The Settings tab allows you to set up various camera features.
The Subframe setting allows you to select a portion of the camera sensor to be read out. Note that for DSLR cameras, selecting a subframe will not speed up the readout. The settings can be made manually using the dialog, but it is more convenient to use the mouse (see below). The Reset button can be used to restore the Subframe to include the entire camera sensor.
To set the subframe area using the mouse, simply bring up this tab and drag the mouse, while holding down the left button, on an image taken with the camera. The subframe will automatically be set to include the area selected using the mouse. Note: using the mouse to select a subframe can only be done while the Settings tab is displayed.
Auto Calibration is used to set up automatic calibration of the images as the exposures occur. There are three settings. None disables automatic calibration. Simple Auto-dark causes the software to automatically take a dark frame whenever the settings have changed and the Expose Tab’s Expose button is pressed. The dark frame is then automatically subtracted from all later exposures. Full Calibration uses MaxDSLR’s main calibration function, which is set up using the Set Calibration command. This allows advanced calibration features such as averaging or median combining multiple frames, scaling dark-frame exposures, etc. Note that the calibration frames must first be set up with the Process menu Set Calibration command.
The Binning settings allow you to combine a number of pixels together to create one “super-pixel”. This can increase sensitivity and reduce image download time, but reduces camera resolution. Binning is recommended when the combination of optical system and camera produces a spot size much larger than 3 pixels FWHM. The maximum binning setting depends on the particular camera. Some cameras allow the user to independently set the binning in the X and Y directions; if this is not possible, the second binning control (Y Binning) is grayed out and tracks the X Binning control.
The Options button 
displays a menu of additional commands, described in the
following paragraphs. Note that certain commands do not appear if they
are not applicable to your camera.
Camera Settings allows you to control various advanced camera features, if any are available for the currently connected camera. See the Camera/Autoguider Setup section for your particular camera model for more information. If advanced settings are not available for the selected camera, the command does not appear in the menu. If you are using the Video DirectShow driver in AVI capture mode, the destination file path is set by selecting Camera Settings, and then choosing Output File.
Fast Mode causes images acquired using the Expose and Sequence tabs to be downloaded from the camera as rapidly as possible. Note that this may compromise image quality. Not all cameras support Fast Mode. For DSLR cameras, turning on Fast Mode switches the image download from RAW format to JPEG format. Note that when the Sequence tab is set to Scheduled Sequence mode, there is a separate Fast mode switch that takes precedence over this control.
Download Image on Stop controls whether an exposure terminated by clicking the Stop button on the Expose Tab is downloaded or simply discarded. If the camera does not have this capability, the command does not appear in the menu.
Leave Image on CF Card only appears for DSLR cameras that support leaving the image on the Compact Flash card instead of downloading to the PC. This affects images taken on the Expose tab only; there is a separate selector on the Sequence tab. If this mode is enabled, a small JPEG image will be downloaded, instead of the full image. The full image will be saved to the CF card, in either RAW format or JPEG format, depending on the Fast Mode selector.
Always On Top allows you to specify whether the Camera Control window stays on top of all other windows. Note that when On Top is enabled (i.e., the menu entry is checked), the Camera Control window should never be placed in the middle of the MaxDSLR application window; as it may otherwise hide any small dialog boxes produced by MaxDSLR. If this happens, you will not be able to see the message and MaxDSLR operation may mysteriously lock up until you hit the Enter or Esc key to dismiss the hidden dialog.
Auto-dark Subframe Extraction modifies the Simple Auto-dark calibration for subframes. Instead of taking a new auto-dark frame every time a subframe is selected, resized, or moved, the appropriate piece will be extracted from the most recent full frame dark exposure. If the full-sized dark frame is not available, then a new exposure will be taken. For some camera models, extracted subframes do not always accurately match real subframes; in this case, you should turn this option off.
Pause FocusAide is an option to disable focuser movements by the third-party focusing tool FocusAide during image download. This applies to both the main camera and autoguider. Some camera drivers disable interrupts during download, which can cause erroneous focuser motion if FocusAide is actively moving the motor. If FocusAide is not present or inactive, selecting this option will have no effect.
Screen During Exposures displays a submenu to let you control dimming or blanking of your computer display while imaging. There are three choices: Normal, which leaves the screen unchanged; Auto Night Vision, which enables the current Night Vision mode automatically while imaging is active (including the entirety of a sequence); and Blank Screen, which completely blanks the computer screen during exposures. Blank Screen can be used together with the Night Vision command in the View menu, but Auto Night Vision has no additional effect. You can restore a blanked display before the exposure ends by pressing Return or clicking a mouse button. Focussing and autoguider exposures do not affect the display.
Only one of the three options No Rotation, Rotate Image 90° CW, and Rotate Image 90° CCW can be selected at a time. These control automatic rotation of each image acquired from the camera immediately after it is downloaded. The image can be left unrotated, rotated 90 degrees clockwise (CW) or 90 degrees counter-clockwise (CCW). The rotation options affect images taken with the autoguider as well as the main camera. Note that guider calibration must be repeated after a change in rotation. Guide star position and any guider subframe that is in effect may also need to be reset.
Flip Images Horizontally causes MaxDSLR to flip images left to right as they are downloaded from the camera. Similarly, the Flip Images Vertically option flips the images top to bottom. These options are useful with some optical configurations. The flip options affect images taken with the autoguider as well as the main camera. As with the rotation options, guider calibration, guide star position and guider subframe typically require reestablishing after a change.
Tip: You can enable a beep, or any other sound of your choice, at the end of each exposure using the Audible Alarms tab of the application Settings command found in the MaxDSLR File menu. Select Camera Exposure Completed in the drop list of events of this dialog, click Add, and select the .WAV file to play on completion of the exposure. You can configure sounds for Guider Exposure Completed and many other events as well.