SharpCap 2.6

Posted on
SharpCap 2.6 includes a complete re-write of the controls panel user interface. The old controls panel did it’s job fairly well, but was becoming cumbersome as newer cameras add more and more controls that can be adjusted. Not only that, it had an embarrasing flicker under some circumstances when resized or clicked on. It was also fairly awkward to make any minor improvements to the controls without the risk of breaking them. Replacing the controls has been on the to-do list for a long time and now it’s finally done.

Currently, most of the controls look very similar to their old versions, although they have been tweaked to give better use of available space (wider sliders, narrower labels and text boxes). The biggest change is that each group of controls can now be expaned or collapsed to allow you to see just the controls you need to work with. SharpCap remembers which groups you have opened and which you have kept close, so that the next time you run the program your favourite groups will open automatically.

If you have any problems with the new control UI, you can switch back to the old version by turning on the ‘Use Old Camera Controls UI’ in the settings dialog. This will be available for a few releases while any gremlins in the new UI are ironed out, after which the old UI will be taken out completely.

Other features in 2.6 include

  • Better grouping of controls within the camera control panel
  • Ability to control the averaging period used for the FWHM and Contrast Detection focus scores
  • Updated ASI SDK to support ASI178, 185 and 224
  • Addition of a frame rate limit control for ZWO cameras
  • Add support for SER version 3 output (RGB SER file writing)
  • Fix upside down image output in PNG captures
  • Fix various bugs from bug reports.

As always, the installer can be found on the download page.