This section contains information about changes to MaxDSLR.
Please note: currently Canon EOS 400D and 30D models do not work under Vista.
Version 4.12
Updated DSI driver. This driver works for all versions of the DSI including the III; however, you must install Envisage 7.05 (or higher), available at http://www.meade.com/support/downloads.html
Updated DSLR RAW file reader to support several new camera models. Several minor updates were also made to the DSLR drivers.
Updated Orion StarShoot Deep Space camera drivers. Please note that the drivers have been renamed.
Fixed file folder permission checking for Sequence tab.
Minor updates to Vista installation, image calibration, pop-up parameter adjustment dialogs, TIFF headers, Combine, and Convert RGB.
SBIG ST-4 (obsolete model) is now available in MaxDSLR.
Version 4.11
Added support for the Canon EOS 40D.
Added support for Orion StarShoot Autoguider. Updated driver for Orion StarShoot Deep Space camera to support new monochrome version.
Updated Meade DSI plug-in to support the DSI III. Please note that you must update the Meade Autostar Suite in order to use this plug-in, even if you are using an older DSI model.
Minor fixes to Combine Files, Command Sequence, Curves, main menu bar, rings cursor display.
Version 4.10
Added Windows Vista support for cameras supported by Canon Eos 2, with the exception of the 400D and 30D models.
Added support for Nikon D40. Please note that at this time, Nikon has not made Windows Vista camera control available for their DSLR cameras.
Focuser Control window Setup tab now uses ASCOM Chooser, to ensure compatibility with upcoming updates to the ASCOM Platform.
Various minor fixes and improvements.
Version 4.09
Added support for Orion StarShoot Deep Space Imager 2.
Image calibration now automatically compensates for flipped or rotated images.
Fixed a problem in the Video DS driver that affected AVI capture under Windows Vista.
Window positions on dual monitor system are now remembered and restored properly.
Minor internal improvements to Convert CMY command. Added support for converting images from the Orion StarShoot Deep Space Imager 2.
Updated Olympus driver installation.
Updated DSLR drivers. Beta support for Nikon D100 has been discontinued due to unreliable API.
Improved installation process under Windows Vista.
Various minor fixes and improvements.
Version 4.08
Updated DSLR plug-in drivers.
Minor updates to the Video DS drivers.
Zoom combo box now has more range.
Various minor fixes and improvements.
Version 4.07
Added new Canon EOS 2nd Generation driver, which supports all USB 2.0 camera models. This includes the new Canon EOS 400D / Rebel XTi and 30D cameras. All USB 2.0 camera models that were supported by the 1st Generation driver have been moved over to the new driver. The USB 1.1 camera models are still supported by the 1st Generation driver.
Added Nikon D80 and D200X support.
DSLR control now includes a Save RAW to Disk option. This will directly save RAW files from the camera to disk, without first converting to FITS. Images will not appear on-screen when this option is used, but file transfer may be faster.
Canon EOS driver now supports DSLRStar.
Improved the RAW file reader. Adds several new supported file formats including Sony DSLRs.
The Video DS driver now supports modified webcams with serial port exposure control.
Combine Color has some improvements to the L*a*b color combine mode, and adds a new HSL combine mode.
Added new Levels command. Allows for on-the-fly histogram-based adjustment of image contrast and brightness, color balance, and gamma.
Added new Range auto-stretch mode, which stretches from the minimum pixel value to the maximum pixel value.
Minor improvements to the Command Sequence window, Lumenera camera driver, Calibration error displays, and Annotation.
Version 4.06
Fixed a problem with the Pan Window when operating on Windows 95/98/ME.
Version 4.05
The imaging auto-save format can be selected between FITS and TIFF.
Added new Pan Window, which helps the user navigate the currently selected image.
Sequences can now select between color and monochrome for one-shot cameras, when ISO is not present. Similarly, calibration frames can now be captured in color mode if desired.
Fixes for various problems including calibration pedestal handling, updating FITS headers for auto-color on one-shot cameras, Leave on CF handling, Command Sequences for Realign Planes, and ASCOM PulseGuide completion handling. Orion Starshoot driver abort handling has also been improved.
Version 4.04
Added Help menu Technical Support command.
DSLR Raw file reader now extracts the ISO, exposure time, and start time of exposure from the file header, and transcribes it to the FITS header.
Simple Auto Dark now updates the CALSTAT FITS keyword, to prevent repeated calibrations.
The Information window now displays diagonal size and angle, in either pixels or arc-seconds.
Added Nikon D200 support.
Added Shoestring DSUSB support.
Added support for Lumenera SkyNyx cameras.
Updated Meade DSI driver to support the DSI II and DSI Pro II. Added ability to display and record CCD sensor temperature.
FWHM calculation was improved to remove dependence on aperture radius.
Fixed a bug in File menu Save As command.
Version 4.03
Added an option for DSLR cameras to leave DSLR images on the Compact Flash card, instead of downloading them to the PC. This is currently supported by the Canon EOS driver. A small JPEG thumbnail image is downloaded after saving to the CF card, so the user can monitor the operation of the camera. The thumbnail is not autosaved during Sequence mode.
Fixed a problem with the File menu Settings dialog, Site and Optics tab.
Version 4.02
Added Scheduled Sequence mode, which allows you to specify a long list of exposures with various settings. Each exposure can be configured to take place at a specified time, at a specified delay from the previous exposure, or at a specified delay from the start of the sequence.
Added ability to create AVI movies.
Added support for Canon EOS 5D. Added preliminary support for Nikon D50 and D100.
Calibration tools now handles DSLR ISO setting; it replaces the Temperature Setpoint for DSLR images. Raw DSLR images now default to Developed Color or RAW monochrome depending on the setting in the main File Open dialog box. Various minor internal improvements were also made.
Added support for SAC10 camera.
Updated Orion StarShoot driver to fix problems with 2x2 binning.
Expose tab mono/color mode selector now works for more camera models.
Added support for the Shoestring Astronomy GPUSB autoguider output device and LXUSB long exposure webcam output device.
Autostretch during file saving now works differently for 12-bit and 16-bit images. It now adjusts the stretch for the full range of data in the file, rather than using the screen stretch. This helps preserve data. Screen Stretch is still applied as before for 8-bit images.
Increased maximum number of files that can be combined simultaneously.
Added new Lumenera models and fixed a compatibility problem with the latest version of Lumenera's drivers.
Fixed a problem with the frame size controls in the VideoDS driver that affects cameras which use Bitmap format with a negative height. Also improved long exposure modified webcam operation.
Fixed problem with background leveling for Convert CMY command in Meade DSI and Orion StarShoot modes.
Fixed problem with Yes to All option of Save All command. Previously, if files had data exceeding the allowed limits for the file format, the Save As dialog box would pop up anyway.
Fixed problem with Combine Files command when loading DSLR RAW frames.
Version 4.01
Added support for Olympus E-1, E-300, and E-500.
Added support for the Nikon D70S.
Added selector to read DSLR cameras in RAW/monochrome or color mode. Fast mode selector (Focus tab) now selects JPEG versus RAW image download. A Fast Mode selector was also added to Settings tab, for use with Expose and Sequence tabs.
File Open command now allows you to select whether DSLR RAW files are opened in RAW mode (monochrome with Bayer pattern) or in color using built-in debayer algorithm.
Convert RGB now has improved debayer algorithms. A selector is available for fast or high quality conversion.
Increased the number of bad pixel maps supported.
Various minor improvements.
Version 4.00
Baseline release.