Fail to debayer image from QHY294C OSC

@andersstange It looks like this camera offers both color and b/w imaging depending on how the driver is configured. Are you sure you used the color mode when you took your images?

@wvreeven, Thank for a quick reply. Im using the ASCOM interface and there is no such option given there. I can also see that the histogram in the image loaded in APP does contain color, and when I zoom in on the image I can clearly see the bayer matrix square pattern.

@andersstange Can you please upload a few lights taken with this camera to

https://upload.astropixelprocessor.com/

using upload4 for both the username and password? Please create a directory called andersstange_debayer and put the images there. Then we can have a look and see if we can help you solve this.

@wvreeven, Thanks. The file is now uploaded.

Anders

@andersstange Thanks for the upload. APP indeed opens it in B/W. And I see that SGP doesn't write the Bayer pattern to the FITS header. I even tried opening the file in PixInsight and debayered it there by hand. I still don't get colors. Unfortunately APP doesn't allow for debayering without actually processing images yet so I am afraid that's all I can do. I'd advice you to try and find out if SGP can write the Bayer pattern to the FITS header. Therefore, perhaps this is a question for the SGP instead.

@wvreeven, ok, thanks for looking into this so quickly. I’ll address my issues to SGP, but  what I don’t understand is that I have captured OSC images with SGP before using Atik’s Horizon camera and successfully debayered them in APP. Could it be that SGP currently lacks support for this specific OSC?

@andersstange Ik have read through the product page

https://www.qhyccd.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=94&id=9

a bit. It seems that the 47 Mbit mode is the reason here that debayering doesn't work. Can you try to take pics in the standard mode and see that that produces a color image?

@wvreeven, I can certainly try this when I have clear skies next time. But are you saying in that case, that it is likely an APP problem debayering a 47Mbit image, or  is it still likely an SGP or even QHYCCD problem? Just so I know who to approach to solve the issue.

@andersstange To be honest, I don't know. The question is what happens when the camera is put in this special mode. Is the resulting image still an RGB image and, if yes, how can it be debayered? I am not stating that this is an issue with the camera but it is at least something that needs to be cleared up. When it is clear that the image indeed is an RGB image and how it can be debayered then we can see if an adjustment is necessary in APP. I have searched on the internet for information regarding this but cannot find anything conclusive. So please provide all the info you have and also links to it if you have them.

@wvreeven,

I think I have narrowed down the issue and it is not APP or SGP.
With a few daytime images shot with SGP I can see that with the camera set to the 11M mode it produces beautiful color images in APP using the RGGB debayer pattern, where as the 47M mode is still only in B/W with a bayer matrix visible, regardless of what pattern I apply. I have aslo confirmed the exact same issue when capturing with SharpCap using its built in debayering feature and its direct connect to the camera ( ie. no need to go through ASCOM). It is most likely a camera driver issue and I will need to bring it up with QHYCCD.

@andersstange If at any time you find out how to debayer those images then please let us know here so we can include that in APP.

@wvreeven, 

I found out this so far. The QHY294C PRO camera use the Sony IMX294 sensor and it uses a “Quad Bayer Structure”. It is a fair bit written about this but I found the following information on cloudy nights in reference to it:

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/740538-initial-batch-of-qhy294m-pros-shipping/page-3

It is still unclear to me if the 47M mode with this quad bayer structure is usable for astroimaging at all. I have at least yet not found any software to debayering the images.
On the other hand the 8340*5644 of 2.3 um pixels sensor is impressive and in theory a great match for a very fast system like a hyperstar set-up.

@andersstange Interesting. That would mean a Bayer pattern of GGBBGGBBRRGGRRGG which indeed is not supported by APP. I'll pass on the info to Mabula and will see if he manages to debayer your uploaded image.

@wvreeven, Thanks. Don’t do any work though, before I have a confirmation from QHYCCD that there is nothing else causing this problem. 

Hi all,

I am checking with you if the demosaicing for the 47M mode is still needed. Do you know if there are other camera's out there that also has this feauture and requires this new demosaicing technique? The issue is still on our todo list and can still be addressed after the APP 2.0 release.

Mabula