ATIK Cameras Titan Manuel utilisateur
Quickstart Guide
v 2.2
From Wikipedia: “The Orion Nebula (also known as
Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula
situated south of Orion’s Belt. It is one of the brightest
nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky.
M42 is located at a distance of 1,344±20 light years
and is the closest region of massive star formation to
Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years
across.”
Image by Rui Tripa (Atik 4000)
Page 1
Introduction
Thank you very much for your purchase of an Atik camera.
Atik cameras represent the most affordable way to capture high-
quality astronomical images, whilst delivering superior perfor-
mance and unparalleled ease-of-use. Your Atik camera is the
result of extensive research and development, and it has been
designed and built with the requirements of the most demanding
astrophotographer in mind. A wide range of accessories is also
available in order to answer the needs of even the most ambitious
astro-imaging applications.
Your Atik camera incorporates state-of-the-art design and materi-
als, and it will be your trusted astrophotography companion for
a long time to come. However, modifications to the camera and/
or accessories which are undertaken without the manufacturer’s
written permission will void the warranty. Repairs, servicing and
upgrades are available through your local dealer or at www.atik-
cameras.com.
This guide will help you to get your Atik camera up and running in
just a few minutes: please take the time to read it thoroughly, and
you will be ready to discover new worlds...
Page 2
Setting up your camera
Installation of the camera is very straightforward, and by following
this guide you will be up and running with a minimum of effort.
Your camera is supplied with a 3 metre USB cable and a 1.8 metre
power cable with a car lighter plug. The car lighter plug will allow
you to connect the camera to most power tanks and emergency
battery packs available on the market today for field use.
An optional universal mains adaptor is also available, allowing you
to run the camera from a 110/220V mains supply. We recommend
that you purchase the approved mains adaptor if you intend to
power the camera this way.
If you wish to supply your own adaptor, make sure it’s of good
quality, with a 2.1mm type plug, center positive, and capable of
supplying a minimum of 1.5 amp (Atik Titan/314/320), or 2.5 amp
(Atik 383/4000/11000).
WARNING: Mains power adaptors are intended for indoor or
observatory use only. There is a risk of electric shock if the adaptor
is used in damp environments or outside. If in doubt do not use the
adaptor and consult a trained electrician.
Page 3
Installing the camera in 3 steps:
1 - Power the camera on. The fan should start rotating immediately.
The Titan is USB powered, so no need to have external power un-
less you need to turn on the cooler.
2 - Plug the USB cable into the camera, then into your computer. A
“New hardware found” message should immediately be visible.
3 - When asked for the drivers, point to the \Drivers folder on your
CD-ROM drive.
That’s it! The camera is now installed and ready to use.
Installing the Capture application
Your camera comes with a simple and easy-to-use application called
“Artemis Capture”, which provides functions for image capture and
display; camera configuration; telescope focusing; autoguiding;
and image sequencing with an optional filter wheel. Images can be
saved in several popular formats for further processing with your
favorite image processing application.
To install Artemis Capture, ‘simply run the installation file SetupAr-
temisUniversal on your CD and follow the prompts. During instal-
lation, you will be asked if you want to install optional plug-ins for
popular image capture applications. Plug-ins are supplied for Maxim
DL™, AstroArt, and CCDSoft™.
Page 4
Using the camera and software for the first time
Full instructions for using the software are given in the user manual
which is provided on the installation folder in PDF format. However,
the following information will help you get your first image with a
minimum of effort.
After loading Artemis Capture, you will see this screen:
Operation is very simple. The top window controls exposure dura-
tion, binning and other camera options. You can leave most of the
settings at their default settings.
The bottom window controls the way the image is displayed. Keep
in mind that the settings here only affect the display, not the data
in the image itself.
Page 5
The above image shows the main menu and tool bar. From left to
right, the tool bar buttons are:
Save: Saves the current image
Autosave: Auto saves all captured images, according to the set-
tings in the Exposure window
Display: Toggles the display window on/off
Exposure: Toggles the Exposure window on/off
Cooler control: Controls the camera cooler and temperature (on
supported models)
Focus and Autoguider: Toggles focus-assist and autoguider
window on/off
Sub-frame: Selects a specific area of the image instead of the full
frame. Very useful for focusing.
Lock settings: Locks all exposure control settings
Expose: Initiates an exposure with duration as specified in the
Exposure window
Loop: Toggles the loop exposure on/off. Useful for focusing and
capturing sequences
Sequencer: Allows programming a sequence of images, which
can use different exposures/filters
Filter Wheel control: Controls the optional Atik EFW-U/EFW2 fil-
ter wheel
Page 6
Cooler control (supported models)
Cooler control is available on some models,
such as the Atik 314L+ and the large-format
series. Before starting your imaging session,
you should activate the cooler and select
the required operating temperature, keep-
ing in mind the cooling capacity of your specific camera model (for
example, the Atik 4000 can provide cooling of up to 40ºC below
ambient - please see page 13).
The first image
To begin, centre your telescope visually on a
moderately bright star. Put the camera on the
telescope’s focuser and press the F1 key. This
will immediately initiate an exposure of 0.1s.
When the exposure is complete, you should
see a strongly defocused star on your computer
screen. Congratulations! Everything is working
as expected. If the star is grossly saturated (a
completely white circle), then you should manu-
ally select a shorter exposure in the Exposure
window.
Focusing
Depending on how out-of-focus the star is, click on the Sub-frame
button and select an area around the star. This will limit the size of
the image which needs to be downloaded to the computer, making
Page 7
the display update more rapidly. Click on the Loop button and then
on the Expose button. This will start an exposure that will repeat
until the Loop button is pressed again. Adjust your telescope focus
until the star image is sharp, rather than a large circle.
Artemis Capture offers a simple tool
to help you find the best focus. To
activate it, simply double-click on a
star, and the Star Tracking window
will pop up, showing the bright-
ness level and FWHM of the star.
Best focus is the point at which the
FWHM is smallest and the bright-
ness level is highest. Keep in mind
that this feature works best when
the image is not saturated, so if the star has a brightness level
approaching 65000, you should either shorten your exposures or
select a fainter star.
Display Options Window
This window allows you to adjust the way
in which the 16-bit image is mapped to the
PC’s display. Basically, it compresses the
65000 brightness levels into a range which
can be displayed on a computer monitor.
Always keep in mind that the settings in this
window only affect the way the image is dis-
played, not the data in the image itself.
Hint: Use the reticle function to assist with
centring the reference stars of your Go-To mount.
Page 8
Centering and final exposure
Assuming that your target object is already in the field of view of
the CCD, you should now do a longer exposure to assist with cen-
tring. Choice of exposure length will depend a lot on your telescope
configuration and the object being observed, but 5 seconds should
be enough to record the position of most bright deep-sky objects.
Binning is also very useful, since it greatly enhances the sensitiv-
ity, and it also leads to a dramatic reduction in the time taken to
download the full frame. Try binning 3x3 (in the Exposure window)
or more to see the difference.
After centring, it is time for the final exposure. For this the exposure
duration will also depend on the telescope and object, but you’ll
want to do the longest exposure that your system can achieve,
depending of course on the object being observed. For example,
a 5 minute exposure on the Andromeda galaxy will burn out the
core for sure, but it will nicely record the outer arms. You can do
two exposures of different lengths, and then combine them using
image processing software.
An installer for Dawn is included on your CD, together with some
introductory videos.
Autres manuels pour Titan
1
Ce manuel convient aux modèles suivants
6
Table des matières
Autres manuels ATIK Cameras Caméra de sécurité
ATIK Cameras
ATIK Cameras 3 Series Manuel utilisateur
ATIK Cameras
ATIK Cameras 4 Series Manuel utilisateur
ATIK Cameras
ATIK Cameras Titan Manuel utilisateur
ATIK Cameras
ATIK Cameras GP Manuel utilisateur
ATIK Cameras
ATIK Cameras 3 Series Manuel utilisateur
ATIK Cameras
ATIK Cameras 4000 Manuel utilisateur
ATIK Cameras
ATIK Cameras 383L+ Manuel utilisateur
