Tethering support and or API release for K-50 and others

**blues_hawk** · 08-28-2018, 12:17 PM

Originally posted by gbeaton

Hi @blues_hawk, sounds like you are suffering like the rest of us astrophotographers. A friend who also has a K-5 has been sharing the pain.

I was lucky enough to have bought a K-5 II years ago and it just happens to be an excellent AP camera - I would even venture to say the best. So good in fact that I spent another $300 US or so for a full spectrum modification. You might think about buying one second hand - I modded my K-5 and bought a second hand K-3 for regular photography!

After a couple of years of dealing with lack of software support on the Pentax, I would say that at this point, there is only one real need for tethering and thats to work with plate solving, which I use for alignment and to zero in on my targets. If you don't do plate solving, that is you do alignment and target framing manually. Then the intervalometer is all you really need. You can preview your shots on camera and these computer-less setups are much less frustrating to deal with - I had often thought I should have stuck to the manual methods.

For focusing I still use live view - I can put my K-5 into live view mode without causing hang-ups with GPhoto2 - just have to remember to put it back to bulb mode before trying to take a pic or it WILL hang.

Cheers
Greg

He's everywhere! Hi! It's Ray

My rig is fully remote now, but isn't currently using my Pentax. Wide field is suffering as a result though, and Andromeda is just about high enough now to force me back into the yard for some yoga.
I do use plate solving, it's a real time saver and working spiffy at indi now. I'm currently working with the indi_OnStep team to bring fully automated mount tuning and alignment. A live test run is slated for tonight, or first sky I get. I may just get a different one at some point, when my wife will let me add to the camera pile again. Also, isn't it a rip that I was the ONE guy to not get bulb tethering out of all that testing and hacking at Gphoto?

@Adam, Greg has been following me around the internet for years and is one of the fellow pentaxians I mentioned earlier. :P

k5astro · 08-28-2018, 05:34 PM

LOL! Don't mean to be a stalker - I just noticed an update on this thread and thought I would share my present thinking on the matter... since it waxes and wanes like the moon!

PS: Great to hear you're working with the good ol boys at indilib

**blues_hawk** · 08-29-2018, 07:30 AM

Originally posted by gbeaton

LOL! Don't mean to be a stalker - I just noticed an update on this thread and thought I would share my present thinking on the matter... since it waxes and wanes like the moon!

PS: Great to hear you're working with the good ol boys at indilib

I'm also pitching in trying to get our post numbers to the goal. It wasn't even my intention to jump start it, but hey. a post is a post!

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08-28-2018, 12:17 PM	#16
blues_hawk Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Patrick Co. Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,541 Original Poster	Originally posted by gbeaton Hi @blues_hawk, sounds like you are suffering like the rest of us astrophotographers. A friend who also has a K-5 has been sharing the pain. I was lucky enough to have bought a K-5 II years ago and it just happens to be an excellent AP camera - I would even venture to say the best. So good in fact that I spent another $300 US or so for a full spectrum modification. You might think about buying one second hand - I modded my K-5 and bought a second hand K-3 for regular photography! After a couple of years of dealing with lack of software support on the Pentax, I would say that at this point, there is only one real need for tethering and thats to work with plate solving, which I use for alignment and to zero in on my targets. If you don't do plate solving, that is you do alignment and target framing manually. Then the intervalometer is all you really need. You can preview your shots on camera and these computer-less setups are much less frustrating to deal with - I had often thought I should have stuck to the manual methods. For focusing I still use live view - I can put my K-5 into live view mode without causing hang-ups with GPhoto2 - just have to remember to put it back to bulb mode before trying to take a pic or it WILL hang. Cheers Greg He's everywhere! Hi! It's Ray My rig is fully remote now, but isn't currently using my Pentax. Wide field is suffering as a result though, and Andromeda is just about high enough now to force me back into the yard for some yoga. I do use plate solving, it's a real time saver and working spiffy at indi now. I'm currently working with the indi_OnStep team to bring fully automated mount tuning and alignment. A live test run is slated for tonight, or first sky I get. I may just get a different one at some point, when my wife will let me add to the camera pile again. Also, isn't it a rip that I was the ONE guy to not get bulb tethering out of all that testing and hacking at Gphoto? @Adam, Greg has been following me around the internet for years and is one of the fellow pentaxians I mentioned earlier. :P

08-28-2018, 05:34 PM	#17
k5astro Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 387	LOL! Don't mean to be a stalker - I just noticed an update on this thread and thought I would share my present thinking on the matter... since it waxes and wanes like the moon! PS: Great to hear you're working with the good ol boys at indilib

08-29-2018, 07:30 AM	#18
blues_hawk Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Patrick Co. Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,541 Original Poster	Originally posted by gbeaton LOL! Don't mean to be a stalker - I just noticed an update on this thread and thought I would share my present thinking on the matter... since it waxes and wanes like the moon! PS: Great to hear you're working with the good ol boys at indilib I'm also pitching in trying to get our post numbers to the goal. It wasn't even my intention to jump start it, but hey. a post is a post!