Frames not being captured

[geoffoto]

I have a NIKON D800 capturing onto an older HP laptop with WinXP.  I set BYN to 10 exposures and the camera shutter releases 10 times and appears to download each between frames.  The problem is only two frames are actually captured.  The camera as well as the BYN display both show only two frames.  

 

 Is this possibly because of the older OS?  I have plenty of hard drive space (17GB). 

 

I'll add that the above was a test with small files.  In the field, with larger files, the laptop DRAGS during download and actually quits - the 10-frame sequence never completes - after two frames. 

 

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[admin]

Send me the log files, instructions here.

 

Regards,

[geoffoto]

The major problem seems to be the USB cable.  I eliminated the USB 1.0 extension cable (which I would need to use in the field), plugged the camera directly into the laptop with the 3.0 cable, and the download, while not speedy, moved right along (tho

with JPEG files.  I will be shooting RAW in the field.)  I will still send the log(s) for your opinion on the download speed as I suspect my XP laptop (probably 10 years old) is not helping.   Thanks!

[astroman133]

If you were using a USB 1.0 cable with USB 2.0 devices, I am not at all surprised that you were having communications issues.  The camera was pushing data onto a wire at a rate that cable could not handle.

 

Your download time will depend on the amount of processing done by the camera once the shutter closes, the size of the image being downloaded, as well as the transmission speed of the cable and connection.

 

However, more important than speed is reliability.  Raw data from my 18 megapixel DSLR downloads in just a couple of seconds, but data from my mono CCD camera takes almost 20 seconds because it uses USB 1.1 technology. I live with the long download time of the CCD because it is reliable and the camera gives me great data.  My exposures are usually in the range of 10 minutes and I just cannot justify spending a couple thousand dollars to cut that time by a few seconds per image.

 

If image download takes more than a few seconds, then you will have to consider similar tradeoffs to mine.  Is it worth the $$$ to speed up the download time.  However in your case, there may be other factors that would make it easier to justify getting a new PC.  For example, support patches, a 64-bit architecture with fast video processor to speed up image processing, a PC that will run that 64-bit version of PixInsight, etc.

 

Good luck.

[admin]

The major problem seems to be the USB cable.  I eliminated the USB 1.0 extension cable (which I would need to use in the field), plugged the camera directly into the laptop with the 3.0 cable, and the download, while not speedy, moved right along (tho

with JPEG files.  I will be shooting RAW in the field.)  I will still send the log(s) for your opinion on the download speed as I suspect my XP laptop (probably 10 years old) is not helping.   Thanks!

 

Yep, USB 1.0 would cause issues for sure.  It simply can not handle the bandwidth.

 

Regards,