For those wanting to use a Canon DSLR with SharpCap...Here is how I do it.
Background: You need an ASCOM driver to interface between your DSLR and SharpCap. The good news is that last year a CN member created an ASCOM DSLR driver for his own use, and was kind enough to make it available as an open source project. https://www.cloudyni...hl= ascom dslr Robin then spent some of his valuable time tweaking it and SharpCap to work with Canon DSLRs. The latest available version is only partially functional, and it has some pitfalls. However, if you get the settings just right, most features do work.
You will need the ASCOM platform installed on your computer. https://ascom-standa...oads/Index.htm
Once the ASCOM platform is installed, go to https://github.com/vtorkalo/ASCOM.DSLR , click Download and unzip the downloaded files (if your computer doesn’t automatically unzip them). Ignore the “Read Me” and the instructions at the bottom of the Github page. Those are for developers only. You don’t need to do any of that.
Find the DSLR.Camera Setup.exe file in the unzipped files, click on it, and follow the instructions to install the ASCOM DSLR driver. It should be quick and easy.
Now then, I know I could tell you to use the following settings, only these settings, and no other settings. But you won’t be able to resist trying the others, right? Who knows? Maybe I missed a great setting. So, put a copy of the Setup file where you can find it, because you will need it when you select the wrong setting, Sharpcap freezes, and restarting doesn't help because the trouble maker setting was autosaved and will immediately freeze Sharpcap again on restart. The good news is that you can get out of the trap by rerunning the Setup file. It only takes a few seconds.
With that out of the way, here are the settings that I have found to work on my Canon T3/1100D and T4i/650D. These were found through trial and error. If you find a different combination that also works, or find error(s) in my settings, please share in this thread.
Connect your camera (USB), turn it on, and start Sharpcap.
In File>SharpCap Settings>General (upper left corner) set: “Preferred Video Format” = AVI and “Preferred Still Format” = FITS (Yeah. I know. Your camera outputs RAW or JPG. Don't worry about it. This works, somehow. But JPG does not!)
Click Cameras> ASCOM camera driver for DSLR. A dialog box will probably pop up asking you for some settings. If you don’t get a pop up dialog box, then click on Options> Show (under Camera Controls, right tool bar) to bring up the dialog box.
Verify or change the settings in the dialog box to: Connection Method = Canon Sdk and Image Mode = Color 16. Do NOT check the boxes for Live View Mode, Use external shutter or Enable binning. Set the Save photos to where ever you want. Set ISO to your most commonly used setting. This will be Sharpcap’s default ISO setting. You can change this on the fly with the gain slider. I left Trace on checked, but I have no idea what it does.
Under Capture Format (right hand tool bar) Set “Output format” to “FITS” and “Colour Space” to RGB48. The Capture Area should automatically be set to the highest value for your camera resolution.
At this point, your camera should be automatically providing preview images. The mirror and shutter will actuate with each preview image, and the image will display on the screen. The image will not be saved to file.
Under Camera Controls (right hand tool bar) change the exposure time to something more reasonable, like 15 or 30 seconds. Note: The exposure slider response lags. The Quick Picks drop down menu works better. You can also type in the time as a number. The Gain will initially be set to your default value. You can change the Gain at any time. It will automatically select the nearest ISO. I haven’t found any good reason to change the Frame Rate Limit, so I leave it set to maximum. The Options>Show was addressed above.
At some point you will probably want to pause the preview stream (stop the mirror/shutter from clacking). The only way that I have found to do this is to close the camera (Camera>Close camera).
From here on, your DSLR should be working like an astro cam (but with a mirror/shutter). You should be able to Live Stack, take Snap shots, adjust Histogram Stretch, Polar Align, etc.
Edited by Rickster, 12 April 2019 - 12:08 AM.
