ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS StarShoot G Series User manual

#51452
Orion®StarShoot™G Series
CMOS Camera
StarShoot G10 #51452, StarShoot G10 EU/UK #51454, StarShoot G16 #51453,
StarShoot G16 EU/UK #51455
IN 628 Rev. B 02/19
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
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The StarShoot CMOS Camera
The StarShoot Camera is a high resolution color CMOS imager
with a dual-stage, regulated thermoelectric cooler to enable
maximum imaging performance. It is very sensitive and capa-
ble of detecting faint deep sky objects in a short exposure; and
longer exposures or higher gain settings can reveal extremely
deep fields with subtle nebulosity and galaxies in the back-
ground. The unique versatility of the G10 Sony ICX294 4/3 for-
mat CMOS chip lets you take advantage of the densely-packed
pixel array. 1x1 mode utilizes the full resolution of the camera,
providing the most detailed images and largest possible prints. It
also is slightly larger than the official specification that Sony pro-
vides for this CMOS chip (10.7mp), thus giving a bonus to the
total number of pixels available. The G16 utilizes the Panasonic
MN34230PLJ CMOS sensor with smaller 3.8 μm pixels (4.63
μm for the G10) packed into the same 4/3 format, yielding even
more pixels. Binning in 2x2 mode or higher increases the G
series camera sensitivity and full well capacity (meaning it can
collect more light) at the expense of resolution. Binning in 2x2
mode can be especially useful for longer focal length and higher
focal ratio telescopes.
Feature Highlights
• Simple interface: A USB 3.0 port and power port are all that
are needed to power and connect to the Camera (Figure 1).
• Dual-stage thermoelectric cooler: Dramatically reduces
thermal noise in all images, down to approximately 35 degrees
C from ambient temperature.
• Regulated cooling: Enables you to set the exact tempera-
ture within the cooling range of the camera. This allows you to
take calibration images like dark frames at the exact same tem-
perature as your light frames, making for the cleanest images
possible. Additionally, since you can match the CMOS tempera-
ture at any time (within the range of the cooler), you have the
freedom to take dark frames when it’s most convenient for you,
so you don’t have to use up valuable imaging time to take dark
frames.
• High speed USB 3.0 interface and internal memory buf-
fer: The 512 megabyte on-board memory buffer ensures a
clean image download each time, even if the system resources
of your PC are temporarily compromised.
Welcome to the exciting world of astro-imaging. Your new Starshoot™ CMOS Color Imaging Camera is capable of capturing pro-
fessional quality astro-images of your favorite celestial objects. You can showcase spectacular images on your computer, share
them on the internet, or print them. The camera’s large color pixel array provides very high resolution images which are great for
publishing in large prints. Please read this instruction manual before attempting to use the camera or install the needed software.
This manual covers installation of your camera along with basic functions of acquiring images using the included software. To get
the most out of your camera using 3rd party dedicated astronomy apps coupled with the universal ASCOM driver for the G Series
Camera, please consult the software help files and manuals included with the individual software packages available on the mar-
ket. Some of our favorite programs are mentioned below.
Figure 1. The back panel, with USB ports and LED indicator lights
Figure 2. All of the included parts of the Starshoot. Note: AC cable
will differ in EU and UK .
2
Case
Camera
2"
Nozzle
Desiccant plug
and o-ring USB 3.0 cable
AC Adapter

• Two port USB 2.0 hub (Figure 1):means cable manage-
ment is much easier. Plug up to two other USB devices (such
as an autoguider and electronic filter wheel into the camera,
and only have the USB 3.0 cable and power cable coming off
the telescope.
• Status indicator lights (Figure 1):Shows connection to
the camera, data transfers (flashing light), power to the elec-
tronics, TEC (thermoelectric cooler) and fan.
2. Getting Started
Parts List
• StarShoot G Series camera
• 2" nosepiece (camera ships with nosepiece attached)
• USB 3.0 cable
• DC power adapter and cable (different AC plugs provided in
EU/UK versions)
• External desiccant plug
• Hard carrying case
Telescope
The camera can be used with most telescopes compatible
with 2" format eyepieces. The camera is simply inserted into
a focuser in the same way as a standard eyepiece (Figure
3a). The camera is also compatible with any focusers that
include male 42mm T-threads, if the 2” camera nozzle is
unthreaded. Caution: Be sure to always firmly tighten the
thumbscrew(s) that secure the camera in the telescope
focuser, or it could fall out and onto the ground! If your
telescope has T-threads for direct camera attachment, a more
secure connection can be made. First, unthread the nosepiece
from the camera body. This exposes the camera’s T-threads.
Then, simply thread the camera onto your telescope (Figure
3b).
The camera’s pixel size and sensitivity make the G10/G16 suit-
able for most telescopes. For telescopes with very long focal
lengths (2000mm and greater), you can optionally bin 2x2
to utilize greater sensitivity and obtain sharper images at the
expense of resolution.
Back-focus Requirement
The camera requires 17.5mm (0.689") of back-focus. This is
the distance from the front of the T-threads to the CMOS sen-
sor. This is necessary info to have when calculating spacers to
put behind a Coma Corrector or Field Flattener, which usually
require 55mm of space for optimum performance.
Mount
Deep sky imaging with the G Series requires an equatorial
mount with a right ascension (R.A.) motor drive. The goal for
your mount is to seamlessly track the apparent movement of
the sky as the Earth rotates. The tracking must be very accu-
rate, or the object you want to image will drift and blur across
the camera’s field of view while the exposure is taken. Even a
small amount of drift will cause a star to look oblong instead of
round. We recommend using a high-quality equatorial mount
which utilizes periodic error correction (PEC) or has the ability
to interface with an autoguider.
Computer
The camera requires a Windows PC to operate the camera. For
astro-imaging in the field at night, a laptop computer is highly
recommended. The included software requires Windows 7, 8,
10, and for full data speed, a USB 3.0 port is required. A large
hard drive is also recommended, as the individual image files
are quite large, and can take up a lot of disk space.
Power
The camera requires 12 volts DC (12VDC) to run the TE cooler.
Power to the cooler and fan is supplied by the included 3amp
AC/DC transformer when plugged into an AC outlet. Imaging in
the field away from AC power usually requires the use of a por-
table field battery to supply power. Make sure the power sup-
ply provides at least 3 amps of current for the duration of your
imaging session. This allows the camera's TEC to use 100% of
its potential cooling power. The 12v input port accepts a stan-
dard 5.5mm/2.1mm DC TIP POSITIVE plug.
Software and Driver Installation
The software and driver must first be downloaded from the
Orion website before plugging in the camera. Please go to:
www.telescope.com/Gseries to download all the relevant soft-
ware for your camera. Downloadable files include:
• StarShoot Image Capture: camera control program
• G series direct driver: for DirectShow applications
• G series ASCOM driver: for camera control in 3rd part
astro-imaging software.
Note it is HIGHLY recommended to install the ASCOM platform
and download the G series ASCOM driver to use with the cam-
era. Dedicated 3rd party camera control programs are available
online which will unlock the full astro-imaging potential of the
camera. To install the ASCOM platform, visit www.ascom-stan-
Figure 3a. The Camera, installed
in a 2"focuser using the included
2" nozzle
Figure 3b. T-threads for direct
threaded connections
3

dards.org and click the download button. Don’t forget to also
install the G series ASCOM driver from Orion’s website AFTER
you install the main ASCOM platform. When connecting to the
camera in a 3rd party program using ASCOM, choose “ASCOM
camera” from the camera selection menu, and then the G series
camera should appear in the ASCOM camera selection window
if the driver is properly installed.
1. Download all relevant files from the Camera download
page
2. Double-click on the install .exe for the Image Capture
program, the driver, and the ASCOM driver, and follow
the onscreen directions for installation. Do not plug the
camera in until the drivers have been installed for the
camera.
3. Once the driver and software has been installed, plug the
camera into an available USB 3.0 port, and connect the
AC power cord to the DC input on the camera (Figure
1), and connect to AC power.
4. Windows will take a moment to recognize the USB device
plugged in, and once that is complete, you can open up
the StarShoot Image Capture program to connect to the
Camera.
Hardware setup
Now that the camera drivers and software are installed, it’s time
to connect the camera to the telescope, and open up the soft-
ware. Install the camera into your focuser, connect any periph-
eral devices to the two USB 2.0 ports on the camera, and con-
nect the camera to power as well as the USB 3.0 port on your
computer (Figure 1). Please note the AC/DC transformer has
a relatively short DC cable length. This prevents 12v voltage
from dropping over longer runs, but you may find it difficult to
reach an AC outlet depending on your scope setup. Use of an
extension cord on the AC side of the adapter is suggested, and
the DC transformer itself can rest on the tripod accessory tray,
or secured with Velcro or some other method directly to the tube
wall or telescope rings. If you need to extend the 12v side of the
power cable, a 5.5mm/2.1mm DC extension cable (available
from your local electronic supply) can be used, but please try to
keep the length of the cable as short as possible.
Focusing the camera for the first time can be tricky, since the
camera may focus at a completely different place from where
an eyepiece focuses. It is recommended that you first center a
bright star in a 25mm eyepiece before attaching the camera, to
be sure the camera is centered on the star. Even very far out
of focus, you should be able to see a fat disk (the out-of-focus
star), to determine which way to turn the focus knob to bring the
star down to a focused point.
4. Software
The next section with document connecting to the camera and
basic image downloads. The included software will run the basic
astro-imaging steps including image download, cooler control,
exposure controls and such, but please note that this software
only touches on the basic functions of acquiring astro imagings.
To get the best results with more advanced processes such
as stacking multiple long exposures together to reduce noise,
manual dark frame subtractions, flat field and dark frame stack-
ing for smoother calibration frames, and other processes, it is
HIGHLY recommended to control the camera with an ASCOM
compatible capture program. Some are free on the web, others
are paid, but there is a vast array of programs available that will
be compatible with the camera. Here are some of our favorites:
DeepSkyStacker: http://deepskystacker.free.fr/ - Excellent free
program for pre-processing that simplifies the alignment and
stacking of your images. Automatically monitors a directory
where images are saved, and processes on the fly. Add all the
calibration frames, including darks, flats, biases, and step back
while the software does the rest giving you output ready for post
processing in programs such as PhotoShop.
RegiStax: www.astronomie.be/registax/ - Excellent free pro-
gram for aligning, stacking and processing of AVI video files,
ideal for capturing lunar and planetary video, splitting the video
into individual frames, analyzing each frame and aligning/stack-
ing/processing the best ones for pulling out fine details.
SharpCap: sharpcap.co.uk – Free camera control and capture
program. Features include video and long exposure control,
flat field and dark frame subtractions, histogram control, excel-
lent focus assist routines including Bahtinov mask overlays and
FWHM measurements, and MUCH more!
Sequence Generator Pro: mainsequencesoftware.com – free
45 day trial. Excellent Image Capture suite to control all aspects
of your setup. Create sequences of exposures of different
lengths, control a Go-To mount for automatic pointing and auto-
centering in any part of the image, auto v-curve focusing with
a compatible electronic focuser (without having to re-center to
a target star), autoguider control, and a host of other features.
Nebulosity: stark-labs.com – free demo available to try.
Powerful, yet very easy to use image capture and process-
ing program. Excellent processing routines such as aligning/
stacking and dark/flat/bias handling. An excellent choice for the
beginning astro-photographer getting into processing, yet will
carry over for more advanced users as well.
Orion StarShoot Image Capture
Plug the camera into the USB 3 port, and into AC power. When
you open Orion Starshoot Image Capture, you’ll be presented
with the main preview window on the right, and the control
options on the left-hand side. (Figure 4). On the top of the
left-hand side, click the camera name to start a video preview
(Figure 4a). Scrolling down the left-hand side, you’ll find all
the controls for operating the camera. The primary window
to control the exposure and to use first is the Capture and
Resolution window (Figure 5). In this window, you can set
either video or still image mode (trigger mode), as well as set
the resolution and gain of the camera and set single, looping, or
sequence shots to be saved automatically in a chosen directory.
Scrolling down further along the left side, you’ll find windows
for other camera attributes including bit depth (always choose
the highest bit depth to get the most detail and quality out of
the image), binning control (1x1 is full camera resolution), his-
togram, and cooler control. There are other windows pres-
ent, but the ones listed above are the most important ones
4

Figure 4. Primary software screen.
Figure 4a. Camera model – click this text to connect to the
camera and start the preview.
when taking your first image. Some windows are not appli-
cable to astro-imaging, and can be shut off by going into the
Options>preferences menu.
To take your first image, focus must be achieved. With a CMOS
camera, one of the quickest and easiest ways to focus is to
point the camera at a bright star, and choose a fast video frame
rate with higher gain settings so you can watch the star in real
time, and focus until the star becomes a point.
Focusing
1. Make sure the camera is in preview mode – if not, click
the camera name in the top left window, to turn on
streaming preview mode.
2. In the Capture and
Resolution window
(Figure 5), set the
resolution to full, the
gain to somewhere in
the middle of the slider,
and the exposure to
video mode with “auto
exposure” unchecked,
and an exposure time
to somewhere around
200-500 milliseconds.
This should provide
you with several frames
per second, enough to
see a real time focus
preview.
3. This should be good
enough to see a bright
star like Vega, provided
it’s in the field of view,
and relatively close
to focus. If you see
nothing, but are sure
the star is in the center
of the field, adjust your
focus in and out because a very out of focus star will
spread out and become quite dim.
Figure 5.The Capture and
Resolution window pane
5

6
4. Once you acquire the star, center it, and focus until it
looks like a tiny point. At this point you are probably
over exposing the star, and can back off on the exposure
time and gain settings. If the star is in the middle of the
field, you can also reduce the resolution setting on the
chip, in order to speed up the frame rate, to get a super
responsive live focus. Readjust focus until the star is as
tiny as possible. At this point, everything including the
moon and a distant galaxy will be in focus.
5. If you wish to fine tune the focus further, a Bahtinov mask
is an ideal method of focusing with Orion StarShoot
Capture, as it is quite an accurate method using medium
brightness stars. Contact Orion or search for Bahtinov
mask on www.telescope.com for more details, and to
purchase a Bahtinov mask for your specific telescope.
Your First Lunar/Planetary Image
The moon is perhaps the easiest object to get your first
image, as it is very bright, and easy to find. Planets are also
easier than nebulae to capture, since you’ll be streaming a
video file, and can use programs such as Registax to process
the video file.
1. Go to the Options menu, click preferences, and under
the Record heading, choose a directory location for your
saved files, naming convention of your choice, and make
sure the file type is set to AVI.
2. In the Capture and Resolution window pane, check Video
Mode, uncheck auto exposure, and use the Exposure
Time slider to find an exposure that looks good. Planets
do well with lots of short exposures, so if the exposure
time is too long, experiment with raising the gain, and
lowering the exposure value. It will be more noisy, but the
frame rate will be higher, and the exposure time will be
lower.
3. When ready to record, press the record button and press
it again when your video is the desired length. In the
Options menu, under Record preferences, you can set
limits to time of the video, as well as number of frames.
4. You can then load your AVI file into a 3rd party program
such as RegiStax, in order to process the lunar or
planetary details present in the video file.
Auto Exposure can be used if desired, but manually adjusting
the exposure values provides the best control over the image.
Check the “Auto Exposure box, and drag the box over an
area you wish the system to measure. You can resize the box
accordingly. Then set the Exposure Target, and the system will
try to keep the exposure close to that target exposure value by
adjusting the exposure time automatically.
Your First Deep Sky Image
1. Now that you’re focused, slew to an object you wish to
take a picture of, and the exposure and gain settings will
need to be adjusted for best the best possible result. For
longer nebulae exposures, trigger mode is recommended.
2. For a nebula or star cluster, choose something bright
for your first target, and ideally an autoguider is already
locked on and tracking a star, so your resulting images are
well guided. Pick an object like the Ring Nebula (M57),
Dumbbell (M27), or Orion Nebula (M42) since they are all
very bright and easy to see in short exposures to make
sure the framing is correct. Center the object and proceed
to set the exposure.
3. Set the analog gain slider to around 25% from the left
(around 40), and a trigger mode exposure of 30 seconds,
and make sure the bit depth is set to the highest bit depth
possible. This is just a starting point, these numbers may
have to be adjusted depending on your resulting image.
4. Click Single and wait for the image to download. You
should see a rather grainy looking image of your target in
the preview window on the right. Now is the time to look
at the histogram window, and determine what needs to
change in order to get the best exposure. Scroll down the
left side panel to find the histogram window.
5. The histogram shows a graphical representation of the
number and brightness of the pixels in the image. The far
left of the histogram is black, or no light on a given pixel,
and the far right is full white, or fully maxed brightness
for those pixels. A normal astrophoto has a lot of black
in it, so the histogram bump should be left of center
(approximately near the left 1/4 to 1/3 of the histogram for
the hump) for a properly exposed photo of a nebulae with
a lot of black sky around it (Figure 6a). If the hump is
too far to the right, either the exposure or the gain is set
too high, and you’re recording too much background light
pollution.
Figure 6b. Histogram window showing the screenstretch
adjustment bars
Figure 6a. Live histogram with “humps” in the normal range
(left of center) for a target deep sky exposure

Figure 7a. 120 second “raw” image of the Veil with no histogram
stretch. Note the faint details that are barely visible. 7b. After
adjusting the Range bars to just wider than the histogram hump,
more detail appears.
6. Adjust the exposure to somewhere between 30 seconds
and 180 seconds. For a CMOS chip like the G Series,
individual exposures probably do not need to be longer
than 180 seconds, especially when you’ll be stacking
many shots together for the best results. The G16
color camera is not quite as sensitive as the G10, so
exposures longer than 180 seconds may be possible
and advantageous to gather more light. If the histogram
still doesn’t fall into the proper area, the gain can also
be adjusted. Higher gain setting means more noise in
the image, but it will provide more sensitivity for a given
exposure. Finding the right exposure vs. gain combination
is a matter of trial and error, and will vary depending on
the telescope focal ratio and sky conditions.
7. If you want to “screen stretch” the histogram, meaning
change the black and white points in the image in order to
see what kind of faint detail you have captured, grab the
left and right edges of the histogram window, and slide the
vertical bars closer to the histogram bump. Moving the
right edge bar closer to the end of the hump will raise the
brightness of the entire image, and moving the left edge
bar closer to the start of the hump will darken down the
black point, boosting the contrast. (Figure 6b). Note
that the live histogram stretching will NOT change a trigger
image that is displayed on the right. It will affect the NEXT
image that downloads from the camera, so take another
exposure and check the results.
8. Once you’ve dialed in the right histogram, it’s time to start
a sequence so you can stack several images together.
Remember that each individual image will have lots of
noise, and only by stacking many images together will you
get a smooth low noise image.
9. In the Capture and Resolution window, click “Options”
in the lower right corner of the window and choose a
file location to save your resulting images. Make sure to
save them as .fit files so 3rd party astro-imaging software
can read them (.fit is a standard in the astro-imaging
community). Verify that the resolution you wish to image
at is set, and also make sure RAW is set for the file type.
RAW fits files are saved before color converting so other
programs can read the raw files and provide the best
data from the camera. Also, make sure “Light Frame”
is selected in the window across the top, so the correct
meta-data is saved in the .fit file header. Many programs
look to the fits header to determine the type of file (Light,
Dark, Flat...), so they can be automatically processed
correctly without the user specifying the type of image.
10. Once everything is set and your autoguider is up and
running locked on and tracking a star, choose a number
of shots in the sequence, then click sequence and sit
back and let the camera collect the images. Later, when
processing, if you find your stacked images too noisy,
you’ll want to stack a larger number of shots together to
reduce the noise.
11. When those exposures are finished, you might also want
to collect some dark frames, so you can subtract them
from the light frames in your 3rd party astro-imaging
software. Choose “dark frame” instead of “light frame”,
and take at least one dark frame with the cap on the
telescope that you will later subtract from the light frames
in your other software. Darks should be taken at the same
exposure, temperature, and gain setting as the lights
you previously took. See below for more discussion on
calibration frames such as darks and flats.
Congratulations, you’ve just taken your first series of deep-sky
images with your new camera! It’s now time to do some pro-
cessing in some of those other suggested programs such as
DeepSkyStacker or Nebulosity in order to get the cleanest final
image possible. It’s not uncommon to shoot dozens of light
images, especially when imaging something faint that hides in
the background noise. The greater the number of images, the
more you can push the processing and pull out the detail. Even
dark frames can benefit from averaging many together. A mas-
ter dark or flat made of many individual frames has significantly
less noise than only one.
Also, make sure to adjust the histogram to show some of the
faint detail that may not be visible upon first downloading an
image. Previously, the “Live Histogram” adjustment was
shown, but there’s another way to adjust the histogram of a
7
7a
7b
7b. After adjusting the Range bars to just wider than the histogram
hump, more detail appears.
Figure 7a. 120 second “raw” image of the Veil with no histogram
stretch. Note the faint details that are barely visible.

Figure 8. Veil after pre-processing in DeepSkyStacker (dark frames,
flats, and stacking) and post-processing in Photoshop (levels, curves,
and more).
8
saved image. Figure 7a and 7b show a downloaded 120 sec-
ond image of the Veil Nebula. Figure 7a shows the full range
(select Menu>Process>Range to bring up a histogram of that
image). Notice how faint the nebulae looks? That’s not uncom-
mon for a nebula to look like this right out of the camera, as it is
just barely brighter than the background light pollution. Figure
7b is a Range adjusted shot, to show fainter detail. Notice how
the left and right range lines are set just outside each end of
the histogram? The background is brighter, but ready for more
processing in Photoshop to reset the black point and clean the
image up. Figure 8 is a finished image, with dark frames sub-
tracted and a stack of thirty 120 second light frames, 9 dark
frames, processed in DeepSkyStacker and Photoshop.
5. Cooling – for less noise!
The TEC in your camera is designed to reach temperatures of
35 degrees below the ambient temperature. As the chip gets
colder, noise becomes less pronounced, so the resulting image
is cleaner. In StarShoot Image Capture, you can find the cur-
rent temperature of the chip in the lower right-hand corner of
the screen, next to the current resolution (Figure 9a). Cooler
control is located down the list in the left hand windowpane
(Figure 9b). Note the current temperature of the camera,
then turn the cooler on, set a target temperature, and wait for
the chip to reach that target temp. Please note that the colder
the chip, the more prone to internal dew. The CMOS cham-
ber has been purged of moisture at the factory, but pushing the
cooler to its limit may still cause whatever moisture remains to
condense on the chip. You’ll notice this in the image as a circu-
lar pattern that grows in the image, and a major loss of detail.
If the chip dews over, raise the target temperature and give
the chip a few minutes to acclimatize. Raising the temp to 0
degrees C should remove any dew after a few minutes. It’s
good to reduce the temperature of the chip, but it doesn’t
have to be all the way down to 35 degrees below ambient.
Somewhere between 15-25 degrees below ambient still pro-
vides a great noise reduction, but with much less chance of the
chip dewing over. Once the target temp is reached and is sta-
ble, proceed with taking your light and dark frames. They must
both be at the same exposure length and temperature for the
darks to correctly calibrate. Since the cooler is regulated, you
can also use these darks in subsequent imaging sessions, as
long as you keep the target temperature the same night to night
for your light frames. This is another good reason not to reduce
the temperature to its lowest possible setting. If the next night is
warmer, it won’t be possible to drop the cooler as far from ambi-
ent temperature.
Conversion Gain
Along the left hand pane is a window for conversion gain, and
options for LCG and HCG (low and high gain). LCG should be
used most of the time, especially when a lower gain setting is
used. However, if you are boosting the gain up high to keep
exposures times lower, try switching to HCG and readjusting
gain, which can reduce read noise in the chip without losing as
much dynamic range in the image. But when in doubt, stay in
LCG mode, and your images will turn out fine. The ASCOM
driver also includes LCG/HCG settings when in 3rd party con-
trol programs.
Dark Frames
Dark frames are images taken with no light coming into the
camera. A dark frame is typically taken with the telescope cap
attached. The only data in the image is the inherent camera
noise. The noise contains the dark current (background noise
level), read noise (noise introduced during camera readout and
download) hot pixels (bright dots in the image) and amp glow
(Figure 10). All of this noise exists in your raw astro-image
too, which distracts from the detail you want to see. To eliminate
most of the camera noise, you can take several dark frames,
average them together, then subtract this “master dark” from
your “light” astro-images. Note: Make sure the cooler set
9b. Cooler control window. Set a specific temperature that is
somewhere less than 35 degrees below the ambient temp
Figure 9a. Current temperature of chip. Shown in the very bottom
right corner of the software screen.

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point and camera temperature are the same as they were
when you took your light frames. Dark frames are handled
through most of the 3rd party control programs listed previously.
Flat Field Frames
Flat Frames are more advanced, and mentioned here as a point
of reference. A flat field is an image taken with uniform feature-
less light entering the telescope, such as a blue sky in the early
morning or after sunset. Flat fields solve a number of issues in
your astroimages:
Vignetting
Vignetting in a telescope reveals edge-darkening in the astro-
image. Vignetting is more apparent when the telescope’s illu-
minated field is not large enough to illuminate the full area of
the chip. As a result, more light is detected in the center of the
image compared to the edge.
Dust and Particles
Dust and particles will inevitably show up in your raw astro-
images. Large particles on the camera optical window some-
times look like unfocused circles or doughnuts in your images.
It’s too late to clean your camera if you are already imaging in
the field at night. And even when the camera is clean, dust usu-
ally finds a way to show up in your images.
Telescope Artifacts
Very large particles or other artifacts in your telescope can
affect your astro-images. Insufficient telescope baffling or poor
collimation can also cause unsymmetrical field illumination in
your images.
To take a flat field image:
1. Ensure that the telescope is focused and ready for astro-
imaging.
2. Point the telescope at a uniform and featureless light
source, like the sky at dusk or dawn, or a blank white
sheet of paper. Make sure the camera orientation
is exactly the same as it is or was for astro-imaging
(Although the telescope is pointing at a featureless
surface, the focus and orientation must be set as it
normally would be for astro-images.)
3. Set the Frame Type in your imaging control program to
Flat Field for correct meta data flagging in the fits header.
4. Set the exposure to result in a histogram which has a
hump at around 1/3 to 1/2 of full exposure.
Import your Darks and Flats into the programs mentioned above
for full image calibration of your astro-photos.
Image Processing
It’s not uncommon to use 3-4 programs to tweak the astro-
images you’ve taken to get the best possible final result. Please
delve into the manuals for the other programs listed above,
along with output for Photoshop, Lightroom, or other standard
image processing programs. The images taken for this manual
and on telescope.com were all taken using a combination of
StarShoot Image Capture, SharpCap, DeepSkyStacker, and
PhotoShop.
Color Conversion
It was mentioned previously to save the images in the RAW
.fit format, for later processing in 3rd party software. RAW is
a “black and white” format with a “screen door effect” laid over
the image. This screen door is the Bayer Matrix, and contains
the color data. When you convert the RAW format to a color
format, the screen effect disappears and you’re left with a full
color image. The preview window in StarShoot Image Capture
shows a color image, but if you set the saved file type to RAW,
you will save an unconverted black and white image in the .fit
format.
To convert to color, see the instructions included with the 3rd
party software packages, but you’ll have to also determine the X
and Y offset, in order to reproduce correct colors. This is differ-
ent in each software program and usually requires experiment-
ing in order to correctly convert. Color balance may also have
to be adjusted to correctly display the image from a chip that is
most sensitive in Green, and less sensitive in blue. For exam-
ple, in DeepSkyStacker, we found the best setting was “generic
RGGB” for the Bayer matrix filter, and “Bi-linear Interpolation”.
After that, color balance could be used to rebalance the back-
ground levels to a neutral color.
NOTE: the G16 Bayer matrix is arranged GRRB, instead
of RGGB in the G10. X and Y offsets are different.
ASCOM Driver
The ASCOM driver allows the camera to be used with any of
the programs listed above, along with any others that support
ASCOM cameras. Please download the ASCOM platform
from ascom-standards.org and make sure to install the cam-
Figure 10. A 120 second dark frame. From a G10. Note the amp glow
on the upper right side, this is standard for the ICX294 chip, and is
removed from light images during dark frame subtraction. The G16
will show a different dark frame amp glow signature.

10
era ASCOM driver from Orion’s website. When in 3rd party
camera control programs, the camera gain settings can be con-
trolled in the ASCOM setting window for the camera. Open the
ASCOM camera settings, adjust the gain, and experiment with
exposures as detailed above. Remember, low gain results in
low noise but a longer exposure. High gain boosts the chips
sensitivity so the result is a more sensitive camera in a given
exposure, at the cost of higher noise. Since stacking reduces
noise, it can be beneficial to have a bit more noise in the image,
if it helps keep the exposure times down. One last thing to note,
some programs may use a percentage for gain, others may use
the actual gain numbers. If the gain range is 0-100, it’s using a
percentage of total gain.
Desiccant plug
The camera has been baked in an industrial oven in order to
purge the CMOS chip chamber of as much moisture as pos-
sible. This prevents dew from forming as the TEC lowers the
temperature of the chip. However, at the extreme end of the
TEC cooling range, the tiniest amount of moisture may cause
the chip to dew over, and it’s impossible to remove 100% of the
atmospheric moisture. Raise the target cooler temperature if
this occurs, and the dew should dissipate, while still being rela-
tively noise free.
We include an external desiccant plug with o-ring if you wish
to try reducing the moisture in the chamber yourself. We do
not recommend using this plug compared with the pre-baked
internal environment of the housing, as the purged interior is
most likely drier than what can be attained with external desic-
cant. However, after many years of use, if you notice the chip
dewing over at higher temperatures, the external plug may help.
Remove the cap to the desiccant plug (Figure 11a)and insert
a small fragment of a cotton ball all the way into the plug. The
hole inside the plug is very small but it’s best to add cotton, as
you don’t want desiccant balls falling into the internal camera
chamber! Once the bit of cotton is inserted fully, fill the canister
with dry desiccant balls and cap it shut. Remove the camera
chamber plug cap screw from the camera (Figure 11a), and
install the desiccant plug into the threaded hole (Figure 11b).
It will probably take 24 hours to dry the chamber out as much as
the desiccant will allow.
Figure 11a. The desiccant plug. Do not remove the screw plug on
the camera body unless you specifically want to use the external
desiccant plug. b. The desiccant plug installed in the port. Wait 24
hours for best moisture reduction.
Do not remove
this plug unless
necessary for
external desiccant
plug. The factory
seal is the best
moisture purge.

11
Specifications
G10 G16
Sensor: Sony IMX 294 color CMOS, 4/3 format Panasonic MN34230PLJ color CMOS, 4/3 format
Resolution: Up to 4128x2808 Up to 4640x3506
Pixel Size: 4.63 microns 3.8 microns
Diagonal size of chip: 23.1mm 22.1mm
Bayer Matrix pattern: RGGB arrangement BGGR arrangement
Exposure range: 0.1ms – 1000s 0.15ms – 3600s
Shutter: Rolling Shutter Rolling Shutter
Partial frame download: Region of interest and Sub-frame Region of interest and Sub-frame
download supported download supported
Binning: 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 hardware and 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, hardware and software binning
software binning
ADC: 14 bit 12 bit
QE peak: 76% 60%
Read Noise: 1.12e@HCG Mode 1.2e@HCG Mode
Full Well: 66.6ke 20ke
Image Buffer: 512MB memory buffer 512MB memory buffer
Interface: USB3.0/USB 2.0 USB3.0/USB 2.0
Front nozzle threads: 42mm T-threads 42mm T-threads
CMOS chip window: IR blocking, 380-690nm IR blocking, 380-690nm spectral range bandpass
spectral range bandpass
Dimensions: 80mm x 103mm 80mm x 103mm
Weight: 535g 535g
Back Focus: 17.5mm 17.5mm
Cooling: Regulated Two Stage TEC, Regulated Two Stage TEC,
~35 deg C from ambient ~40 deg C from ambient
Camera electronic power: DC 5v from PC USB port DC 5v from PC USB port
Cooler power: 12v/3a 12v/3a

One-Year Limited Warranty
This Orion product is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year
from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. During
this warranty period Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any war-
ranted instrument that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid. Proof of purchase
(such as a copy of the original receipt) is required. This warranty is only valid in the country of purchase.
This warranty does not apply if, in Orion’s judgment, the instrument has been abused, mishandled, or
modified, nor does it apply to normal wear and tear. This warranty gives you specific legal rights. It is
not intended to remove or restrict your other legal rights under applicable local consumer law; your state
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For further warranty information, please visit www.OrionTelescopes.com/warranty.
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Copyright © 2019 Orion Telescopes & Binoculars. All Rights Reserved. No part of this product instruction or any of its contents may be reproduced,
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