Unable to change exposure settings in focus 5x mode

[alvarovaquero]

Thanks for adding support for 5x mode. This is a great help for Nikon users. The one thing i haven't been able to control is the exposure settings. Regardless of the shutter speed or ISO the image always looks the same. Is this feature coming in the (near) future or did I miss some combination? I wanted to try planetary imaging but it's always overexposing by default. Also, does it match pixel to pixel resolution with the sensor? I'm using a D7100. Thanks!

[astroman133]

Alvaro,

 

You never answered my question from a previous post, that is:

 

"I would suggest that you shut down BYN, change the camera to video mode, then restart BYN and re-connect BYN with the camera. Next go into Frame and Focus. Looking only at the BYN screen, when you pause LiveView, change the ISO setting in the lower right of the window and then resume LiveView, does the ISO value in the Camera Information Center match the value in the Capture area (lower right)?"

 

Do they match or not?

 

Thanks!

[alvarovaquero]

Yes, I'm pretty certain they match.

[astroman133]

Ok, so you can change the ISO and shutter duration in BYN and they are sent down to your D7100, but they do not affect the brightness of the LiveView image when viewed in BYN.

 

It seems to me like this is a camera problem and there is nothing that Guylain can do about it.

[alvarovaquero]

Exactly

[alvarovaquero]

and they apply correctly to still images

[dhilton]

Alvaro,

             I have read all your posts and find that I also still have all the same problems with my D7100. Read my post dated 7/29"  I believe we have the same problem , I am able to make changes in the readout but there is no response to the image brightness .

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                           Dave

 

 

[astroman133]

Well, perhaps some change was made to BYN or the SDK for the D7100 that broke this since this report ==> https://www.otelesco...-view-on-d7100/ which was made during the beta release period of BYN. The originator of that post was able to make LiveView work for his D7100 by putting the "Live View switch" in video mode and pausing Live View in BYN before changing the exposure.

 

Guylain does take issues like this seriously and I am sure that he will get involved with one of you after he returns from the star party. In the past he has asked that you send him a BYN log file that was written while you were having the issue. However in this case, it appears that BYN is behaving correctly. Also in the past he has established a remote connection with a few users where their issue is not well understood. He has also rented a camera model that he can use to test with locally.  Occasionally a user has loaned their camera to Guylain for testing. I have said this not because I am promising anything (I am just a customer and user as you are), but because I just wanted to say that there is some more troubleshooting that can be done and that Guylain definitely wants to make BYN work for you.

[admin]

This issue is odd for sure.

 

Oddly enough I'm at Starfest here in Canada and Nikon had a booth just beside mine today.  I'll talk to them tomorrow if I see them again and see if they have anything to say about this behavior since their capture program uses the Nikon SDK as well.

[RossW]

I think I'm having this same issue using a Nikon D7200 (firmware 1.0.0), with BYN v2.0.2.

I notice that when using live view on the camera itself, if I change from photo live view to video live view, the ISO and shutter speed settings also change. I.e. Video live view mode has its own ISO and shutter speed settings that are not the same as the ISO and shutter speed settings for taking photos. As soon as I connect the USB cable (regardless of whether BYN is running), the settings on the camera change to reflect the settings last used for photos.

 

As an example, if you're taking photos at ISO800+shutter speed 1/100, then switch to video live view, and change the settings to ISO100+shutter speed 1/50, as soon as the USB cable is connected (even if you're still in video live view mode/regardless of whether BYN is running) the camera display screen will read ISO800+shutter speed 1/100, but will actually use ISO100+shutter speed 1/50 to take videos from BYN (as far as I can tell).

The result is that the settings displayed in BYN are only applicable to photos (hence, snapshots display the correct behaviour) but the video ISO+shutter speed settings are not updated unless you unplug the camera, change the ISO+shutter speed in video live mode, then reconnect the camera.

Thanks kindly!
Ross

[admin]

It is very weird the way Nikon has implemented this.

 

Take a look at this thread.

https://www.otelescope.com/index.php?/topic/2062-planetary-settings-not-taking/#entry14149

 

I speak of a procedure that works on some model.  Not sure if it works with yours.

 

Regards,

[RossW]

I've had a look - exposure simulation always seems to be active on the Nikon D7200, so pressing the OK button makes no difference.

I've tried digiCamControl this afternoon - exactly the same thing happens, video ISO+shutter speed are not the same as photo ISO+shutter speed, however on digiCamControl changes you make while in video live view change the video ISO+shutter speed settings and videos come out as expected (however photos do not...). In any case, that means anyone with this issue can use digiCamControl to set the appropriate ISO+shutter speed, then switch over to BYN to benefit from the 5x zoom avi video capture.

Thanks for your help!

[admin]

I've had a look - exposure simulation always seems to be active on the Nikon D7200, so pressing the OK button makes no difference.

 

I've tried digiCamControl this afternoon - exactly the same thing happens, video ISO+shutter speed are not the same as photo ISO+shutter speed, however on digiCamControl changes you make while in video live view change the video ISO+shutter speed settings and videos come out as expected (however photos do not...). In any case, that means anyone with this issue can use digiCamControl to set the appropriate ISO+shutter speed, then switch over to BYN to benefit from the 5x zoom avi video capture.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Thanks for the tip.

[astroman133]

There is a setting in the LiveView area of the Settings dialog. It is a checkbox called Maximum Sensitivity. If that is checked, then uncheck it. This should allow the ISO and shutter speed settings to control the brightness of the LiveView image.

 

With Canon cameras the LiveView 5X zoom feature matches the resolution of the LiveView frames with the pixels on the sensor. Hopefully, Nikon works in a similar way.

[admin]

Nikon exposure simulation does not work like Canon's. 

 

You need to pause live view, make your changes, then resume live view.

 

Regards,

[dhilton]

I am getting the same results as mentioned above by alvarovaquero.  My camera is a D7100 with the latest firmware 1.03 , I have unchecked max sensitivity , paused live view , and changed the camera live view  switch from camera to video and I am still unable to adjust the ISO or shutter speed. 

                                                                                                                                         Dave

[admin]

If you change the settings using the camera buttons does it change?

[dhilton]

The settings changed on the camera do reflect the settings readout in backyard Nikon and also the reverse is true where settings changed in the software are reflected in the camera.   

 

 

                                                                                                                                             Dave

[alvarovaquero]

I've tried modifying the settings from BYN (Shutter and ISO) from both Frame & Focus and Planetary with Maximum Sensitivity enabled and disabled. I wasn't able to get any effect. However if I make the changes directly on the camera those do apply. Tested both Live image and video capture as well. It looks like only the camera settings are in place regardless of what BYN is tweaking.

 

Alvaro

[alvarovaquero]

I also tried using the 2015 and the new drivers. No difference on either case.

[astroman133]

So there are 2 people who report the same symptoms in this thread. My question is for Dave... In your post you said: "The settings changed on the camera do reflect the settings readout in backyard Nikon and also the reverse is true where settings changed in the software are reflected in the camera. "  So does this mean that you do not have the same problem? Since you CAN change the settings either from BYN or directly in the camera. So then what problem are you having? If this is not the same issue as Alvaro is reporting but BYN is still not behaving as you expect perhaps you should start a new thread so that we are not trying to solve two different problems here.

[astroman133]

Now, Alvaro, are you pausing LiveView before trying to change the exposure and ISO settings? With Nikon cameras this is a requirement! Most people are not reporting the same issue as you. This tends to indicate to me that either your camera is behaving differently, or you are operating the camera or BYN differently from others. How do you know that the settings changed in BYN are not being used by the camera?

[dhilton]

             I believe we have the same problem , I am able to make changes in the readout but there is no response to the image brightness . 

[astroman133]

OK, so you CAN change the settings but they don't affect the image. That is completely different from an issue where you change the settings in BYN but they are never changed in the camera.

 

So is the image too bright or too dark? What settings do you have for exposure and ISO?...And make sure that the Maximum Sensitivity setting is unchecked.

[alvarovaquero]

So, by default the image is normally overexposed. See attached images. Both screenshots have the same settings. I paused Live View and resumed several times with Maximum Sensitivity off. No difference. However, I unplugged the USB cable and set the values on the camera. First one (overexposed) was 1/30s and ISO 1600. Second one was 1/500 and ISO 1600.

[alvarovaquero]

and the second screenshot

[admin]

Would this help with you camera model?

 

https://www.flickr.com/groups/d600club/discuss/72157631670298314/

[s3igell]

There is a significant difference in how Canon and Nikon approach their Implementations of DSLR SDKs (and in fact how they approach many aspects of "Model-to-Model Consistency").

 

Canon tends to treat their DSLRs as "Progressive Models within a Product Line".  This may be a result that Canon Designs and Manufactures its own Sensors and Processors, as well as the Camera Bodies that house them.

Nikon seems to feel much looser about "Product Line Consistency", and often changes implementation details in mid-Product Line.  This may be a result of Nikon's use of multiple Manufacturers (Nikon, Sony, Toshiba) to source their Sensors and Processors.

 

This means that BackyardNIKON Users will often need to learn the specific tricks of their DSLR Model (which are often different than the next Model in line).

 

Perhaps the more experienced NIKON Users could collaborate with Guylain to produce a List of Camera Features pertinent to AP Imaging with BYN, and then list the way to Control/Set that Feature for each Nikon Camera Model.

(This might take a "Locked Thread" so as to allow it to build-up without interruption by User Comments).

[astroman133]

Geez, that sure took a while, but if I understand what you are saying is that with the D7100 you can change the ISO and exposure in both BYN and in the camera, but those changes to not affect the LiveView image brightness unless you change the settings in the camera while it is disconnected from BYN. Is that correct? Does it only happen when you are in the 5X zoom mode?

 

According to this old post --> https://www.otelescope.com/index.php?/topic/536-live-view-on-d7100/ the problem should happen all the time (at 1X and at 5X zoom). The post basically says that you must  be sure that "the live view switch is set to 'video'", rather than 'still' in order to activate exposure simulation.

[astroman133]

Any progress with changing camera settings to enable BYN to adjust the brightness of the LiveView image via changes in exposure duration and/or ISO???

[alvarovaquero]

Summarizing, I haven't been able to tweak the live view settings in BYN so that they apply on the camera. I've followed all of the advice shared here (live view in video mode, pause live view to make changes, deselect Maximum Sensitivity, etc. and yes, it affects both 1x and 5x). Equally, when I make changes to the settings on the camera, BYN is unable to read these values and use them in the UI, so I'm resorting to make shutter speed and ISO changes to the camera directly by unplugging the USB cable. It would be a nice to have feature but the core functionality is working otherwise so not a mayor concern at this point. The firmware on the camera is 1.02 and Dave mentioned he had 1.03, so I'll check and upgrade to the latest version and try again just in case. Thanks all for your support!