Possible new purchaser

Discussion in 'Forum and Web Site Issues' started by Greg Hemmings, Mar 29, 2020.

  1. Greg Hemmings

    Greg Hemmings Standard User

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    Hello all!

    I am seriously considering purchasing Maxim DL Pro, but have some concerns. First I use a ZWO asi533 MC camera and a Moonlite V3 focus motor. Will these be supported by Maxim? Secondly and very important, does Maxim have a “live view” where you can see exactly what the camera is seeing? I’m currently using APT and love that function! Before spending $499 for the pro version, I need answers to these questions!

    thanks in advance!
     
  2. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    MaxIm DL supports all cameras and focusers that support ASCOM, and both of those have ASCOM drivers available. So yes it will support them.

    ASCOM camera interfaces do not have a "live view" feature, though MaxIm DL can take and display a fairly rapid series of images. Subframing and binning can accelerate that as needed.
     
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  3. Greg Hemmings

    Greg Hemmings Standard User

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    thank you, Doug! How long have you used Maxim? Do you find it to have a steep learning curve or is it intuitive for a new user? The reason I asked about the live view is because I find it very useful for framing and focus. How do you frame and focus? Is there a quick photo loop or something? I haven’t found any Maxim screenshots.
     
  4. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    I've been using it for over 23 years. That's because I'm the original author... probably the wrong person to ask about learning curve, from a personal experience perspective. It's a large program with a lot of capabilities, but we have tried hard to make it as usable as possible.

    There are lots of tutorials, screen shots, and more in the user manual.

    Getting Started Guide: https://diffractionlimited.com/downloads/GettingStarted.pdf

    Online user manual, complete with tutorials: https://diffractionlimited.com/help/maximdl/MaxIm-DL.htm

    Some basic video tutorials:

    https://diffractionlimited.com/video/Fundamentals Tutorial - 1024 x 768.html

    https://diffractionlimited.com/video/Calibration Tutorial - 1024 x 768.html

    https://diffractionlimited.com/video/Autoguiding - 1024 x 768.html

    There are lots more tutorials available on the web. One example from OPT:
     
  5. Greg Hemmings

    Greg Hemmings Standard User

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    Thanks Doug! If I decide to order the pro version, how much is the usb stick option? My internet isn’t that great
     
  6. Colin Haig

    Colin Haig Staff Member

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    Greg - the download is about 64MB or so, so that's doable over slow internet.
     
  7. Doug

    Doug Staff Member

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    LOL I'm not sure... we haven't sold a memory stick in years. We mainly just toss them in when we ship cameras.

    (True story - Version 1 shipped on floppy disks.)

    As Colin says it's doable to download it on even pretty slow connections. If you do need a memory stick I'll get you the price.
     

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