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Maxim DL Upgrade

barkis

By barkis
in The Astro Lounge

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barkis

barkis

Posted
Posted

Anyone using V4 of MaximDL CCD who are still entitled to upgrades, can get V5 via Help check for updates from within their software. I don't think Cyanogen have it on their website yet.

The Info has been circulated Via. support email though.

Ron. :D

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

Posted
Posted

I am out of support but am considering buying continued support to get V 5.0 There was post giving the advantages of V5.0 over V 4.58 which I have but I cannot find it - does anyone know what the advantages of this upgrade are?

Many thanks.

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MikeP

MikeP

Posted
Posted

What's New? What's New in Version 5 This is a partial listing of new features in MaxIm DL Version 5. For complete details please see the command reference.

Also see the Release Notes for new features and changes made since the initial release.


  • [li] New product levels: MaxIm DL Basic - webcam, DSI, StarShoot class camera support, basic image processing features [/li]
    [li] MaxIm DL IP - all processing functions but no equipment control [/li]
    [li] MaxIm DSLR (formerly MaxDSLR) - above plus DSLR camera control, telescope control, full image processing capabilities [/li]
    [li] MaxIm DL Pro - above plus scientific-grade CCD camera control, filter wheel control, rotator control, dome control, mini planetarium, astrometry/photometry, scripting [/li]
    [li] MaxIm DL Pro Suite - above plus included MaxPoint telescope pointing modeling and refinement software[/li]

Redesigned camera control:


  • [li] Consolidated interface reduces number of tabs, provides greater ease of use [/li]
    [li] User can create complete "presets" for different purposes, e.g. finding targets, focusing, LRGB sequences [/li]
    [li] User can quickly switch between presets; auto-darks are remembered for each [/li]
    [li] More camera and guider settings directly available on the main control tab [/li]
    [li] Supports second independent filter wheel for focuser [/li]
    [li] Easily switch back and forth between main and secondary (guider) camera[/li]

New Observatory Control window:


  • [li] Integrated rotator control [/li]
    [li] Integrated dome control with graphical display [/li]
    [li] "Mini-planetarium" with sky overview and field-of-view displays [/li]
    [li] Automatic image linking after PinPoint solve [/li]
    [li] Greatly expanded object database and search capability[/li]

New Stack command:


  • [li] Automatically process entire folders of images - with multiple objects and filter bands [/li]
    [li] Inspects FITS header to recognize file groups by object name, filter [/li]
    [li] Automatically assembles sets of images for monochrome, RGB, and LRGB images [/li]
    [li] Automatically reject poor images according to user-defined quality levels [/li]
    [li] Pre-determine alignment [/li]
    [li] Automatically create aligned and stacked color images from RGB and LRGB sets [/li]
    [li] Automatically calibrate images on-the-fly as they are loaded[/li]

Load/Save Configurations:


  • [li] Save all program settings, including hardware configurations, into a stored configuration [/li]
    [li] Easily swap configurations [/li]
    [li] Perfect for users with multiple hardware configurations - easily change telescope, camera, filter wheel settings, etc.[/li]

Wavelet filters:


  • [li] Highly adjustable filters, works like a graphic equalizer[/li]

Remove Pedestal:


  • [li] Automatically subtract off any large pedestal in an image [/li]
    [li] Set pedestal to desired final value[/li]

Log Window:


  • [li] Displays detailed information on image processing steps, hardware operations, etc.[/li]

Virtual Keypad:


  • [li] Easily enter numbers using the mouse [/li]
    [li] Handy when operating in the dark[/li]

Improved color conversion (de-bayer):


  • [li] Select popular camera models from a list [/li]
    [li] Eliminates "trial and error" adjustment of settings[/li]

Improved Curves command:


  • [li] Clicking on image shows corresponding point on graph[/li]

[li] Many handy enhancements to existing commands[/li]

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Eddie

Eddie

Posted
Posted

Also - as long as your support was current back in November, you can still get v5.

(The release date kept slipping so they backdated it to the original release target).

John

Ah! that explains how I am able to download it, my support ended in April!

Eddie

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

Posted
Posted
looks like a good upgrade I think.

During my deliberations (24 hours), the price has gone up by $15.00 grrrrrr. Having had an evening to play with the software, Steve, in your opinion, is it worth me paying £84.00 to upgrade from V4.58 to V 5.0?

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Paxo

Paxo

Posted
Posted

Steve,

It is more of a convenience than anything else for myself. Everything can be done from the one programme, not sure I would pay an additional £84.00 for the convenience though if I had a functioning system in the first place. I haven't had much of a chance to look at the processing tools yet though, I'll have a bit of a play and post again later.

Steve..

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

Posted
Posted

Cheers, Steve, much appreciated! I have to say that V4.58 does everything I currently need and I am not really one who 'must have' the latest of anything but if I were really missing out on a gem, I would have to consider splashing the cash! Sadly, the current financial climate has hit my livelihood rather harshly so I need to be careful!

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Paxo

Paxo

Posted
Posted

Steve,

I've had a very quick look at the processing and it looks as if the algorithms probably haven't changed much but it has made batch processing 'quicker'. One thing though, it severely failed to process a series of 10 large (20MB) files I obtained from the GRAS system giving me an out of memory meassage (I have 3GB of memory fitted in the machine), otherwise files from my ATIK camera, it handled fine, just told it where the folder was containing the images, it calibrated them, removed bad frames (there is a new 'quality tab which can select on the criterion of FWHM, Roundness of stars, intensity and contrast and you can set threshold levels for these) stacked and left just the single image on the screen.

One plus, it has combined what was DL and DSLR versions, so you have the DSLR drivers as well, there is observatory control and a reasonably intuitive planetarium module for telescope control.

Now the crunch question, is it worth upgrading, for myself yes, for most probably if it's a free upgrade probably yes, given your present situation if I were in your shoes, it would be difficult to comit the money given that you clearly already produce high quality images, the improvements IMHO are more time saving than anaything else.

I hope this helps.

Steve..

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

Posted
Posted

Steve, thank you very much, that is excellent information. Although the 'bells and whistles' features would be nice and 3 months ago I would have been pleased to pay for those, it seems that in terms of the images that I currently produce, there is no major advantage to the upgrade, the changes being more in line with streamlining. I think I will continue with the version I currently have and hopefully, when finances improve (and I am working on that now!), I can re-evaluate later. Thanks!

Ron, I would agree with your assessment, the filter facility for the guide camera cannot be regarded as a earth shattering addition!

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