13
Updated: 23/05/2018
Opticstar PX-126. © Opticstar Ltd, 2018
Imaging in DirectShow and ASCOM
This section demonstrates how the PX-126 can be used in third party programs as a
DirectShow camera
or as an
ASCOM camera
. It is assumed that all the DirectShow and ASCOM software outlined in the previous sections have
already been installed.
SharpCap
SharpCap
is a simple imaging software application designed for video astronomy. It supports cameras
that offer DirectShow or ASCOM camera functionality.
SharpCap
can be freely downloaded at
www.sharpcap.co.uk
. Please, follow the instructions on the website to how to download and install it.
Once the program has been installed and running,
the camera can be selected from the
Cameras
menu at the top of
SharpCap
’s main window. The
camera must be connected to the computer at this
point.
The first
Opticstar
entry refers to the PX-126
’s
DirectShow support as shown on the screenshot
on the right-hand side.
There is also a second Opticstar camera entry
referred to as
ASCOM Opticstar Driver
.
Selecting this option instructs SharpCap to use
the ASCOM driver to communicate with the
camera instead of the DirectShow driver.
Please note that
OpticstarSky
provides more
functionality than
SharpCap
and is better suited
for the PX-126.
Auto-Guiding in DirectShow and ASCOM
This section demonstrates how the PX-126 can be used in third party programs as a
DirectShow camera
and as an
ASCOM auto-guide device. It is assumed that all the DirectShow and ASCOM software outlined in the previous
sections have already been installed.
PHD Guiding 2
PHD Guiding 2
is a popular auto-guide
program.
It
supports
auto-guide
cameras that offer DirectShow camera
support, ASCOM camera support and
ASCOM guide-port (ST4) devices.
PHD Guiding 2
can be freely downloaded at
http://openphdguiding.org/
. Please follow the
instructions on the website to how to download
and install it.
Once
PHD Guiding 2
has been installed and
running, click the
Camera
icon on the bottom left
hand corner of the program window to select the
devices that will be used to capture the image and
provide auto-guide functionality.
The PX-126 can be selected either as a
DirectShow camera or as an ASCOM camera.
Additionally, the PX-126
’s auto-guide port must be
selected as an ASCOM device.
