SKOTIQ 8.1 · GUIDE
Flats and calibration
Per-filter settings, matching bias or dark-flats and optical setup.
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Match your light frames
Flats correct the optical illumination pattern and dust shadows. Use the same optical configuration and camera orientation as the light frames. Take new flats if you rotate the camera, change the optics or disturb the dust on the sensor window.
In the Flat Wizard, enable the filters you want, then set gain and offset separately for each filter to match its lights. Review binning, the target brightness, exposure limits and frame count. Skotiq 8.1 supports broadband and narrowband settings in the same run.
Tune and capture
Use stable, even illumination appropriate to your telescope. Let the wizard find an exposure near the chosen target brightness and inspect the actual frames before capturing the full batch.
Look for saturation, gradients, bands, reflections and changing illumination. Extremely short exposures may reveal illumination or camera effects; if the exposure is impractically short, reduce the illumination rather than changing the gain away from the lights’ setting.
Build a master flat
Use Build master flat or the Darkroom calibration library. Flat building requires matching calibration—typically a master bias or a dark-flat. The bias or dark-flat must match the flat frames’ gain, offset and binning.
Check the recorded gain, offset, binning and exposure of the actual saved frames. Use the settings recorded in the files when choosing calibration.
Choose the right batch in Darkroom
During Prepare calibration, review each filter’s matches. Select the intended master or raw flat batch explicitly when multiple batches exist. A single flat can be used across multiple nights only if the optical setup remained appropriate for those nights.
Approved flats that lack their required calibration wait for that calibration. Changing the chosen calibration invalidates affected cached integrations in 8.1. Keep prior masters and raw frames until you have checked the rebuilt result.
Uneven backgrounds
Sky gradients and light pollution can remain after correct calibration. Compare a calibrated light with its source and inspect whether dust shadows and vignetting improved. An overcorrected dust pattern, new rings or a reversed illumination pattern can suggest a mismatch. Use background extraction for remaining sky gradients after checking the calibration.
Build multi-night masters once your calibration is ready.