The dm calibrate function starts with the code
@Pyro4.expose
def calibrate(self, numPokeSteps=5, noZernikeModes=69, threshold=0.005):
self.wavefront_camera.set_exposure_time(0.1)
So if you reset the exposure time to get sensible dynamic range on the wavefront sensor you can end up with unexpected intensity. I think this line should just be removed .