Sharpcap polar align with Sparkocam

[BrendanC]

Hi,

Has anyone used Sparkocam with their DSLR for Sharpcap Polar Alignment?

I tried using the open-source ASCOM driver for my Canon EOS1000D but it didn't work. However, Sparkocam seems to work very well with Sharpcap so far, as in it provides a video feed and I can record it. However, the trial version has a huge watermark on it which I'm sure will confuse Sharpcap's polar align solving. So, before I shell out money for the non-watermarked Sparkocam, can I ask whether anyone has had success using it for polar alignment?

Thanks, Brendan

[StuartJPP]

I'd suggest you try it with the watermark and see if it is indeed an issue.

In the past I have pointed my camera and a lens from a suitable distance at Stellarium on my PC monitor showing the polar region (NCP) and that has worked for me, so you may not even have to wait for a clear night.

Though of course your mileage may vary of course.

 

[BrendanC]

If it works with the watermark I'd be ecstatic. Sounds fairly robust if it works just by pointing at your screen! I don't have a lens however, it's a DSLR hooked to a 130PDS so I'd probably have to show it the screen from somewhere across the other side of the village where I live, which is impractical.

If it doesn't however, then I'd still need to know whether anyone's had any luck with the non-watermarked version ie whether it actually works at all, or whether it's a waste of time/money.

From my experience with astro stuff so far, if something works, it's a minor miracle.

Still, when some half-decent weather appears, I'll give it a go.

Edited June 16, 2020 by BrendanC

[BrendanC]

Hmm, just managed to get it to try and plate solve a daytime shot, just to see how it behaved, and it's picking up all the dots in the Sparkocam watermark as stars.

So this is almost certainly not going to work unless I pay £40 to remove the watermark and THEN test whether it works. Which I'm not prepared to do.

So, if anyone else has used this combination, it would be good to know, other looks like Sharpcap Pro polar alignment isn't for me.

[StuartJPP]

I gave it a quick try using my Canon 80D and Canon 18-135mm lens.

Installed SparkoCam then ran it to get live view from the Canon 80D.
Ran SharpCap and selected SparkoCam as the imaging camera source (selected 1280x720 resolution).
Started up Stellarium to view the NCP area and pointed my camera at the PC monitor and SharpCap instantly plate solved the image. I zoomed in/out a bit in Stellarium and it seems to track well.

The logo will get in the way of some stars, but SharpCap does use up 100 stars so I think you would be okay.  I also didn't bother removing the labels in Stellarium and neither the equatorial grid, none of which caused an issue with SharpCap's ability to plate solve.

 

In the 1st image you can see a screen capture that SharpCap successfully solved the image that the Canon 80D was seeing and presenting to SharpCap via SparkoCam.

 

In the 2nd image you can see the setup as I captured it with the Canon 80D in the foreground pointing at Stellarium.

 

Definitely worth a try before forking out any money.

[StuartJPP]

Forgot to mention though that I think that the 130PDS will have a focal length that is too long for SharpCap to plate solve, but I am no expert in that area. So definitely hold off paying any money for SparkoCam until you are sure it will work.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by StuartJPP
typo

[BrendanC]

Outstanding. Thank you so much for your help. You make a great point about Sharpcap picking out lots more stars so that the logo really doesn't have much impact.

I have actually tested plate solving with an image from my setup in Sharpcap and it worked. So, I'll have a play around.

Thanks again!