The subject of binning with the full frame ASI6200 camera has come up multiple times. Binning is accomplished with this camera only through software binning, so at 2x2 binning 4 pixels are being averaged and replaced with 1 pixel. The image resolution is halved in each direction, and the resulting filesize is 1/4 of the original. The resulting binned image has less detail but also less noise. Depending on your setup and the object you are imaging, binning may or may not be right for you. I capture all of my images at 1x1 since I can always bin later if I want to, using programs like PI. The reverse is not true - once you bin at 2x2 you cannot fully recapture the 1x1 detail, even with drizzling.
The attached master images of the integrated Ha signal for
IC 1805 were calibrated but otherwise not processed. Each image in the comparison is a crop of about 10% of the original image in each direction, so you are looking at the fine detail.
It is hard to notice much difference at all for the full frame images, except that the noise is less is the 2x2 binned image.
The times where you really need to image at 1x1 are when you are imaging a small object and plan to crop the original image heavily. Conversely, if you are having download crashes with the ASI6200, try using the 2x2 binned image.
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