- 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.
- 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.
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.