Thanks for the video Shawn. I've been using NINA nightly builds for over a year now, and I wouldn't use anything else. It's quickly become a highly sophisticated package, and it just works! Love it.
Using NINA since a year. First with DSLR camera on fixed tripod and now with a larger rig. Had a few hiccups at the beginning but love the simplicity of the software compared with other platforms. With the advanced sequencer I can now actually get some goodnight sleep.
@@VisibledarkAstro As much I am CAN too, I image during the summer/fall months out of the Californian desert with a very high average of good seeing nights per month. Not possible to take proper advantage without automation. I may stay up for a little while now enjoying a glass of Scotch after everything starts running 😉
Hi Shawn. I switched from SGP to NINA 1.11 a year ago an even got an Esprit 100 because of your exellent videos. So thanks for that. My first thoughts was.... Holly sh...!!!! (fir the advanced seq.) But now i understand it an manage it quite well and would not like to miss Nina any more. So once again thx for your videos.
Hey Serge! Thanks for the comment. Yes I was overwhelmed when I first saw the 1.11 advance sequencer. A big departure from the simple sequencer. But like you I grew to understand it and really like it. NINA has been awesome. Cheers!
Thank you, Shawn. When I get my stuff set up again, I do plan on using NINA as my acquisition software. Extremely powerful and for now, free. I don't know if that's going to change or not, but if not, I certainly will make a donation to support the development of it.
That would be great if you donated. They have no plans to charge for it. It's funded by donations and patreon supporters. I've donated a couple times already. Well worth it!
@@VisibledarkAstro I'll be coming from.ASIAIR, my new mount has some issues with ZWO and the promised fix doesn't seem to be forthcoming, so I'm jumping ship, so plenty of incentive to learn :)
Yes I'm hoping to have clear night soon. To try hocus focus. Been having clouds/rain and now snow flurries and its not looking good short term. Thanks for watching!
Funny enough I had this idea to do an overview a few weeks back. I recorded it with the latest nightly NINA. Then NINA went beta! So I re-recorded. I thought I'd give an overview of it, just so people could see how it works now. There's been so much development with it. New features and changes. Thanks for watching!
And now we are at 2.0 Beta002 as I type this. The development team is awesome. My favorite feature is being able to close the roof on my ROR at the end of the session. As long as the weather is good, I can start shooting and go to bed.
Hi Bruce! Yes the development team is a machine when it comes to updates! I don't have a ROR but I imagine being able to close it at the end of session is awesome. So much capability with NINA.
Richard - Belgium. I want to switch from SGP to NINA since I'm having some issues with SGP. The thing I will miss is the autostrech in SGP. It seems NINA doesn't have the same histogram transform.
You can adjust the auto stretch in NINA but it is different than SGP I agree. I liked how SGP did it but the power and stability of NINA made up for any shortcomings with its auto stretch.
Currently I am using Nina fore the 3 Star Polar Alignment which has allowed me to now do 5 min sub exposures…I know at some point I should change over to Nina completely but I do like SGPro…of which I am more familiar.😊
Looking forward to a review/guide of Hocus Focus - it sounds intriguing but I'd love to know how it behaves in practice (and it's rain for weeks here, so no chance of me trying it!)
I would like to ask you several questions. I tried it first time and it didn’t work. 1. Let’s say scope is parked. I put sequence and started. It started focusing.,Well it should go to target, center then focus then auto guide . Right? It is basically worked when I selected target, slew and centered . Then started sequencer. 2. Should be Parked or Unparked in telescope section before start sequencer? 3. It is constantly select full frame of sensor. I would like to use 1920x1200. How to set it? 4. It shows every frame separately. Does it have live stacking capability? Thanks a lot!
I'm currently using APT, but having issues with platesolving on one of my rigs. It works fine on the other one. I've been contemplating making the switch to NINA for the sequence building and autofocus routines and this may be the time for the switch to happen. I'm afraid that my platesolving woes will just follow me though, as NINA still uses ASTAP and I've never been able to get it to work. I'm afraid my camera is just too noisy and it identifies hot pixels as stars. It would be nice if you could calibrate your platesolving frames before it tried to platesolve.
Nice video! The simple sequence is just missing 1 or 2 options and it would make me switch from SGP, the advanced is way to complex and ... Maybe I did miss something, but if the simple sequence supported start and end hour per target and on the condition that it would recover if there was say, a weather interruption, if that last optima also requires complex loops and triggers, no thank you ... I really was hoping I could switch from SGP (though I hardly have any issues with it maybe one missed night every 2 years or so).
Hey Shawn. Another great video! Would you be willing to share the details of your custom colour scheme for NINA? It’s without question the best one I’ve seen and I’d love to recreate it for my own setup. Thanks in advance 👍
Hi Shawn I have downloaded the new version of Nina 64 bit 2.0. I wanted to take advantage of the cool plug-ins but Nina says there are no plug-ins available for it. Is there anything I can do to enable the plugins????
Thought my mount was PA in NINA, but when I slew to coordinates, the camera is way off; I did get a warning it didn't slew far enough or something, to somehow change slew rate? but that warning went away when I next PAed; what could be wrong? Used an L bracket for the camera, but that shouldn't be a problem
Hi Shawn, do you happen to know if there is any way to set different image file paths for different targets? There has been times where I have forgot to include "target name" option in the image file pattern which results in all my data from different targets ending up in the same folder but with no target name which becomes a nightmare when attempting to select the correct files for stacking..thanks in advance. Irwin.
Do you know if NINA has a FOV limitation for plate solving? the ASIAIR does and I'm unable to use my 10" SCT without a focal reducer :( May have to switch to NINA to get around this limitation. Any feedback would be appreciated.
@@VisibledarkAstro OK, Thanks. With all of the talking Eric has been doing about NINA, I've decided to give it a shot. Just got the MeLe Quieter 3 ordered, I got the 4 core Windows 11 model and putting a 1TB Nvme drive in it. Will transfer the OS and everything else to that drive once it's installed. Hoping to have a lot of fun with the new technology. Thanks for putting this video together, it's 100 degrees F here tonight so staying inside and watching NINA videos.
Hey Shawn, Where are you getting the pictures (images) for the sky atlas? I am pointing to a folder that has plate solving files but that apparently that is not the place because I just get a blank where an image should be. Thanks Dan
I will answer my own question. There is an image 'repository'. I went back to the N.I.N.A website download page and scrolled down all the way to the bottom of the page and the repository download link appeared there. Also, I think the link to the repository is found in the 'about' tab.
Hi Shawn, I have tried NINA by installing the x64 version on my desktop. The resuilt being that I get a lot of error messages on "not enough memory" and failure reports during camera acquisition. Sometimes it runs for 3 - 4 images and then I got the error message. My computer however has 32 Gbyte of RAM and the disk is nearly empty. Do you have similar experience?
Wow, this looks incredible! Thanks a lot for the overview! A couple of nights a go, I gave Stellarmate on my ASIAIR a try, but NINAs UI looks so much cleaner and it gives you a lot more options, it seems. I'll have to get a mini PC now. Any recommendations, or should I just duct tape my old notebook to the mount? Also, great channel! I came here for the collab video with the other astro youtubers. Good stuff!
lol, duct tape it! lol. I use a small mini pc. I'd like an Eagle4 but they are a little to pricey. The mini PC has been working great for the past 2 years. It lives outside, nestled into the pier. Thanks for watching and the comment!
@@VisibledarkAstro I'd like to say that the Eagle4 is a bit overpriced, just like a lot of astrophotography equipment. You take some existing technology, put "astro" in front of the name an sell it for 10x the usual price. Wanna check out my moonlight resistant astro velcro and astro zip ties? Only 20 bucks for a bag of 5 :-)
Great revew. Looks really powerful. I’m currently using APT but am thinking of switching. Not looking forward to another learning curve though. With regard to guiding how much control of PHD2 do you have in NINA?
Thanks for the video Shawn. I've been using NINA nightly builds for over a year now, and I wouldn't use anything else. It's quickly become a highly sophisticated package, and it just works! Love it.
Just switching from Mac and looking into various Windows image capture software.
Using NINA since a year. First with DSLR camera on fixed tripod and now with a larger rig. Had a few hiccups at the beginning but love the simplicity of the software compared with other platforms. With the advanced sequencer I can now actually get some goodnight sleep.
Yes the advance sequencer and options was a game changer. Made NINA so much more powerful. I like it as well for getting some sleep! lol.
@@VisibledarkAstro As much I am CAN too, I image during the summer/fall months out of the Californian desert with a very high average of good seeing nights per month. Not possible to take proper advantage without automation. I may stay up for a little while now enjoying a glass of Scotch after everything starts running 😉
Hi Shawn. I switched from SGP to NINA 1.11 a year ago an even got an Esprit 100 because of your exellent videos. So thanks for that. My first thoughts was.... Holly sh...!!!! (fir the advanced seq.) But now i understand it an manage it quite well and would not like to miss Nina any more. So once again thx for your videos.
Hey Serge! Thanks for the comment. Yes I was overwhelmed when I first saw the 1.11 advance sequencer. A big departure from the simple sequencer. But like you I grew to understand it and really like it. NINA has been awesome. Cheers!
Thank you, Shawn. When I get my stuff set up again, I do plan on using NINA as my acquisition software. Extremely powerful and for now, free. I don't know if that's going to change or not, but if not, I certainly will make a donation to support the development of it.
That would be great if you donated. They have no plans to charge for it. It's funded by donations and patreon supporters. I've donated a couple times already. Well worth it!
Same here. I will make a donation too.
A good NINA overview video Shawn. Thanks for doing it. I have an astro buddy migrating to NINA now.
I'm still learning my way around NINA but I'm liking the program a lot, great video Shawn & very informative.
Thanks! Takes a bit to wrap your head around NINA and how to use it, but once you do, there's no going back. Its so good!
That's really helpful. I'm debating a move.over to NinA, so been good to see how easy it actually seems to use.
There's a bit of a learning curve but it's well worth it. NINA is simply awesome.
@@VisibledarkAstro I'll be coming from.ASIAIR, my new mount has some issues with ZWO and the promised fix doesn't seem to be forthcoming, so I'm jumping ship, so plenty of incentive to learn :)
Another great video, Shawn. I've been using NINA for about a year. I hadn't heard of Hocus Focus, so would love to see a video on it.
Yes I'm hoping to have clear night soon. To try hocus focus. Been having clouds/rain and now snow flurries and its not looking good short term. Thanks for watching!
I wish this had been posted 24 hours ago. Thanks, Shawn. I learned a lot.
Funny enough I had this idea to do an overview a few weeks back. I recorded it with the latest nightly NINA. Then NINA went beta! So I re-recorded. I thought I'd give an overview of it, just so people could see how it works now. There's been so much development with it. New features and changes. Thanks for watching!
And now we are at 2.0 Beta002 as I type this. The development team is awesome. My favorite feature is being able to close the roof on my ROR at the end of the session. As long as the weather is good, I can start shooting and go to bed.
Hi Bruce! Yes the development team is a machine when it comes to updates! I don't have a ROR but I imagine being able to close it at the end of session is awesome. So much capability with NINA.
Richard - Belgium. I want to switch from SGP to NINA since I'm having some issues with SGP. The thing I will miss is the autostrech in SGP. It seems NINA doesn't have the same histogram transform.
You can adjust the auto stretch in NINA but it is different than SGP I agree. I liked how SGP did it but the power and stability of NINA made up for any shortcomings with its auto stretch.
Currently I am using Nina fore the 3 Star Polar Alignment which has allowed me to now do 5 min sub exposures…I know at some point I should change over to Nina completely but I do like SGPro…of which I am more familiar.😊
I used SGP for years. It was challenging to switch from it to NINA but I'm so glad I did. Its a bit of learning curve but worth the change!
Looking forward to a review/guide of Hocus Focus - it sounds intriguing but I'd love to know how it behaves in practice (and it's rain for weeks here, so no chance of me trying it!)
Ya cloud/rain here as well. Now snow flurries too! Hopefully there's a bit of clear night sometime soon so I can test hocus focus.
I would like to ask you several questions.
I tried it first time and it didn’t work.
1. Let’s say scope is parked. I put sequence and started. It started focusing.,Well it should go to target, center then focus then auto guide . Right? It is basically worked when I selected target, slew and centered . Then started sequencer.
2. Should be Parked or Unparked in telescope section before start sequencer?
3. It is constantly select full frame of sensor. I would like to use 1920x1200. How to set it?
4. It shows every frame separately. Does it have live stacking capability?
Thanks a lot!
HI . One Question. Sometimes, Nina Shows: Telescope Conexion Lost . Please, Reconect telescope. Do you know why? thanks
I'm currently using APT, but having issues with platesolving on one of my rigs. It works fine on the other one. I've been contemplating making the switch to NINA for the sequence building and autofocus routines and this may be the time for the switch to happen. I'm afraid that my platesolving woes will just follow me though, as NINA still uses ASTAP and I've never been able to get it to work. I'm afraid my camera is just too noisy and it identifies hot pixels as stars. It would be nice if you could calibrate your platesolving frames before it tried to platesolve.
Cool - looks like a combination of Stellarium, SeqGenPro & PHD2. I'll try it out.
Nice video! The simple sequence is just missing 1 or 2 options and it would make me switch from SGP, the advanced is way to complex and ... Maybe I did miss something, but if the simple sequence supported start and end hour per target and on the condition that it would recover if there was say, a weather interruption, if that last optima also requires complex loops and triggers, no thank you ... I really was hoping I could switch from SGP (though I hardly have any issues with it maybe one missed night every 2 years or so).
Hey Shawn. Another great video! Would you be willing to share the details of your custom colour scheme for NINA? It’s without question the best one I’ve seen and I’d love to recreate it for my own setup. Thanks in advance 👍
Hi Mark - sure. Let me see what I can do. If you email me will be easier. shawn @ visibledark .ca
Thanks for this information, very useful. I have a question: Do you think NINA is good for the L350 mount & IRF90 focuser-rotator from Planewave ?
Hi Shawn
I have downloaded the new version of Nina 64 bit 2.0. I wanted to take advantage of the cool plug-ins but Nina says there are no plug-ins available for it. Is there anything I can do to enable the plugins????
Thought my mount was PA in NINA, but when I slew to coordinates, the camera is way off; I did get a warning it didn't slew far enough or something, to somehow change slew rate? but that warning went away when I next PAed; what could be wrong? Used an L bracket for the camera, but that shouldn't be a problem
There's a setting to reslew in platesolving if it doesn't hit its mark. You might need to enable that?
No guide camera set up?
Hi Shawn, do you happen to know if there is any way to set different image file paths for different targets? There has been times where I have forgot to include "target name" option in the image file pattern which results in all my data from different targets ending up in the same folder but with no target name which becomes a nightmare when attempting to select the correct files for stacking..thanks in advance. Irwin.
Interesting idea! I don't think there is a way to do that. Something that could be suggested to the developers?
@@VisibledarkAstro Thanks for getting back to me Shawn :) I will put the suggestion forward on their Discord if someone hasn't already.
Will this program work with explorer scientific pmc8-100 eq mount?
❤️🔥
Do you know if NINA has a FOV limitation for plate solving? the ASIAIR does and I'm unable to use my 10" SCT without a focal reducer :( May have to switch to NINA to get around this limitation. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Not aware of any limitations. I have used it successfully with 2000mm FL. Plate solving worked fine.
@@VisibledarkAstro OK, Thanks. With all of the talking Eric has been doing about NINA, I've decided to give it a shot. Just got the MeLe Quieter 3 ordered, I got the 4 core Windows 11 model and putting a 1TB Nvme drive in it. Will transfer the OS and everything else to that drive once it's installed. Hoping to have a lot of fun with the new technology. Thanks for putting this video together, it's 100 degrees F here tonight so staying inside and watching NINA videos.
Hey Shawn,
Where are you getting the pictures (images) for the sky atlas? I am pointing to a folder that has plate solving files but that apparently that is not the place because I just get a blank where an image should be.
Thanks
Dan
I will answer my own question. There is an image 'repository'. I went back to the N.I.N.A website download page and scrolled down all the way to the bottom of the page and the repository download link appeared there. Also, I think the link to the repository is found in the 'about' tab.
Hi Shawn, I have tried NINA by installing the x64 version on my desktop. The resuilt being that I get a lot of error messages on "not enough memory" and failure reports during camera acquisition. Sometimes it runs for 3 - 4 images and then I got the error message. My computer however has 32 Gbyte of RAM and the disk is nearly empty. Do you have similar experience?
Nice tutorial ! You need to mask your coordinates in mount settings too tho :P
lol. I forgot! lol. No going back now though! haha.
Wow, this looks incredible! Thanks a lot for the overview! A couple of nights a go, I gave Stellarmate on my ASIAIR a try, but NINAs UI looks so much cleaner and it gives you a lot more options, it seems. I'll have to get a mini PC now. Any recommendations, or should I just duct tape my old notebook to the mount?
Also, great channel! I came here for the collab video with the other astro youtubers. Good stuff!
lol, duct tape it! lol. I use a small mini pc. I'd like an Eagle4 but they are a little to pricey. The mini PC has been working great for the past 2 years. It lives outside, nestled into the pier. Thanks for watching and the comment!
@@VisibledarkAstro I'd like to say that the Eagle4 is a bit overpriced, just like a lot of astrophotography equipment. You take some existing technology, put "astro" in front of the name an sell it for 10x the usual price. Wanna check out my moonlight resistant astro velcro and astro zip ties? Only 20 bucks for a bag of 5 :-)
Great revew. Looks really powerful. I’m currently using APT but am thinking of switching. Not looking forward to another learning curve though. With regard to guiding how much control of PHD2 do you have in NINA?
You did this one JUST for me right Shawn?😂
you got it! lol ;)