SharpCap v3.2 does not find camera that works in v3.1

[RonAM]

Apologies if this was covered already. I did several searches and did not find this problem mentioned.

I'm still getting my feet wet with cameras, and do plan to upgrade soon, but this problem has me concerned about compatibility between cameras and SharpCap versions.

SharpCap version 3.1 works beautifully with my entry level Revolution R2 camera - no problems. I used it last night. It has worked for a couple years since I started with SharpCap.

Computer is Dell D630 laptop 64-bit and 64-bit OS, running Win10, kept up to date.

I tried SharpCap v3.2 when it first came out, and it failed to find my camera - does not show up on the list when I scan for cameras. I tried it again last night and same problem.
I ended up using v3.1 to collect my images.

All hardware and connections are identical, but 3.2 doesn't even see my camera, while 3.1 does and works great.

Any simple settings in 3.2 I should check to fix this? I get worried when something like this changes so dramatically.

Thanks,

Ron

[admin]

Hi,

If I remember correctly the Revolution imager appears to SharpCap as if it was a WebCam. I don't think there's any good reason that I can think of that 3.2 would fail to pick up a WebCam picked up by 3.1 unless you are using the 32-bit version of 3.1 and the 64-bit version of 3.2 (or the other way round), in which case if the WebCam driver doesn't exist for both 32 and 64 bits you might find the camera showing in but not the other.

If that turns out not to be helpful then feel free to post the logs from both 3.1 and 3.2 here and I will have a look to see if there's anything that might indicate to is going on in the logs. Seeing the working login comparing it against the nonworking one would be very helpful in this particular case.

cheers, Robin

[RonAM]

Thank you Robin - Problem solved, for now, but I am confused as to how the 32 bit SharpCap works on my for sure 64-bit D630 laptop and OS?

When I first installed SharpCap I thought I had selected the version to match this laptop, but guess I must have erred. Later I upgraded to the Pro lifetime license since I like SharpCap so much (Thank You). When I saw the availability of v3.2, instead of just following the upgrade from the opened v3.1, I looked at my computer "about" specs, seeing it is all 64-bit, and selected the 64-bit v3.2, which is what caused the conflict you diagnosed.

Should I uninstall all versions and install just the 64-bit version of v3.2? Now that all is working, I'm hesitant to mess with this any more. But....

I will be buying a ZWO ASI294MC-Pro cooled camera soon and am concerned about selecting the correct software to run it. Will it run on the 32-bit version of v3.2 that I just installed? I'm also concerned about selecting the correct ZWO drivers and suite...32 bit or 64 bit.....

Thanks for any advice you could give.

Ron

[RonAM]

With a bit of research online I now understand how 64 bit processor/OS can use 32 bit applications.
It appears for some reason I have to use the 32 bit software....
My preferred mode is live-stack. No issues with my Revolution 2 camera.
I do have a concern that live stack will work OK for the ZWO using 32 bit software...
I see ZWO site does not specify bit selection for the native driver, and does have 32-bit option for the software suite.
This downloaded and runs OK, but I don't have the ZWO camera yet to give it a real test ...
I just want to make sure when I upgrade to a more expensive camera that I can actually use it.
Again, thanks for assisting with the diagnosis and solving my issue.
Your expertise and comments are always much appreciated.
Clear Skies,
Ron

[admin]

Hi Ron,

the ZWO cameras work the 32 and 64-bit versions of SharpCap. If you were planning on buying one of their very high resolution cameras then you would probably want to use the 64-bit version for live stacking, but that's okay because you can have both the 32 and 64-bit versions of SharpCap at the same time on the same computer

Cheers, Robin

[RonAM]

Thanks Robin. The ZWO ASI294MC-pro runs perfectly on the 32-bit version running 16-bit RAW livestack. Getting the best photos ever from home where sky is Bortle 7-8, even with full moon sky glow on top of the light pollution.
Cheers !!

[admin]

Hi,

Glad to hear that you are imaging again

enjoy the new camera, Robin