My experience using the Atik 460ex with the Infinity SW (beta release)

[JimH123]

In June, we were offered the opportunity to participate in an experiment to use Atik 400 series cameras with the Infinity SW.  Recently, a beta version of the SW has been offered and I have been using it with my 460ex (mono). 

For those that aren't familiar with the Infinity SW, it provides a way to image and stack on-the-fly in a very, very convenient way.  It also detects and removes stuck pixels in the process.  You can then adjust on screen the black and white points as well as a slider for the positioning of the midpoint and see a very good image while you watch.  You can then elect to save a TIF file of what you see, or to do this in a number of other formats.  If you want to capture the FIT files, you can do that too. 

I am adding a sample image of the dumbbell nebula imaged with this SW.  Used an Explore Scientific 102ed, Field Flattener and the Atik 460ex.  Allowed it to stack 10 images of 40 sec each and then saved it as a 16-bit TIF.  Stretched it a bit in Photoshop, cropped the edges a bit, and here it is. 

This is very good SW.  It was developed to allow Atik to participate in the EAA segment.  But the SW is so good, that it makes sense to allow it to be used for more general viewing.