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Features
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For two years in APT - Astro Photography Tool were added more than 170 major and many minor features. Here are listed some them :
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- Support for three generations of Canon EOS Models! Check the models matrix page for details.
- Dark adaptation friendly user interface.
- Different user interface for 4:3 and wide screens.
- Multi-monitors support
- Live View support. It is quite helpful for focusing in combination with Bahtinov or other focusing mask.
- LiveView automation - tunes LiveView parameters for maximum sensitivity
- AntiVibration pause before exposure. This is the needed pause after the mirror is picked up and before the real exposure, in order to eliminate the vibrations caused by mirror moving.
- Shoestring Astronomy DSUSB/DSUSB2 support.
- Support for any serial control cable. See a list of serial cable vendors.
- Supports multi-camera operation.
- Automatic preview after every exposure.
- Images browser
- Storing destination selection (Camera/PC/Camera+PC).
- White balance control.
- Name prefix for PC stored images.
- Auto synchronization of the camera's clock on connection.
- Disables camera auto power off when APT is used.
- Live View recording in sequence of JPGs.
- Field Of View calculator tuned for you camera and telescope.
- Alignment aid - Rotatable/Movable cross.
- Object framing aid and actual object scale calculator tuned for your camera and
telescope.
- Lens control (Digic III and latter).
- Lens aperture control
- Corrected image (right orientation) in Preview and LiveView by live flipping of
the image horizontally and/or vertically as well as rotation, for easier object framing.
- Sharpening and Negative image effects in Preview and LiveView.
- Gamma and Brightness image effects in Preview and LiveView.
- LV++ - LiveView image intensification in real time to show fainter objects.
- LV Stack - Stacks the LiveView images in real time to help fainter objects framing.
- Image magnifier that supports 3x, 5x, 10x and 15x magnifications
- Monitoring of your laptop and camera battery energy level as well as the camera free space.
- Notifications for low PC/Camera battery, low Camera space.
- Small floating window when APT is minimized to show the current state.
- Support for TEMPer
and TEMPerHUM
sensors (can be found in eBay too). Never implemented in astro program before!
- Displaying the current temperature (requires
TEMPer or TEMPerHUM)
and current dew point (requires
TEMPerHUM).
- Easy-to-use plans editor.
- Possibility to track the plan execution progress. Remaining exposures, time and estimated end time.
- Possibility to external scripts and programs.
- Flexible exposures control. Each exposure can be made with different ISO, Duration, Image Quality, count and ending pause.
- Light, Dark, Flat and Bias exposures plan types. Bias plans uses automatically the
fastest supported speed. Flat plans use AV dial mode.
- The files are automatically marked with "L_", "D_", "F_", "B_" to correspond to
the used plan type - Light, Dark, Flat or Bias.
- Pause / Resume function when plan execution is in progress.
- Exif Temperature readings - Show them after exposure in plan is taken.
- Splash screen to show loading progress.
- Night Mode for the User's guide.
- Tooltips help - Shows description per every feature (there are translations in English, Dutch, Polish, German, Portuguese, French, Italian, Bulgarian, Spanish and more are coming).
- Histograms - R, G, B and L histograms of the taken image.
- FWHM (Full Width Half Maximum) focusing method.
- PHD Auto-Dithering, exposure Auto-Canceling and real-time monitoring of
the distance to the guide star. PHD remote connection by IP
- MetaGuide Auto-Dithering.
- Various other details that make astro imaging easier and pleasant.
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As a gesture of gratitude to everyone that supported APT, some features are available only in the full version. |
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- Storage folder selection.
- Sound notifications.
- Multiple color skins- Red,
Grey,
Green,
Blue (click on the colors to see screenshots).
- Delayed plan start.
- Objects browser with 545 objects for size and coordinates selection (Messier, Herschel 400, most of Caldwell and Hidden Treasures catalogs).
- Automatic image name prefix and suffix - now ISO, Exposure, Date, Time and Temperature (EXIF or TemperHUM) can be part of the image name.
- Possibility to group the images, by Plan Type, Object Name or both.
- Possibility to select bigger User Interface fonts for notebooks with big screen resolution and small display.
- Notifications for refocusing when the temperature changes or closing dew point to avoid un-needed heating (require TEMPer or TEMPerHUM).
- Possibility to change the limits for the notifications for low PC/Camera battery, low Camera space.
- Selection between Celsius and Fahrenheit.
- Keeps the Image prefix between APT restarts.
- Tooltips ON/OFF.
- LiveView automation ON/OFF.
- Changing the number of the images used for LV Stack.
- Temper(HUM) calibration - you can enter calibrating constants.
- Framing Masks - a multi session aid to help orienting the camera by same angle and position during multiple nights. Never implemented in astro program before!
- Automatic Lens focusing - use the Lens Panel. Never implemented in astro program before!
- ASCOM telescopes control.
- ASCOM focusers control.
- DARV - Drift Alignment by Robert Vice method - experimental.
Never implemented in astro program before!
- Manual DARV (no Telescope-PC connection required) - experimental.
Never implemented in astro program before!
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More features are planned for the next versions, but their implementation depends on the interest to this application.
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Details and important information can be found in our short User's guide page.
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