SharpCap Forums

Believe it or not, it's been over 4 years since the introduction of SharpCap Pro back in April 2017. Back then I set up the SharpCap Pro licensing system with goals of affordability and fairness. In particular, I aimed to

• Keep the basic features free - simply working with a camera and capturing images or videos does not require a SharpCap Pro license and never will.
• Allow try-before-you-buy - you can try out almost all SharpCap Pro features before you buy a license to ensure that they work for you and so you can decide if the license is worthwile. Of course there are restrictions on what you can do when you try out without a license - mostly if you try a Pro feature you can see the results on screen but cannot save any images or videos until you restart SharpCap.
• Keep the price affordable - by opting for a subscription model rather than a one-time purchase, the price you pay to buy a SharpCap Pro license can be kept low. Of course I hope that you will love SharpCap Pro and renew your license year after year(*), but if for some reason you don't, you haven't spent a fortune on software that you don't use.

Of course, things were different back in 2017...

• There were only five Pro features in SharpCap 3.0 - Dark Correction, Flat Subtraction, Semi-automatic focus assistance, Polar Alignment and Python Scripting. With the introduction of SharpCap 4.0, there are now over 20 key SharpCap Pro features, including Sequencing, Background Subtraction, Banding Suppression, Advanced Live stacking features, Smart Histogram, Seeing Monitor and more...
• SharpCap was still a part-time project back in 2017. Now, since the start of 2021, it's my full time job. This has allowed much improved progress to be made on SharpCap 4.0 and improving the quality of the software, but it does mean that SharpCap Pro license sales have to be enough to pay all the household bills for this to continue.

The result of all these changes is that the time has come at last for the price of a SharpCap Pro license to increase. The price for a 1 year SharpCap Pro license will rise from £10 to £12 when SharpCap 4.0 is fully released. This is expected to happen on or soon after 1st July 2021. Prices in other currencies will also rise by a similar amount, although I have also taken account of changes in exchange rates and trying to make the price a reasonably sensible 'round number'.

I hope that you will agree that SharpCap Pro licenses are still great value for money - a year's access to SharpCap Pro for considerably less than the average cost of a thread adaptor ring or extension tube!

Robin



(*) I know that some of you aren't entirely happy with the subscription payment model - I'm hoping to be able to re-introduce the ability to purchase permanent licenses later this year.

Robin,

Rest assured it is still more than good value for money. Not only a robust and multi-featured capture program but great online help/ support and even the opportunity to participate in future development.

TimH

I mostly subscribe to just give you money in appreciation, I do love free but I value what you have done in a huge way, very happy 4.0 is rolling out

You've done a great job constantly innovating and adding more features that deliver great value. Keep it up.

Hi Robin,
If you upgrade from 3.x to 4 before current license expires does the license transfer with the same expiration date?

Hi,

yes, all SharpCap licenses include upgrades, so if you currently have a license and are using 3.2, just install 4.0. The license should automatically transfer across and just work.

cheers,

Robin