Files being saved in incorrect mode. BEOS Ruined my Entire shoot

[adobo76]

After opening my images for process in DeepSkyStacker I received an error saying that some of my images were not usable.

 

I notice at this point that all of my bias and dark images are in jpg format, a different iso, and that their size is different from my light files.

 

I did not touch my camera at all when transitioning between light and dark frames.

 

All I did was select dark in BEOS and put the cover on my scope then clicked start.

 

Please see the attached screenshot.  Notice that the file names created by BEOS say the ISO is 100 however the ISO column reports back an ISO of 400. Also the size, depth and format are completely different.

 

This is not the first time BEOS has done this to me.

Why is my format changing when I switch to Dark and BIAS frames?

[admin]

I can assure you that BYE does not change ISO unless the capture plan says so. 

 

Send me the BYE log files for that session and I will confirm exactly what happened.

 

Regards,

[dts350z]

Do you have only "RAW" selected, or "RAW + JPEG" in BYE settings? If you have "RAW + JPEG" it's possible that you selected the jpegs when opening bias and darks, instead of the RAW, but it doesn't explain the iso.

 

What might, is if you remember that DSS opens the LAST DIRECTORY USED by default for each file type, so if you're not paying attention you would have loaded darks and bias from your last project, not the current directory where you loaded the lights from.

 

I suggest you select "RAW" only, in BYE, to reduce the confusion. Settings --> Quality

 

Also, you don't need to take bias frames each time. They are not temp dependent.

 

Many will argue that you should build up libraries of darks, during the day (using some sort of cooling like your refrigerator or an ice chest) and save clear nights for lights. Then you can use DarkMaster to match up dark files from your library (iso, temp, and exposure duration) with your lights. DarkMaster will give you a file list to load into DSS (in group tab(s), then your bias files go in the main group tab)

 

Darkmaster is free:

 

https://sourceforge.net/projects/darkmaster/

[astroman133]

What version of BYE are you using?

What model of EOS camera?

Between taking the Light frames and taking the calibration frames, did you by chance switch BYE over to Frame & Focus mode, or any other mode and then back to imaging mode?

 

I could not duplicate your issue with BYE 3.1.5 and a T5i, even with navigating to the Frame & Focus screen and back to imaging and even with Maximum Sensitivity checked.

 

Can you duplicate what you did? I would use only BYE to capture images and Windows Explorer to view the directory. This would eliminate DSS as a possible reason for misinterpreting the data.

 

Of course, you know that the file name is made up of values from the template fields and constant data that are defined on the Setup screen. It is possible to put a constant value of 100 in the ISO field.  That way the ISO in the file name and the ISO in the EXIF data could be different. Certainly you would remember doing such a thing, but since we are not looking over your shoulder I thought that I would mention it.

 

 

There was an issue reported a few weeks ago about the Camera Temperature value missing from Flat and Bias frame file names.  I see that this is still an issue with 3.1.5, even though I have confirmed that the Camera Temperature EXIF parameter is always in the files.  Could this be a related bug?

[admin]

I don't think the bug is related because the case of the exif temp not in the file name this is a post image download issue.

 

The OP's issue is actually the format, .jpg instead of .cr2, and this is a pre-capture setting.

 

I've seen, though very rare, so instance where the camera was busy when setting the image quality pre-exposure.  This could be the case here.  The log file would confirm (or not) this very quickly.

 

Regards,

[astroman133]

The OP said that he did not change the image quality between the lights and the calibration frames. I was speculating that somehow the image format got changed from RAW to JPG by his going to another screen and then returning to Imaging. 

 

My reference to the missing temperature from the file name bug was in relation to the ISO in the file name not matching the ISO in the EXIF data or the capture plan definition.

[admin]

Yes, I understand what you are saying.   This is why it is hard to troubleshoot without the log files.  Hopefully the OP will come back and send the log files.

[s3igell]

There is one other Oddity visible from the OP Screenshot:

 

The Datestamps listed for the Bias and Darks is "2015-10-31 12:0***" yet the BYE Filenames have "_20151101-00hr***".

 

This does discount DTS350Z's idea of DSS collecting Images from another Session.

But it could readily be a case of Format: RAW+JPG plus the OP mistakenly grabbing the JPG files instead of RAWs.

 

It could also be a case that for some reason the Odd Datestamps causing the BackgroundWorker to Fail, thus leaving the RAW Files stuck in the BackyardTemp Directory.

[s3igell]

For the OP:

 

The GOOD NEWS is that both your BIAS and DARK Files can be Recreated if not Found/Recovered.

 

All you need to do is approximate the same Ambient Temperature for the Camera Body.  The Camera does NOT need to be attached to the Scope - a simple Body Cap will produce your Dark Environment.  Just ensure that the ISO and Duration match - you already know this,,,

[astroman133]

I saw the discrepancies in the date component of the file name and the datestamp displayed in DSS.  That is why I suggested not basing a bug report for BYE with data from DSS.  It could be a bug of some kind in DSS.

 

I would expect that others would be reporting issues similar to what the OP is seeing.  That is why I asked what camera and what version of BYE he is using.  Of course the log files will provide all that information.