Artesky 250 mm USB Flat Field Generator - LED Illuminator

Artesky USB Flatfield Box for perfect flats in astrophotography

Artesky flat-field boxes are manufactured in Italy and offer a high quality of workmanship and a particularly uniform illumination for high-quality flats. The box is very flat and relatively light, which makes it easier to use in practice.

USB interface for complete control via PC or laptop

The Artesky Flat-Box USB can be used with the Artesky software. You can download the software. All commands are executed via the USB interface. In particular, you can:

Switch the box on and off via the PC

Adjust the brightness values very precisely, in 255 steps

Adjust the brightness ideally to the respective channel

Setting the exposure time

Link to download the USB Flat Box driver and software

Link to the APT Astro Photography Tool Software - Control your Astro Images

How do I get a good flat field image?

A good flat compensates for edge shading (vignetting), but also for darkening caused by dust on the filter, sensor or corrector. The background becomes even, the contrast can be raised further to make finer details visible in faint nebulae. The following basic settings should be noted:

The ISO or gain setting must be the same as for the lights, i.e. the actual astrophotography.

Telescope, camera and accessories, such as filters, off-axis guider etc., must be the same as for the actual exposure, also the position of the focuser should be unchanged.

The exposure time should be so short that nothing is "burned out", i.e. overexposed. Only in this way can the flat unfold its full effect. We recommend an exposure of 30-50%. The flat should not be burned out, but it should also not have any unexposed areas.

How do I find the right exposure time with the shooting software, for example Maxim DL?

The ADU value (Analog Digital Units) helps here. Every capture program shows this value when you move the mouse over the image. In the center of the image, where the illumination is highest, the ADU value is highest. The longer you expose, the higher this value becomes. If the ADU value is higher than the maximum value of the camera, the image is overexposed. A camera with 16 bits has a max. ADU value of 65536, one with 14 bits has 16384, one with 12 bits only 4096.

The exposure time of the flat should be so short that in the middle of the flat the ADU value is at most 50% of the maximum value of the camera. Then the flat looks well exposed. We recommend to take at least 10 flats per exposure and to process them to a "master flat".

If the flatfield box is too bright, that means it always produces overexposed images, then a white paper, which is fixed in the flatfield box, helps. This will dim the light and allow for slightly longer exposure times.

Safety informations: PDF Download