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stacker:docs:stackshot [2017/03/15 18:36] rjlittlefield [Installing the StackShot device drivers] fixing the updated URL |
stacker:docs:stackshot [2019/09/11 02:05] rjlittlefield folder --> directory |
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| Zerene Stacker uses industry-standard device drivers for the USB chip that is utilized by the StackShot controller. | Zerene Stacker uses industry-standard device drivers for the USB chip that is utilized by the StackShot controller. | ||
| - | **For Windows computers (Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP)** that are connected to the Internet, the required drivers usually will be automatically located and installed by the operating system when the controller is first plugged in. For computers that are not connected to the Internet or cannot find the proper drivers online for themselves, drivers for the Stackshot controller can be downloaded from [[http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm]]. At the current time, the **setup executable** for Windows (both 32-bit and 64-bit systems) is [[http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM21226_Setup.zip|http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM21226_Setup.zip]]. Simply download this file, burn it to CD or thumbdrive, transfer it to the offline machine, and run the executable there. | + | **For Windows computers (Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP)** that are connected to the Internet, the required drivers usually will be automatically located and installed by the operating system when the controller is first plugged in. For computers that are not connected to the Internet or cannot find the proper drivers online for themselves, drivers for the Stackshot controller can be downloaded from [[http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm]]. As of 14 April 2017, the **setup executable** for Windows (both 32-bit and 64-bit systems) is [[http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM21226_Setup.zip|http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM21226_Setup.zip]]. Simply download this file, burn it to CD or thumbdrive, transfer it to the offline machine, and run the executable there. |
| **For Macintosh and Linux computers**, drivers are included in Mac OS X and Linux and will be configured by Zerene Stacker if necessary. You do need to run Zerene Stacker from an account with administrative privileges (one that is allowed to update Mac OS X), and you'll be asked to provide the password for the account that you're using. For most users, your regular account will work fine, and the password to provide is just the one that you normally use to login to your computer. Once the password is provided, Zerene Stacker manages all the details internally. | **For Macintosh and Linux computers**, drivers are included in Mac OS X and Linux and will be configured by Zerene Stacker if necessary. You do need to run Zerene Stacker from an account with administrative privileges (one that is allowed to update Mac OS X), and you'll be asked to provide the password for the account that you're using. For most users, your regular account will work fine, and the password to provide is just the one that you normally use to login to your computer. Once the password is provided, Zerene Stacker manages all the details internally. | ||
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| ===== “Stack New Images (PMax)” ===== | ===== “Stack New Images (PMax)” ===== | ||
| - | To start this operation, use Stack > Stack New Images (PMax). When a project is open, and this operation is selected, then Zerene Stacker monitors some specified directory for the appearance of new images (.jpg, .jpeg, .tif, and .tiff files). As new images appear in that directory, they are automatically added to the project and stacked using the PMax method. This is particularly useful in combination with Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > Image Pre-sizing to a % value that allows computation to keep up with image acquisition. When the pre-sizing value is properly tuned, a good preview quality output image roughly 1500 x 1000 pixels can accumulate at the same rate that images are acquired, so that a final output is available only a few seconds after the last frame is shot. (For example, a value of 30% allowed our own laptop computer to keep up with Canon T1i image acquisition at 4752x3168 pixels and 5 seconds per frame.) | + | To start this operation, use Stack > Stack New Images (PMax). When a project is open, and this operation is selected, then Zerene Stacker monitors some specified folder for the appearance of new images (.jpg, .jpeg, .tif, and .tiff files). As new images appear in that folder, they are automatically added to the project and stacked using the PMax method. This is particularly useful in combination with Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > Image Pre-sizing to a % value that allows computation to keep up with image acquisition. When the pre-sizing value is properly tuned, a good preview quality output image roughly 1500 x 1000 pixels can accumulate at the same rate that images are acquired, so that a final output is available only a few seconds after the last frame is shot. (For example, a value of 30% allowed our own laptop computer to keep up with Canon T1i image acquisition at 4752x3168 pixels and 5 seconds per frame.) |
| - | The directory to be watched is specified at Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > “Watch directory”. The directory must exist at the time Stack New Images is invoked. | + | The folder to be watched is specified at Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > “Watch folder”. The folder must exist at the time Stack New Images is invoked. |
| ===== Recipes ===== | ===== Recipes ===== | ||
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| - Use focus dials and buttons in Zerene Stacker’s StackShot controller to establish start and end of stack. | - Use focus dials and buttons in Zerene Stacker’s StackShot controller to establish start and end of stack. | ||
| - Press Live View button on camera so as to make the camera display the Live View image on its own monitor. //(This is important. If the camera is in Live View mode but is not displaying the Live View image by itself, then the camera will ignore shutter commands coming from the StackShot.)// | - Press Live View button on camera so as to make the camera display the Live View image on its own monitor. //(This is important. If the camera is in Live View mode but is not displaying the Live View image by itself, then the camera will ignore shutter commands coming from the StackShot.)// | ||
| - | - Press “Shutter” button to confirm control over the camera, and (if necessary) to force EOS Utility to create its target directory to download image files. | + | - Press “Shutter” button to confirm control over the camera, and (if necessary) to force EOS Utility to create its target folder (directory) to download image files. |
| - | - Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > Watch Directory, and select the directory being used by EOS Utility for image download. | + | - Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > "Watch folder", and select the folder being used by EOS Utility for image download. |
| - File > New Project | - File > New Project | ||
| - Stack > Stack New Images (PMax) | - Stack > Stack New Images (PMax) | ||
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| - Close the Camera Control Pro Live View Window. (The StackShot controller cannot trigger exposures if this window is left open.) | - Close the Camera Control Pro Live View Window. (The StackShot controller cannot trigger exposures if this window is left open.) | ||
| - Be sure that camera body and lens (if any) are both set in manual focus mode. (The StackShot controller may not be able to trigger exposures if these are set in automatic focus mode.) | - Be sure that camera body and lens (if any) are both set in manual focus mode. (The StackShot controller may not be able to trigger exposures if these are set in automatic focus mode.) | ||
| - | - Press “Shutter” button to confirm control over the camera, and (if necessary) to force Control Pro 2 to create its target directory to download image files. | + | - Press “Shutter” button to confirm control over the camera, and (if necessary) to force Control Pro 2 to create its target folder (directory) to download image files. |
| - | - Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > Watch Directory, and select the directory being used by Camera Control Pro 2 for image download. | + | - Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > "Watch folder", and select the folder being used by Camera Control Pro 2 for image download. |
| - File > New Project | - File > New Project | ||
| - Stack > Stack New Images (PMax) | - Stack > Stack New Images (PMax) | ||
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| **First, a bit of background may help...** | **First, a bit of background may help...** | ||
| - | __Very important__: **Zerene Stacker never attempts to talks to the camera directly**. When Zerene Stacker wants to take a picture, it sends a command to the StackShot controller to do that. The StackShot controller then closes an electrical switch on the shutter cable. The closing of that electrical switch causes the camera to take a picture. In response to the picture being taken, the camera and EOS Utility have a conversation between themselves to transfer the image to the computer. | + | __Very important__: **Zerene Stacker never attempts to talk to the camera directly**. When Zerene Stacker wants to take a picture, it sends a command to the StackShot controller to do that. The StackShot controller then closes an electrical switch on the shutter cable. The closing of that electrical switch causes the camera to take a picture. In response to the picture being taken, the camera and EOS Utility have a conversation between themselves to transfer the image to the computer. |
| When things are acting normally, there are three separate communication channels: USB from Zerene Stacker to StackShot controller box, shutter cable from StackShot controller box to camera, and USB from camera to EOS Utility. (If you are using the "Stack New Images" function in Zerene Stacker, then there is a fourth communication channel of sorts, in which Zerene Stacker periodically checks a folder in the computer's file system to see if there are new images to process. But that is seldom an issue when people see problems.) | When things are acting normally, there are three separate communication channels: USB from Zerene Stacker to StackShot controller box, shutter cable from StackShot controller box to camera, and USB from camera to EOS Utility. (If you are using the "Stack New Images" function in Zerene Stacker, then there is a fourth communication channel of sorts, in which Zerene Stacker periodically checks a folder in the computer's file system to see if there are new images to process. But that is seldom an issue when people see problems.) | ||
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| - Again test to see if you can shoot a stack under these conditions. This is testing full functionality: Zerene Stacker driving the StackShot, StackShot driving camera, EOS Utility showing live view and downloading images as they are shot. If this fails, but all the other steps worked, then the problem is probably a bad USB cable that is causing some sort of crosstalk between the two USB connections (one to StackShot, one to Camera). In that case try swapping in new USB cables and repeat the testing. | - Again test to see if you can shoot a stack under these conditions. This is testing full functionality: Zerene Stacker driving the StackShot, StackShot driving camera, EOS Utility showing live view and downloading images as they are shot. If this fails, but all the other steps worked, then the problem is probably a bad USB cable that is causing some sort of crosstalk between the two USB connections (one to StackShot, one to Camera). In that case try swapping in new USB cables and repeat the testing. | ||
| - | We've mentioned a couple of places about resetting the StackShot controller to factory settings. Here is how to do that, instructions copied from the Troubleshooting section of the StackShot manual: | + | We've mentioned a couple of places about resetting the StackShot controller to factory settings. Here is how to do that, using instructions copied from the Troubleshooting section of the StackShot manual: |
| > With StackShot powered off, hold down the DOWN button, and apply power. Once the splash screen shows up, release the DOWN button. This will load the factory defaults. It will NOT erase your saved settings. | > With StackShot powered off, hold down the DOWN button, and apply power. Once the splash screen shows up, release the DOWN button. This will load the factory defaults. It will NOT erase your saved settings. | ||
| **As always, feel free to email [[support@zerenesystems.com]] if you need assistance.** | **As always, feel free to email [[support@zerenesystems.com]] if you need assistance.** | ||