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Old 12-05-2017, 04:42 PM
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speach (Simon)
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APT v. SGP

I've been using APT for camera control, I am now thinking of using SGP any advice weather to change or not?
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Old 12-05-2017, 05:11 PM
glend (Glen)
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Its personal choice. I tried both and decided i preferred SGP. Reasons, it worked better with my camera (ASI1600MM-C) when it was first released, and with QHY filter wheel; had a layout i preferred, had a good support forum, and was easy to use. I like the Image Grader addon, and the regular enhancements coming out. I get an email every few weeks on new topics on the forum that might interest me. It is exactly what i want right now.
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Old 12-05-2017, 07:27 PM
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Spookyer (Brett)
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I haven't used APT but I have used SGP for a couple of years now. Great little inexpensive product that has responsive and active developers.

Brett
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Old 12-05-2017, 07:58 PM
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Camelopardalis (Dunk)
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I use APT all the time with both Canon and ZWO camera. Easier to control from my iPad

Tried SGP once and it looked too fiddly. Undoubtedly more sophisticated/powerful, but I'd expect that for the price. Depends what you want out of them really.
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Old 13-05-2017, 05:14 AM
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Simon I was in the exact same place as you a little over a month ago. I really love about APT for it's easy to follow interface (clean and straight forward), smooth operation, constant version improvements, great support and it's FREE! So then why did I switch? Well for me SGP is the next level because of some extra features. However most of these features are geared towards those that have an observatory (with the main exception being plate solving). If you're not interested in plate solving and don't have or plan to get an Observatory then maybe stick with APT, but the only way to really know is to download SGP and see for yourself. I like and use both so there's no reason why you can't do the same.
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Old 13-05-2017, 07:18 AM
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lazjen (Chris)
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And don't be put off APT if you do want to plate solve - it can easily integrate with other tools that do the job, e.g. astrotortilla, etc.

I probably should try SGP one day to see if it's better, but APT works good enough for me that I haven't noticed any real pain points that make me want to look elsewhere.
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Old 13-05-2017, 07:32 AM
glend (Glen)
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I do not see plate solving, in either of these apps, as a feature to worry about, when your starting out. If your wanting to use these apps on dark site trips, where the main need is for accurate polar alignment initially, then Sharpcap V2.9 ( which is free and very easy to use) is a recent obvious choice for fast accurate polar alignment without the need for internet connection, or even power to the mount ( simple declutching and rotating is all that's required). I find that even though i have plate solving capability, i do not use it. If your polar alignment is accurate, it (plate solving) is redundant. Some might be offended but i see plate solving as a lazy astronomers tool.
Now some will no doubt argue that plate solving is necessary for returning to the exact same pixel position night after night using a reference image, and that is where it shines, but it is not really a necessity in that your registration software (DSS, or whatever), will adjust the stacking. All you really need is good polar alignment to get back to the same location, and you can use your reference image on the screen with a target rectile to tweak placement if necessary.

Last edited by glend; 13-05-2017 at 07:43 AM.
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Old 13-05-2017, 08:54 AM
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I use plate solving in APT, have done for a looong time. It works well, no nonsense, has some neat features once you've solved an image like "centre here"

There a multitude of reasons why go to accuracy may be off even with good polar alignment, such as the clock being slightly out when off-grid at a dark site, lat/long coordinates being less than accurate...

And then there's the scenario (like in my first point above) where you might want to shift your field away from the catalog coordinates (which are not always 100% accurate IMO). Then of course you can bookmark the field you solve and go right back there after a meridian flip or the next night. Or 12 months later...without having to crop hundreds of pixels off the edge during stacking. Al the more important when imaging with a small chip.

Sure, plate solving certainly isn't essential, but it sure saves wasting a lot of imaging time to centre the field you want on your sensor!
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Old 18-05-2017, 08:14 PM
Rodmac (Rod)
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I'm fairly new in this but I've been using APT for camera, filter wheel, focuser, telescope, platesolving, focus aid, etc control. Started with the free version then upgraded to the full version for approx $25 to get the extra features, regular software updates etc. I can run multiple focuser and cameras as well using additional sessions and it seems to do everything simply and easily.
I have not used SGP but it does look to be very similar but at around $140 for the full version it would want to be significantly better - I might have to get the trial version and give it a go.
Cheers
Rod
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Old 19-05-2017, 01:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Camelopardalis View Post
I use plate solving in APT, have done for a looong time. It works well, no nonsense, has some neat features once you've solved an image like "centre here"
Thanks for correcting this. Just another reason why APT is great. I'm still new to SGP and plate solving, so never used it in APT and forgot that it was capable of doing it. Due to being time poor these days I'm seriously considering full automation with an observatory and feel that SGP will be better suited for this. However, as I mentioned in my previous post I still love and use APT.
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