Basler CamerasSharpCap supports Basler cameras for high speed capture and also provides a unique LX mode with certain models that allows exposures beyond the normal limits of the camera. Altair Astro CamerasAll Altair Astro cameras are supported in SharpCap. ZWO CamerasAll ZWO cameras are supported in SharpCap. QHY CamerasAll QHY CMOS Cameras are supported by SharpCap. QHY CCD cameras are known to work in SharpCap 3.1. Older QHY CMOS cameras may require the use of an ASCOM driver. Celestron / Imaging Source CamerasImaging Source DFK and DMK cameras are supported by SharpCap. Imaging Source cameras are now sold under the Celestron Brand as Skyris and NexImage cameras – these are also supported by SharpCap Point Grey (FLIR) CamerasSharpCap supports FlyCapture based Point Grey Cameras. USB, GigE and Firewire cameras are supported. SharpCap does not yet support Spinnaker cameras. iNova CamerasSharpCap supports iNova cameras. SVBony CamerasSharpCap supports the SV305 directly and the SV105 and SV205 via their webcam drivers. Atik CamerasSharpCap (from version 3.2) supports Atik cameras without needing to use an ASCOM driver. Moravian CamerasSharpCap (from version 3.2) supports Moravian Instruments CMOS cameras without needing to use an ASCOM driver. CCD models may also work. Player One CamerasSharpCap (from version 4.0) supports Player One CMOS cameras. AstcamPan CamerasSharpCap (from version 4.0) supports AstcamPan cameras. Astroasis CamerasSharpCap (from version 4.0.9063) supports Astroasis cameras. ToupTek CamerasSharpCap (from version 4.1.11388) supports ToupTek cameras. Note that ToupTek manufacture cameras that are sold under a variety of other brands – SharpCap’s ToupTek support may allow those re-branded cameras to be used, although they may be listed as ‘ToupTek Cameras’ in the SharpCap menu. Note that ToupTek produce a very wide range of cameras – SharpCap has only been tested with models designed for the Astronomy market using USB connection. Other models may work, but special features not availbe on Astronomy cameras may not be supported. OGMA CamerasSharpCap (from version 4.1.11388) supports OGMA cameras. Mallincam CamerasSharpCap (from 4.1.11621) supports CMOS Mallincam SkyRaider cameras. Webcams and Frame GrabbersThere are a vast number of webcams and frame grabbers on the market. In general, SharpCap should work with any of them, but some cameras/grabbers have buggy drivers which may prevent them from working correctly with SharpCap. In any case, the controls that are available in SharpCap are determined by the driver – SharpCap just shows the controls that the driver makes available. Sometimes more controls are available in the ‘Video Capture Pin’ and ‘Video Capture Filter’ dialogs which are also provided by the device driver. SharpCap (up to version 3.0) still supports LX modified webcams that are controlled either by serial or parallel interfaces. How is SharpCap Different for Webcams?Most basic capture applications, such as AmCap and similar programs require the camera to be restarted completely when moving between preview and capture mode. This can be a problem for modern webcams as the restart may through away camera settings that you have just adjusted by re-initializing the camera back to an ‘auto’ state. SharpCap can move between preview and capture mode without needing to stop and restart the camera, which sidesteps this problem completely, as well as allowing captures to start more quickly. Additionally, SharpCap allows the images being captured from a webcam to be processed by all of it’s sophisticated features available to dedicated Astro cam users – for instance Live Stacking and Polar Alignment are both usable with images coming from a webcam or frame grabber providing that a long enough exposure can be set to start seeing details and/or stars. ASCOM CamerasSharpCap supports cameras that have an ASCOM driver. Unfortunately not all ASCOM drivers are created equal – much like webcam drivers. While SharpCap works correctly with most ASCOM drivers, in some cases the driver may have bugs or may not follow the ASCOM standard in quite the way that SharpCap expects. ASCOM tends to offer less detailed control of the camera than can be obtained for cameras that are supported directly by SharpCap. Frame rates may also be significantly lower, since ASCOM is designed for deep sky rather imaging rather than high speed imaging. |
