Low FPS on BYEOS when using Planetary Imaging

[jayta98]

So i have a T5i and I decided to use the planetary section on BYEOS since it is the only camera i got. I do see when I start capturing the best FPS i'm getting is 8.3. My laptop is old, it is a toshiba satellite Intel centrino dual core, 2 GB RAM and 500 GB SSD. Could the older laptop slowing down FPS? or Could it be some setting in the camera? I haven't changed much of the factory settings. Thanks.

[astroman133]

I get 12-15 fps with my T5i and a Windows 7 laptop with a quad core i7 processor.

[admin]

FPS is 100% relative to your computer speed (mostly disk IO speed) and USB download speed.

 

Most people will get around 20 to 24, very few will get 24 to 28.  I have never seen anything beyond that.

 

It is quite normal to get in the mid-teens.  

 

Anything below 10 suggest you may have your camera connected to a USB 1.1 speed USB port and/or USB hub.

 

Regards,

[jayta98]

FPS is 100% relative to your computer speed (mostly disk IO speed) and USB download speed.

 

Most people will get around 20 to 24, very few will get 24 to 28.  I have never seen anything beyond that.

 

It is quite normal to get in the mid-teens.  

 

Anything below 10 suggest you may have your camera connected to a USB 1.1 speed USB port and/or USB hub.

 

Regards,

Ok I will check the USB port speeds and will update.

[jayta98]

Tried BYEOS on my desktop PC which is way better AMD Quad Core and the most I got was 9.2 FPS. I checked the laptop and desktop usb ports under device manager and they seem to be working fine. I'm using the brand new factory canon USB cable. So it doesn't look like it is the computer as I tried two of them. Maybe try another cable?  

[s3igell]

Are you sure that you have a T5i instead of a T4i??  The T4i had significant Throughput Issues (USB /  SD Card / other).  The T5i came out quickly thereafter in order to replace it.

 

If it is a T5i, make sure that it has the proper Current Firmware...

[jayta98]

Are you sure that you have a T5i instead of a T4i??  The T4i had significant Throughput Issues (USB /  SD Card / other).  The T5i came out quickly thereafter in order to replace it.

 

If it is a T5i, make sure that it has the proper Current Firmware...

Well it is labeled T5i in the front. I did check the firmware and it is the latest. 

[s3igell]

OK.  T5i (no reason to not believe the Label).

 

IF you still want to pursue Faster Throughput - look to confirm that you are using a USB2 Port (not USB1.1).  Device Manager will NOT report USB1.1 as an Error - USB1.1-mode is a perfectly valid Mode for these slower Speed Devices.  Unfortunately, there aren't many options / utilities which provide ready information on the USB Activities.  "USBView"used to be available from Microsoft's "Labs", but now seems to be rolled-up in a very large Drivers SDK.

[admin]

Are you using a USB hub?

 

When running tests like this you need as little devices between the camera and the computer.  Connecting the camera directly into a USB port on the computer should be your starting point.  This is because sometimes we use usb hubs and it you have a usb devices that is 1.1 then all devices on the hub will drop down to 1.1 speed.

 

Regards.

[Jim]

It may be worth disconnecting any other USB devices from yout laptop or PC to test the performance in case they are hogging or dragging down the USB bus/hub.

I had an EOS650D/T4i and it was fairly constant at between 9 an 10 fps and using the same PC or laptop and EOS 7D mkii I get 20+ fps whether connected as USB 2 or 3 (7D mkii is a USB 3 device).

Jim

[jayta98]

update, so I rechecked everything and I believe the problem of low FPS was the ISO and shutter rate. I tried jupiter this evening with antivirus off and BYEOS reported 17-18 FPS. It also captured the planetary video.  

[astroman133]

ISO setting does not affect frame rate.  ISO just affects the brightness of the image.

[admin]

It may be worth disconnecting any other USB devices from yout laptop or PC to test the performance in case they are hogging or dragging down the USB bus/hub.

 

I had an EOS650D/T4i and it was fairly constant at between 9 an 10 fps and using the same PC or laptop and EOS 7D mkii I get 20+ fps whether connected as USB 2 or 3 (7D mkii is a USB 3 device).

 

Jim

 

This is an issue with all T4i.  They can not produce more than 9 or 10 fps.

 

The T5i should do in the high teens, low twenties.

[admin]

Rick is correct, the ISO is irrelevant for fps.

 

However, you did provide an extra clue, the anti-virus.  It is possible that your anti-virus is scanning the each frames as they are downloaded and that slows down the fps.  Try turning it on/off and run tests both ways, you should know rather quickly if this is the root cause.

[jayta98]

Sorry guys. I meant to say the shutter setting.

[Jim]

My main point was to test the performance of a USB device it is best to ensure that there are no other devices contending for the USB bandwidth or inhibiting its operation at USB 2 (or 3 as relevant). On some PCs and laptops it is not obvious that the USB ports may all be running off the same hub function and therefore they are all sharing the bandwidth and any step back from 2 to 1.1, etc.  and this would then affect all ports and connected devices. The best way to ensure this is to only connect the device being tested.

 

My second point was merely confirming the limitations of the 650D/T4i, I.e. my experience was that the issue was with the camera not the laptop or PC. Sorry if this caused any confusion.

 

Jim

[s3igell]

Jim:

You are correct on both points.

 

1) Many of the Less Expensive / Less Well-Equipped Laptops and Tablets are designed with only one (1) Root USB Hub Device - and all USB Connections (even sometimes internal ones used for HID Devices such as Keyboard or TrackPad or Sound Device) are forced through that Device.  Most such Designs will at least ensure the Hardware is USB2-capable, but will impact the experienced throughput.  (Only an examination of the Device Manager details will illuminate this issue.)  However, given the OP's addendum of 17-18fps after AV tweaks this does not appear to be the issue.

 

2) The T4i was a Model with a couple of specific internal issues - FPS being one of them.  These are likely the reasons why the T4i had a very short Product Life, and was removed from Production when the T5i was Rolled-Out (note: the T3i was kept in Production well into the T5i Life-Cycle yet the T4i was Dropped - reducing the number of Used-Market T4i's that might "stain Canon EOS DSLR's 'Brand'").

[astroman133]

The shutter setting does not affect the frame rate either.  When "Exposure Simulation" is enabled for LiveView, both the ISO and shutter speed control the brightness of the downloaded image without affecting the frame rate.  For the T5i, exposure simulation is turned on when the exposure is not set to BULB.

 

So, neither the ISO or shutter are affecting the frame rate.

[admin]

Sorry guys. I meant to say the shutter setting.

 

In live view shutter as no impact of fps either.  Canon uses that value for exposure simulation only, the fps is unaffected by shutter speed for live view frames.

[jayta98]

My main point was to test the performance of a USB device it is best to ensure that there are no other devices contending for the USB bandwidth or inhibiting its operation at USB 2 (or 3 as relevant). On some PCs and laptops it is not obvious that the USB ports may all be running off the same hub function and therefore they are all sharing the bandwidth and any step back from 2 to 1.1, etc.  and this would then affect all ports and connected devices. The best way to ensure this is to only connect the device being tested.

 

My second point was merely confirming the limitations of the 650D/T4i, I.e. my experience was that the issue was with the camera not the laptop or PC. Sorry if this caused any confusion.

 

Jim

no confusion at all, I understood you. It just made me wonder if there was an issue with the camera. When I was having the issue of low FPS it was during daylight and while practicing on top of my desk. I only had the camera connected to my laptop. When I tried yesterday again I only had camera and laptop. I didn't had time to open stellarium and I wanted to isolate the camera by itself. The only thing i did different was the setting of the shutter. I will try again today and connect the camera to different usb port and see the results. If it still shows 17-18 FPS then I will add stellarium in background to see if it affects the FPS. Is 17-18 FPS going to give me a decent video to get a good quality image after i process on registax? 

[jayta98]

In live view shutter as no impact of fps either.  Canon uses that value for exposure simulation only, the fps is unaffected by shutter speed for live view frames.

Then i don't know what made it act better this time. I will play around with the camera some more during the daytime and try different stuff. I want to see if i can replicate the issue. Thanks.

[s3igell]

update, so I rechecked everything and I believe the problem of low FPS was the ISO and shutter rate. I tried jupiter this evening with antivirus off and BYEOS reported 17-18 FPS. It also captured the planetary video.  

That is Good to Hear...

Perhaps you should try a Test:  Keep those same Exposure Settings, yet restore your AV to operation.

 

Rick is correct, the ISO is irrelevant for fps.

 

However, you did provide an extra clue, the anti-virus.  It is possible that your anti-virus is scanning the each frames as they are downloaded and that slows down the fps.  Try turning it on/off and run tests both ways, you should know rather quickly if this is the root cause.

While your Laptop might be "protected by lack of connection to a network" during your AP Imaging Sessions, it is probably wise for you to research the functionality of your AV Program so that you can Exclude the Folders where BYE and the Background Worker are busy Downloading and Updating the Image Files (look at your BYE Settings for Directories).  In this way, you'll retain full AV Protection for all "Exposed" uses while not chewing up additional CPU Cycles investigating the Image Files which you know are "Clean".

[jayta98]

Rick is correct, the ISO is irrelevant for fps.

 

However, you did provide an extra clue, the anti-virus.  It is possible that your anti-virus is scanning the each frames as they are downloaded and that slows down the fps.  Try turning it on/off and run tests both ways, you should know rather quickly if this is the root cause.

I just tried this while it practicing on top of my desk and it didn't made a difference. I'm back to having slow FPS and sometimes it spikes to 12 FPS. 

[jayta98]

I even went to msconfig and disabled everything on startup, no change. 

[jayta98]

I'm just going to use BYEOS for imaging only and I will have to use something else for planetary. Thanks everyone.

[PoppaChris]

I usually can achieve 25-26fps with my venerable old T2i (550D).  I think using a dedicated USB port on my laptop for my camera, along with having plenty of RAM and a fairly fast dual-core processor helps this out a lot.  If not, it certainly doesn't hurt.  

[admin]

I usually can achieve 25-26fps with my venerable old T2i (550D).  I think using a dedicated USB port on my laptop for my camera, along with having plenty of RAM and a fairly fast dual-core processor helps this out a lot.  If not, it certainly doesn't hurt.  

 

USB speed and hard drive speed are the 2 major components affecting FPS.  Other components do matter but not as much as these 2.

 

Regards.

[astroman133]

8 fps equates to ~ 500 frames per minute.  I would try this and see if the results are acceptable, before purchasing another camera.

 

If the USB speed and drive speed of your PC are slow, they will also be slow for every camera, not just the DSLR.  If a webcam gives a faster frame rate it will be because the camera's chip is smaller so it is downloading less data.

 

If you are going to throw money at this issue, you may be better off buying a faster laptop (like a fast quad-core i7 with lots of RAM and a solid state disk). If you also do processing with the same laptop, your processing will also be faster with 8 CPUs.

[lloyd75]

I know this is an old thread, but I’m seeing a very similar issue having started to use BYEos with a 2016 MacBook Pro running Windows 10 via Parallels. I’m connecting my Canon T5 to the computer via an apple USB C to USB A adapter. When I switch the software into Planetary mode, if the shutter is set to BULB the image on screen is clearly updating many times per second. At least 8-10 for sure. As soon as I choose any shutter setting - 1/80, 1/125, 1/6000, they all act the same - it appears to only update the image about every second. If i initiate a recording, the FPS reads at about 1 or 1.3 and it indeed does capture at the rate of about one frame per second.

I’ve used this program and camera for planetary before, years back, with a Windows PC that is no longer functioning, and had no FPS issues to speak of.

I’m running Windows bone stock with no third party antivirus software. Both the Mac and the Windows VM see the USB ports as USB 3. I’m not sure if there’s any way to see if the USB throughput is the issue here.

Any troubleshooting ideas?

[admin]

3 hours ago, lloyd75 said:

I know this is an old thread, but I’m seeing a very similar issue having started to use BYEos with a 2016 MacBook Pro running Windows 10 via Parallels. I’m connecting my Canon T5 to the computer via an apple USB C to USB A adapter. When I switch the software into Planetary mode, if the shutter is set to BULB the image on screen is clearly updating many times per second. At least 8-10 for sure. As soon as I choose any shutter setting - 1/80, 1/125, 1/6000, they all act the same - it appears to only update the image about every second. If i initiate a recording, the FPS reads at about 1 or 1.3 and it indeed does capture at the rate of about one frame per second.

I’ve used this program and camera for planetary before, years back, with a Windows PC that is no longer functioning, and had no FPS issues to speak of.

I’m running Windows bone stock with no third party antivirus software. Both the Mac and the Windows VM see the USB ports as USB 3. I’m not sure if there’s any way to see if the USB throughput is the issue here.

Any troubleshooting ideas?

Please start a new thread in the future, your issue is not the same.  In fact it is not an issue, this is how Canon DSLR works.  The FPS is constant... the actual image intensity is controlled inside the camera and Canon calls it Exposure Simulation... they simulate speed by adjusting the brightness level of some sort.

Although the FPS is constant your equipment (computer/USB Cable/quality/etc) all contribute in your overall FPS.  With a Canon DSLR you'll typically get around 20 to 25 FPS and sometimes as low as 10'ish FPS.  BYE always gives your the maximum FPS your equipment can sustain.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

[lloyd75]

14 minutes ago, admin said:

Please start a new thread in the future, your issue is not the same.  In fact it is not an issue, this is how Canon DSLR works.  The FPS is constant... the actual image intensity is controlled inside the camera and Canon calls it Exposure Simulation... they simulate speed by adjusting the brightness level of some sort.

Although the FPS is constant your equipment (computer/USB Cable/quality/etc) all contribute in your overall FPS.  With a Canon DSLR you'll typically get around 20 to 25 FPS and sometimes as low as 10'ish FPS.  BYE always gives your the maximum FPS your equipment can sustain.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Apologies, will do in the future. 1 FPS is clearly not normal given the equipment I’m using. Has anyone else seen this problem using Parallels or a USB-C dongle?