Jasem, I think this is related to another issue that we had been discussing a while back. Although my EOS does list all shutter speeds from 30s to 1/8000s,

[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Exposure Widget: shutterspeed "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 0: 30 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 1: 20 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 2: 15 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 3: 10 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 4: 8 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 5: 6 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 6: 4 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 7: 3 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 8: 2 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 9: 1.5 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 10: 1 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 11: 0.7 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 12: 0.5 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 13: 0.3 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 14: 1/4 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 15: 1/6 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 16: 1/8 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 17: 1/10 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 18: 1/15 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 19: 1/20 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 20: 1/30 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 21: 1/45 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 22: 1/60 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 23: 1/90 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 24: 1/125 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 25: 1/180 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 26: 1/250 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 27: 1/350 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 28: 1/500 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 29: 1/750 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 30: 1/1000 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 31: 1/1500 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 32: 1/2000 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 33: 1/3000 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 34: 1/4000 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] 35: 1/6000 "
[2019-09-08T21:25:13.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] * 36: 1/8000 "

I can choose just a few of them in Ekos.

0,000125
0.01
0.02
0.05
0.1
0.2
0.25
0.5
1.0 and up are available. All shutter speeds between 1/6000 and 1/100 remain unavailable.



This appears to be independent from the number of digits since 0,000125 is OK! Back at the time I was happy to take planetary pictures and didn't mind the missing shutter speeds. Just recently I started using my 5D again and realized I was unable to take decent flat frames without these.

Hello Alfred, the numbers you see there are just the suggested number by KStars. You can put any number you want in there yourself.

You're right, thanks for pointing this out. I tested 0.001 and it does work correctly. However, this means something must have gone wrong when I tried to take flat frames. I'll try to replicate and report back. Thanks again!

OK, the problem is the cam will take pictures using the shutter speed that is selected in the camera menu, not the one chosen in Ekos. If i set the camera's main dial to manual mode (as I should in order to have all the shutter speeds listed and available) and the "sub-dial" to 1s (or any other value), the picture that is being taken will be using the shutter speed that is chosen in the cam's sub-menu regardless of the shutter speed selected in Ekos.

The logfile is from taking two exposures, one at 1 sec (Ekos setting) and the other one at 0.01 sec. In fact both are 0.5s exposures and look 100% the same. Force Bulb "ON" and "OFF" yield the same results.

During my test I noticed "Force BULB" is not being saved when clicking Options -> Save in Indi Panel. It always sometimes comes up as "ON". Can't reproduce it anymore.

Ok, this is odd:

1) Set "Force BULB" to "OFF", Save Options, shut KStars down, start KStars, start Ekos, "Force BULB" is still "OFF".

2) Set "Force BULB" to "OFF", Save Options, shut KStars down, switch the 5D Mk2's dial from "Bulb" to "Manual", start KStars, start Ekos, "Force BULB" is now "ON".

I believe many issues we've experienced stem from the fact that there are two distinct groups of Canon DSLRs: One with a separate "B" dial setting (like my 5D Mk2) and the other group were "B" is one among many shutter speeds within the "M" dial setting (like Jasem's 600D). It appears to me these two groups behave differently and this is what causes trouble here.

Rishigarrod's 6D has a separate "B" dial position for bulb mode just like the 5D. When I select "B" on my 5D, I run into the same problem that he described. The "Exposure:" field allows no more than 3 digits after the comma.

This could be intended since such short exposures can not be reliably timed in "B" mode. Setting the dial to "M" doesn't help since the camera then dismisses the Ekos Exposure: setting altogether.

So the workaround is set the Camera to M and select the correct speed on the camera. The settings in Ekos will then be ignored?

Should we develop a second driver or do you think we could modify the driver to take the actual model of camera into account?
I am happy to help with any coding.

Under normal circumstances this would work, yes. But not so with taking flat frames which is an automated procedure during which Ekos changes the shutter speed in order to approach the target ADU.

I'm unsure whether this is necessary. Re-reading This message suggests the driver once DID work correctly in "M" mode for my 5D. I am surprised to see it does not work anymore. I haven't used my 5D since then (more than a year) so something might have been changed in the code in the meantime, something that is responsible for the change. Let's find out whether this is the case first. No matter what, I am willing to devote as much time as needed to get this sorted. Jasem had been working on this in the past and probably knows what's going wrong already.

Since you know how to code you're probably familiar with GitHub. At least more than I am. Anyway, github.com/KDE/kstars/commits/master lists all the changes that have been made to the code. The relevant code probably lives in indi/3rdparty/indi-gphoto/ I don't know how to list the changes in the relevant part of the code only. If you know how to do it, please let me know.

I had a quick look at the logfile and spottet the part where the test foto is taken:

[2019-09-12T01:28:21.328 CEST INFO ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[INFO] Starting 2 seconds exposure. "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Starting exposure (exptime: 2 secs, mirror lock: 0) "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Mutex locked "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting radio/menu widget iso: 2 (100) "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting new configuration OK. "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting radio/menu widget imageformat: 24 (RAW) "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting new configuration OK. "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Finding optimal exposure setting for 2 seconds in shutterspeed (count=37)... "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Closest match: 2 seconds Index: 8 "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Using internal bulb widget:eosremoterelease "
[2019-09-12T01:28:21.329 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting radio/menu widget eosremoterelease: 2 (Press Full) "
[2019-09-12T01:28:29.251 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting new configuration OK. "
[2019-09-12T01:28:29.251 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Exposure started. "
[2019-09-12T01:28:29.251 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Time left: 1999 ms "
[2019-09-12T01:28:31.151 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Reading exposure... "
[2019-09-12T01:28:31.260 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Time left: -1 ms "
[2019-09-12T01:28:31.260 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Closing internal shutter. "
[2019-09-12T01:28:31.260 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Using widget:eosremoterelease "
[2019-09-12T01:28:31.260 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting radio/menu widget eosremoterelease: 4 (Release Full) "
[2019-09-12T01:28:31.298 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting new configuration OK. "
[2019-09-12T01:28:31.298 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Exposure complete. "

The best match is correctly identified and "internal bulb widget:eosremoterelease " is then used. Is this correct? "bulb widget" suggests to me bulb mode was to be used which IMO doesn't fit here? I saw the countdown from 2 to 0 in Ekos but in fact shutter speed 1/4s was used as this was selected in the camera "M" submenu.

Has work been done on this one? The outcome has changed.

I ran a test of 6 exposures with the 5D Mk2.

Exposure times were

1s
0,25s
0,1s
0,01s
0,001s
0,000125s

the cam was started in "M" mode, "force bulb" is OFF.

The first 3 exposures went OK.

1/100s is not in the 5D's list of exposure times. Ekos did use bulb as a fallback while I think it should have chosen the listed 1/90s (or 1/125s) instead.

[2019-09-17T13:11:14.398 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Finding optimal exposure setting for 0.01 seconds in shutterspeed (count=37)... "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.398 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] No optimal predefined exposure found. "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.398 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Using internal bulb widget:eosremoterelease "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.398 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting radio/menu widget eosremoterelease: 2 (Press Full) "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.524 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting new configuration OK. "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.524 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Exposure started. "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.525 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Time left: 9 ms "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.535 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Time left: -1 ms "
[2019-09-17T13:11:14.535 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Closing internal shutter. "

1/1000s is in the list of available shutter speeds. Ekos however chose 1/500s:

[2019-09-17T13:11:53.645 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Finding optimal exposure setting for 0.001001 seconds in shutterspeed (count=37)... "
[2019-09-17T13:11:53.645 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Closest match: 0.002 seconds Index: 28 "
[2019-09-17T13:11:53.645 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting radio/menu widget shutterspeed: 28 (1/500) "
[2019-09-17T13:11:53.672 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting new configuration OK. "
[2019-09-17T13:11:53.672 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Using predefined exposure time: 0.002 seconds "

1/8000s is in the list, too. This time though Ekos chose 1/1000s.

[2019-09-17T13:12:11.445 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Finding optimal exposure setting for 0.000126 seconds in shutterspeed (count=37)... "
[2019-09-17T13:12:11.446 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Closest match: 0.001 seconds Index: 30 "
[2019-09-17T13:12:11.446 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting radio/menu widget shutterspeed: 30 (1/1000) "
[2019-09-17T13:12:11.470 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Setting new configuration OK. "
[2019-09-17T13:12:11.470 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Using predefined exposure time: 0.001 seconds "

Video and complete logfile attached.

The matching of selected and available shutter speeds doesn't work correctly.

Why does Ekos assume exptime was 0.001001 instead of 0.001?

[2019-09-17T13:11:53.639 CEST INFO ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[INFO] Starting 0.001 seconds exposure. "
[2019-09-17T13:11:53.639 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Starting exposure (exptime: 0.001001 secs, mirror lock: 0) "

Why does Ekos decide 0.001001 was closer to 0.002 than to 0.001?

[2019-09-17T13:11:53.645 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Finding optimal exposure setting for 0.001001 seconds in shutterspeed (count=37)... "
[2019-09-17T13:11:53.645 CEST DEBG ][ org.kde.kstars.indi] - Canon DSLR EOS 5D Mark II : "[DEBUG] Closest match: 0.002 seconds Index: 28 "


I assume the problem lives in this code. Maybe someone with a clue can have a look... I wish I could do it on my own!

---

int find_exposure_setting(gphoto_driver *gphoto, gphoto_widget *widget, uint32_t exptime_usec, bool exact)
{
double exptime = exptime_usec / 1e6;
int best_idx = -1;
double delta = 0;
double best_match = 99999;

if (widget == nullptr)
{
DEBUGDEVICE(device, INDI::Logger::DBG_DEBUG, "Cannot find optimal exposure setting due to missing exposure widget.");
return -1;
}

DEBUGFDEVICE(device, INDI::Logger::DBG_DEBUG, "Finding optimal exposure setting for %g seconds in %s (count=%d)...",
exptime, widget->name, widget->choice_cnt);

for (int i = 0; i < widget->choice_cnt; i++)
{
//DEBUGFDEVICE(device, INDI::Logger::DBG_DEBUG,"Exposure[%d] = %g", i, gphoto->exposure);
if (gphoto->exposureList <= 0)
continue;

delta = exptime - gphoto->exposureList;
if (exact)
{
// Close "enough" to be exact
if (std::fabs(delta) < 0.001)
{
best_match = delta;
best_idx = i;
break;
}
}
else
{
if (delta < 0)
delta = -delta;
// printf("%d: Comparing %f <> %f (delta: %f)", i, exptime, gphoto->exposure, delta);
if (delta < best_match)
{
best_match = delta;
best_idx = i;
}
}
}

if (best_idx >= 0)
DEBUGFDEVICE(device, INDI::Logger::DBG_DEBUG, "Closest match: %g seconds Index: %d", gphoto->exposureList[best_idx], best_idx);
else
DEBUGDEVICE(device, INDI::Logger::DBG_DEBUG, "No optimal predefined exposure found.");


return best_idx;
}

Fixed in GIT, thanks a lot!