Gamma not working on camera

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DavidP
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Gamma not working on camera

Post by DavidP »

So I have a new to me used camera.
FLIR Pointgrey grasshopper3 12.3MP
GS3-U3-123S6M-C. 3.45um pixels
Using FireCap the gamma control does not seem to have any effect. I have the software installed for Point Grey, and otherwise everything seems to work. Using my ZWO Camera in FireCap, gamma works fine.


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by marktownley »

Hmmm.

Are you running the camera in mode7? This will disable it. Click on 'more' in the setting with the exposure sliders, this should show if it is enable, if so, disable for gamma.

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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by Montana »

My Chameleon was the same, I had to get a plugin to install into the Firecapture software to make it work. If Mark's doesn't work you may have to ask Torsten for the plugin. I'm not sure whether the Chameleon one would work. You could try it?

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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by Bob Yoesle »

Hi David,

That's strange. I have the Grasshopper 3 you have - and a Chameleon USB 2 - and they both work fine in FireCapture. Do you have the small box checked next to the gamma setting:

FireCapture 16012021 screen.jpg
FireCapture 16012021 screen.jpg (378.88 KiB) Viewed 1314 times


If either the Mode 7 issue Mark describes or checking the gamma setting box don't work, you might have to run the camera in Flycap to troubleshoot the problem. Indeed, make sure your version of Flycap is current enough to run the camera to begin with. If none of this works, you might try an uninstall and reinstall both the Flycap SDK and the latest release of FireCapture...


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by DavidP »

No. Not in Mode 7 ( which reminds me; Firecapture is a read only program. There is no way to have it remember settings. Right?). Gamma button checked.
I tried it in Flycap, but I have never used the program before. It recognized the camera, but I couldn’t tell if it was working or not. I could not bring up an image with gain and shutter speed controls. The histogram showed nothing.
Last edited by DavidP on Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:51 am, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by Montana »

Firecapture needs to be 'opened as administrator' then any settings you change in FC will be saved for the next time you open it.

Do you have a little button to click next to the gamma setting?

Alexandra


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by DavidP »

Thanks Alexandra. I’ll open it under Administrator.
Yes. The gamma button is there, and clicks on. Just no affect. It sounds like a FireCap issue. Others have reported similar with the camera. There is a plug-in that fixes it , but draws down capture speed, which makes it a no go.
I’m wondering if this is indicative of FireCap support of FLIR cameras. I am looking at IMX174 based cameras, and am wondering if the Grasshopper version tends to have issues in the program.


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by PDB »

Montana wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 9:19 am Firecapture needs to be 'opened as administrator' then any settings you change in FC will be saved for the next time you open it.

Do you have a little button to click next to the gamma setting?

Alexandra
Alexancra,

that only happens because you have installed FireCapture in the Programs (Programs X86) folder. You only have write access there as an admin.
Just install (unzip the firecapture download) somewhere in your "normal" folders and it will work without that admin stuff.

Paul


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by DavidP »

Just an update for those with Grasshoppers that have had similar issues. Running b2.7beta solved the problem with gamma. Contrary to some other peoples experiences who were using a plug-in, I have not noticed a slowing in FPS with gamma on. Problemo solved!


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by marktownley »

Thanks David. I will give 2.7 a try.

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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by Montana »

I'm glad you are sorted :hamster: I use the plug in and have no problems with framerate.

Sadly v2.7 won't work on my new computer, even Torsten couldn't do it. Sadly we named our computer drive Alexandra & Darren (using a symbol) so it will never work :(

Alexandra


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Re: Gamma not working on camera

Post by MalVeauX »

Hi,

The biggest difference for having gamma or not is basically coming down to Mono 8 vs RAW 8 capture. But I will stress that you do not need gamma, at all, in capture sequence. It's strictly software manipulation which is why it was removed from most SDK moving forward. It does more harm than good. Anything you're doing with gamma can be done in post, literally the same. That said, I understand gamma can be useful for achieving focus in low contrast and when trying to find very faint features like prominences, etc. But recording with gamma is just software pre-processing of your data and is not helping it. Torsten changed FireCapture 2.6 from using RAW to FireCapture 2.7Beta to using Mono. This is the reason the gamma option changed on you. But again, this doesn't matter at all in terms of having or not having gamma.

Here's how to get the effect of gamma, no matter what camera or version or bit depth or mono/RAW that you use:
msg-5449-0-34992400-1613073588.png
msg-5449-0-34992400-1613073588.png (215.33 KiB) Viewed 1138 times
Very best,


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