Hi again... Another question. Through the years I haven´t used the STF 8300C that much so I did not give it much thought, but the thing is, that I can only produce B&W photos. No color...! What do I do wrong?? It is mounted on a Takahashi FSQ106ED. Torsten
Hi Torsten, The data from the CCD camera is just an array of numbers. The secret to getting colour is to know that there is a Bayer filter pattern of the tiny coloured filters above each pixel in the KAF-8300C. You need to tell the software to convert the data to colour. When binned 1x1, the pixels are arranged something like this: RG GB So, you need to set the software up to decode that Bayer filter pattern, to show you colour on the PC. If you bin the image 2x2, you will combine the RGGB colours together, into a monochrome image. Very useful for focusing and guiding. Not always so useful for imaging. If you're using MaxIm DL Pro: On the menu, Color... Convert Color. You may be able to use the [x] Auto-select using header, as the FITS header may provide information. You can use this to precisely tweak the colour balance. Best to calibrate against a G2V star (sunlike). There's also: Color... Quick Color Raw which when checked will automatically show you a color image. On the Camera Control Window, Expose tab, some cameras allow the Readout Mode to be set for RAW, Mono, or Colour. In the Camera Control Window, Setup Tab, SBIG ... Advanced, there is a setting for colour conversion (debayering) and it allows you to set the weighting. You can also take an image apart into the 4 different Bayer planes - R, G, G, B. Then you can manipulate the sets of Red together when you have multiple images, and then you can convert them back.
