Calibration is important in astrophotography because results are greatly improved by capturing special calibration frames called flat, dark and bias and using them during processing. In particular, flat frames are recorded by pointing your telescope at a white surface and it allows to mitigate effect of vignetting and shadows created by dust on the optical system. GIOTTO is the smart flat field generator that helps you capturing flat calibration frames for your astrophotography.
GIOTTO 185 flat field generator has a maximum illuminated diameter of 185mm so we suggest it for compact telescopes like refractors up 150mm diameter. When you choose a flat field generator, we suggest you to choose a model with illuminated panel larger than telescope optics. Diameter of your telescope external tube should be lower than the flat field generator maximum illuminated diameter.
In the bottom part of GIOTTO you find the control panel with USB-C port to let you easily connect it to your EAGLE or standard Windows computer. It also comes with WiFi connectivity so you can wirelessly control it using your smartphone or tablet via the included Virtual HandPad! In order to power GIOTTO, you don't need a separate power unit, since it natively runs off of a 12V power source so it's easy to power together with your astrophotography telescope.
Using GIOTTO 185 is very simple: when you want to record your flat frames, you can simply attach GIOTTO 185 to the front of your telescope by locking it in place with the included thumbscrews that allow you to use it with telescope with external diameter from 147mm to 210mm. This way you are not forced to keep the flat field generator with your hand in front of your telescope during flat frames acquisition or to move your telescope from your target and point it to the Zenith if you can't keep the flat generator in position by hand. Thumbscrews are made up of plastic so they do not ruin your telescope tube when you lock GIOTTO on it.
You can control GIOTTO with PLAY astrophotography software that we designed not only to control PrimaLuceLab devices but also to let you do astrophotography in the easiest way. In fact PLAY comes also with a special wizard that allows you to easily record calibration files for your images. And if you want to use your preferred Windows astrophotography software, you can also control GIOTTO by using other softwares thanks to the dedicated ASCOM driver.
You can even control GIOTTO without a computer by connecting your smartphone or tablet to GIOTTO WiFi network and by using the included Virtual HandPad. Here you can turn the light on and set brightness. You can also save your preferred settings and recall them very easily, for example by saving different values when you use different filters!
If you want to automate the capture of your calibration files or if you're searching for the best way to remotely open and close your telescope, you can add the optional ALTO telescope cover motor and use GIOTTO as a remotely controlled motorized cap! We designed ALTO to be easily connected with our PLUS clamp to any Vixen or Losmandy style dovetail bar that is already present in many telescopes (like SCT, Aplanatic SCT, RCT, etc). If your telescope has a short bar (for example in refractors or newtonians) you can easily add a longer dovetail bar to let you clamp ALTO just above or below the front end of your tube! This design allows you to adjust GIOTTO and ALTO positions to allow an optimal opening and closing of your telescope.
If you are thinking that image calibration and removal of dust and vignetting is a problem only for us modern astrophotographers, it seems like even Giotto, after completing his painting of Halley’s Comet in 1301, had the same problem!
Giotto's masterwork is the decoration of the Scrovegni Chapel, in Padua, which was completed around 1305. When Pope Benedict XI sent a messenger to Giotto, asking him to send a drawing to demonstrate his skill, Giotto drew a red circle so perfect that it seemed as though it was drawn using a pair of compasses and instructed the messenger to send it to the Pope. The messenger departed ill-pleased, believing that he had been made a fool of. The messenger brought other artists' drawings back to the Pope in addition to Giotto's. When the messenger related how he had made the circle without moving his arm and without the aid of compasses the Pope and his courtiers were amazed at how Giotto's skill greatly surpassed all of his contemporaries.
from: Wikipedia (picture: Posthumous portrait of Giotto di Bondone, made between 1490 and 1550)
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