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,

 

Would you please provide a more detailed explanation of what you mean when you say that changes in BYN do not "apply on the camera"?

 

Do you mean that they are not set into the camera or do you mean that changing them does not cause the camera to change the brightness of the LiveView image?

 

The values in the  "Camera Information Center" in the upper center part of BYN's window display the values that are read from the camera. When you are in Frame & Focus mode with LiveView paused and you change the Shutter and ISO settings in the lower right part of the window those settings should be written to the camera and then read back and displayed in the Camera Information Center. So, does this happen?

 

Also, if you disconnect the camera from the PC and look at the current settings on the LCD display, they should agree with the Shutter and ISO values selected in BYN when the camera was disconnected. Is this happening? If so, then the LiveView settings in BYN are being applied on the camera.

 

The poster of the message in the link in my previous message was able to make BYN work the way that you are expecting by putting the camera's LiveView in video mode and then pausing LiveView in BYN before changing the Shutter and ISO and then resuming LiveView. His msg was posted before the latest firmware update occurred, so you should see the same behavior with your D7100 as he reported.

 

Thanks!

[alvarovaquero]

What I see is the second case: Changing values in BYN does not cause the camera to change the brightness of the LiveView image. Let me confirm the CIC data tonight and report back, but I believe the shutter and ISO in BYN doesn't reflect the status of the camera, even after disconnect and reconnect.

 

The only way I've seen differences so far without disconnecting the USB cable between pausing Live View has been by switching the Photo vs. Movie Live view modes on the camera (given they had different settings initially). So effectively BYN is pulling the live view that the camera is set to (in either photo or movie mode), but I believe the shutter and ISO settings are neither read by BYN from the camera nor set by BYN to the camera. Let me double confirm tonight though.

[alvarovaquero]

Hi Rick,

 

So, I'm testing it out right now, before upgrading firmware version so show my current status:

The values in the  "Camera Information Center" in the upper center part of BYN's window display the values that are read from the camera. When you are in Frame & Focus mode with LiveView paused and you change the Shutter and ISO settings in the lower right part of the window those settings should be written to the camera and then read back and displayed in the Camera Information Center. So, does this happen?

Yes, this is correct. I can snap an image and the it's done according to the settings done. 

 

Also, if you disconnect the camera from the PC and look at the current settings on the LCD display, they should agree with the Shutter and ISO values selected in BYN when the camera was disconnected. Is this happening? If so, then the LiveView settings in BYN are being applied on the camera.

If I'm in photo mode the settings are in sync with BYN, but in I'm in video mode, the settings in the camera are different. After I pause and set new values, I can see them in the CIC, but when I resume live view it still uses whatever settings were in Movie mode from the camera. Only tweaking these on the camera causes a change.

 

I will upgrade the FW version to 1.03 and try again.

[alvarovaquero]

Ok, I upgraded to FW 1.03. No improvement

[astroman133]

If you would have asked, I would have told you that nobody installed the firmware to fix an issue like you are reporting. In fact it is not clear why the firmware needs to be upgraded, at all. Nobody has said that the firmware upgrade provided any benefit whatsoever. The only appeared to have installed it because it was available. In fact, when the firmware was first released by Nikon, users who installed it rendered their cameras unusable with BYN because the upgraded firmware was incompatible with the Nikon SDK. Nikon has since released a new version of the SDK so you should not have that issue.

 

So, now back to your exposure settings. I want to be sure what you are saying. When the camera is in photo mode, the settings in the CIC agree with the settings set for LiveView in the lower right of the BYN screen, but changing those settings does not affect the brightness of the LiveView image. Is that correct?  This is what others have reported and is apparently the way that Nikon intends the camera to operate. And, just to be clear, at no point did I recommend that you "snap an image". This should be working with Live View only. So if you are seeing Nikon's intended behavior there is nothing that Guylain can do to work around it.

 

Now, 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)? You seemed to be saying that they are different. If so, this may be something that Guylain would have to help you with by reading the log file or setting up a remote session where he can see what is actually occurring.

 

Guylain is at StarFest until next week and so won't be able to help until he gets back home.

 

I would also say that it is very easy to test all of this with a lens on the camera while indoors and during the day, rather than doing it at night with the camera connected to a scope.

 

I hope this helps.

[alvarovaquero]

Thanks for the help. Maybe Guylain can check once he's back. I'll be happy to provide the logs. My only fear at this point would be that I'm doing something wrong and I've been bugging you guys for nothing  .

 

Regarding your descriptions above they reflect what I'm seeing, I didn't expect the FW to improve anything (given the change log from Nikon) but just wanted to ensure I had the latest and it wasn't a driver / Nikon SDK issue.

[astroman133]

Alvaro,

 

You are not bugging anyone "for nothing". I volunteer on this board and like to help when I can. Let's see what Guylain suggests when he gets back from the star party.

[admin]

For most Nikon models changing iso and other values requires that live view be paused, make the changes, then resume live view.  Since 5x is a function of live view it is possible that these changes are not possible.  I'll try to run some tests with the models I have when I get back but my gut feeling is that this will not work.  I've been proven wrong in the past so lets hope this is one of these case.

[alvarovaquero]

Just to clarify the problem applies to 1x and 5x. No difference there.

[admin]

Even when you pause live view, make the changes, then resume?

[alvarovaquero]

Yes, even then.