, but I'm convinced that with some beforehand rehearsal a good compromise can be found.

You should be able to change the exposure during the burst of 20 shots. The only thing is that you don't know exactly when the camera is going to execute the change. The fact is it isn't really a problem at C2 and C3 when shooting the Baily's beads.
IMO switching to DX at those two instants, and then back to FX, is likely the way to go.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidTrap View Post
It also has works with Live View, which may be useful for focusing - yet to try this out.

The scripting for both programs is almost identical, so comparison of your script with another from someone who has done this before is easy.

DT
Live view is a great feature and movie recording on the camera will also be controlled by SEM.


Please find some pictures from the May 20 annular
ASE 2012 in Arizona
and June 5 Venus transit
ToV 2012 on the Mauna Loa in Hawaii

Xavier
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