ZWO ASI294MC-Pro Camera Software Suggestions

[Deeko]

Hi all,

After spending the best part of a year getting to grips with DSLR imaging on my HEQ5 Pro/130PDS/QHY mono guider using a Nikon D3300, I took the plunge and bought the ZWO 294MC-Pro camera. With the jump from DSLR to CMOS comes the steep learning curve of a very different workflow. At this point I would really appreciate some advice on the most suitable camera software to use, atm I am leaning toward either APT or Sharpcap Pro. Also, if anyone can point me to any  beginner guides for using ZWO cameras with such software that would be great, possibly even with some suggested camera settings  I don't mind the skills challenge but some sound advice to get me off to solid start always helps. I have the below setup:

HEQ5 Pro, 130PDS, QHY mono camera for guiding, Surface Pro 3 i7/8GB ram/Win10pro with all the ZWO drivers ASCOM platform installed.

Ta!

D.

[Deeko]

I have noticed that quite a few people use Sharpcap Pro for polar alignment and focusing first, then use APT or SGP for collecting image data. Only £10 for Sharpcap Pro so if the polar alignment feature is indeed good its worth it for that alone!

[Anthonyexmouth]

Get both, Sharpcap for polar alignment and APT for imaging. Both so cheap and worth having. 

[michaelmorris]

I'm sitting here imaging for the second time with my new ZWO ASi 294MC-Pro using APT for image acquisition.  I was already very familiar with APT, having used it for several years with my Canon 1000D and 1100D and then more latterly with my Atik 460.  It works well with all these camera.  I've only ever use SharpCap pro for lunar/planetary stuff and for polar alignment, so I've really explored is capabilities as control software for a cooled astro camera.

The latest versions of APT now have the option to automatically open the 'cooling aid' dialogue box when you launch the program, so no more sessions taking a whole evening of images with the camera's cooling circuits not turned on!

If you are going to use APT, I would strongly recommend you go through the whole software manual.  There are loads of nice little features including programmed cooling, framing masks and plate solving.

[wimvb]

As far as camera settings are concerned, there are generally 3 main ranges for cmos cameras:

1. Low gain (0 or close to) which gives you most dynamic range, bur also higher read noise, and the need for longer exposures

2. High gain, which gives you low read noise, short exposures, but also the lowest dynamic range.

3. Unity gain (117), which is a compromise between 1 and 2.

My advice, start with near unity gain (120 - 125), and go from there. At gain 120, your camera switches to high conversion gain, where read noise is decreased, and dynamic range gets a boost. Your target and sky conditions dictate which exposure time you can use.

[Deeko]

Thank you for the replies, after searching I found a great guide on the AstroBackyard site that goes through an entire workflow using the 294MC-Pro and APT: https://astrobackyard.com/deep-sky-astrophotography-walkthrough . WIll buy both Sharpcap Pro and APT today and then the usual wait for the clouds to disappear after buying new kit