Sequence Generator Pro - still value for money?

[Skipper Billy]

1 hour ago, iwols said:

thanks Billy wheres the option in astroplanner to export and in nina to import which im just about to try,looks great ??

Cant remember - I am at work at the moment.

I think this thread is wandering way off topic now - its supposed to be about SGP and value for money but it seems to be turning into a NINA support group!

Maybe somebody should start a new thread about NINA.

[iwols]

your right cheers billy

[sloz1664]

4 hours ago, Fellside said:

Steve

I read in the NINA forum that they are working towards Dome support. Weather is now supported and Switch's. I have not looked at what Weather does when it detects an unsafe condition. There is an option at the moment to run a script when the sequence finishes. So that could close the dome/roof. Unless I missed it I don't see an option to run a script at the beginning of a sequence.

Graham

Thanks Graham, I will look into this.

Steve

[bottletopburly]

On 21/09/2020 at 13:21, tooth_dr said:

It’s funny I switched back to APT a few days ago for multi camera dithering.  It is way easier to use.  The only advantage of SGP for me at present is the framing mode. 

What does the framing mode do in sgp ? Apt has framing masks that you can create from your images .

[bottletopburly]

On 22/09/2020 at 08:28, scitmon said:

The only reason I switched from APT was to get the automated refocusing (in the schedule

This I’m sure is what Ivo is currently working on pencilled in for the next update I believe v3.90 

[PhotoGav]

1 hour ago, bottletopburly said:

What does the framing mode do in sgp ? Apt has framing masks that you can create from your images .

The Framing & Mosaic Wizard in SGPro is extremely useful. It helps you to frame up a target. You enter in the name of the object or its coordinates and it fetches a DSS image of that patch of sky. You then overlay a square (or squares, if planning a mosaic, with appropriate orientation and overlap attributes) for your set-up's field of view. Click 'yes please' and it creates a new target event in your sequence with the RA & Dec populated. Very quick and easy to use and a great way to start preparing acquisition of a new target; it makes the tricky job of planning out a mosaic ridiculously easy.

[AstroPhil]

I tried SGPro ages ago but found it crashed alot, and also moved to Ekos (and Nebulosity for 'easy' tasks every now and again!). Took a while to learn it but I like the fact it is 'light' and runs on all my platforms (Pi, Mac, Pc...). Took the plunge and bought PixInsight though!

[Astrobug]

Getting back on this old post, is there anything usefull with the new version 4.2+?

[dan_adi]

On 21/09/2020 at 13:10, PhotoGav said:

Ken and Jared at Sequence Generator Pro have just changed their payment model. The software has become a one off membership fee ($149) plus an annual subscription fee ($59 / year). Does this represent good value still? It has been my observatory and imaging control package of choice for about five years and was amazingly good value when it was a one off fee, plus very rare upgrade fees. I am wondering what the alternative software packages are that provide equally good (or better) control of everything? Please let me know what you use, how much it costs and how good it is!

Thanks,

Gav.

I use Prism v.11 to control everything in the obsy. It is a one time fee, and to my knowledge the only software that controls everything for an observatory. You only need this software and nothing else. It's been around since 1995 mostly for professional use, and really don't know why it isn't more popular. I had no issues with it, upgrades are free.

This is their latest version:

https://www.prism-astro.com/en/produit/prism-v11-english-version/

Edited July 6, 2023 by dan_adi

[Starflyer]

16 hours ago, Astrobug said:

Getting back on this old post, is there anything usefull with the new version 4.2+?

NINA has everything and much more than SGP, the development is fast paced, the community is super fast to respond to queries on Discord and it's free.  I was a long time user of SGP until last year, the lack of or very slow development and poor stability made me try NINA and it's changed my imaging.

[Astrobug]

2 hours ago, Starflyer said:

NINA has everything and much more than SGP, the development is fast paced, the community is super fast to respond to queries on Discord and it's free.  I was a long time user of SGP until last year, the lack of or very slow development and poor stability made me try NINA and it's changed my imaging.

You are reading my mind

[daz]

I've used SGP for a long time and recently ran some comparisons to NINA. I must say, I do like the operation of NINA and the features. The interface ... not so much, but I can live with it! 🙂

There are a couple of key features that really stand out for me:

• Monitoring of star sizes to determine if an autofocus trigger is needed (although to be fair, this is now in SGP too) 
• Plugins - There are some really useful extras that you can extend NINA functionality with!
• The advanced sequencer is very powerful - nested blocks, blocks that can be saved for future use - very clever!
• The different file-naming for the calibration frames - SGP is limited to one file naming format for a sequence

Downside for me is Discord (I just don't 'geddit'!), and the interface.

I still subscribe to SGP, in fact, my renewal is due anytime, as I do actually like the software...! In terms of stability, I have not actually had very many issues with my setup. The one I had recently turned out to be the camera at fault (had to be sent for repair) not SGP... Having made a change a while ago to 12v powered USB, that solved a lot of issues for me!

 

[scotty38]

On 17/07/2023 at 21:26, daz said:

Downside for me is Discord (I just don't 'geddit'!)

 

To be honest this was a bugbear of mine when I first started using NINA however it didn't take long to become workable and now I'm used to it the level of support and the dynamism of that support is outstanding. Yes there are some "characters" on there that have rubbed a few folk up the wrong way but in almost all cases the info you get is spot on.

Worth persevering with Discord is all I'm saying if that's one of the few bits holding you back.

[tomato]

I think not all of the NINA folks on Discord agree with the adage “there is no such thing as a dumb question”, but if you can get past that you will get the information you need.