Mastering NINA . . . The Flat Wizard!

[@Keegan.M]

Thanks for the video on this!

[@paulwilson8367]

I have a new DSD flat panel that I will be using remotely so I am setting it up here at home to use my LRGB filters and an ASI2600MM camera with my Epsilon. So far I have followed your video on the flat wizard in NINA. But do I not have the current NINA version? Because I have a blank on each filter setup for "flat step size". You don't seem to have that on your version.

[@KJRitch]

I'm using NINA 3.0 but I think this issue was back in 2.6. I use a OSC, ASI071MC Pro, and discovered that in many of my dark flats taken with this Wizard the first dark flat frame is green. The rest of the frames look normal. I take the flats then it prompts me to cover the OTA, which I do, the click to start the dark flats. Most of the time the first dark flat comes out green but not always. I have to check every time. Last night was OK but a couple of nights previously the frame was green, same target.

[@DavidCotePhotography]

I noticed the same with my ASI071MC Pro camera. I haven't tried it yet on NINA 3.0, and not sure when I will be able to try it out as it is our hot season so have to wait until fall to test. CS!

[@Branhil]

Hi Dave, once again thank you very much for this excellent piece of tutorial. I am also using Astro Dad's Flap Panel. After I did the flat wizard in NINA I have noticed horizontal stripes. Exp. time made no difference. I took 1/10s up to 2s exposure time with no difference. Do you have any similar experience with this combination? Thank you and cs.

[@DavidCotePhotography]

If my exposures are too short, I do encounter those kinds of results, at least in the view that NINA shows. Doubling the exposure length until that banding disappeared worked for me. I also checked the sub in PixInsight to see if there really was banding that could be found. Have you opened the flat frame in another application to view it and determine if there really is banding?

[@Branhil]

@@DavidCotePhotography I have just opened the images in Pixinsight. The banding is gone. However, the images look far to even, without any particles, donuts etc. Taking flats it with my old flat panel, I had some dust and donuts shown. Any idea?

[@DavidCotePhotography]

@@Branhil Curious, what is the focal length of your telescope and what camera are you using? Did you recently clean your objective lens when you put on the deep sky dad flat panel?

[@Branhil]

@@DavidCotePhotography Askar 500 with a QHY 268c OSC camera. It worked like a charm with my old flat panel. I did not clean the camera or filters in the meantime.

[@DavidCotePhotography]

@@Branhil I don't know. Try a night of imaging, stack with the new flats, and see what the results look like. There could be a lot of different issues, but the end results are important. I notice that on some of my flats (I do a lot of mono imaging due to my bottle 8 skies), and I do notice that some of my flats are very clean and others not so much, and it really depends on the filter. So I would get an imaging session done and then stack and see the results.

[@azrayastrophotography2260]

Nice video on using N.I.N.A. for your flats. Btw I sent you an email with some information to get in contact with me. I may have sent it to one you are not using but I don't know. I'll send it to your other email. Cs