Camera remains in connection

[StarFlea]

Hi Robin!

I just noticed a problem while testing my Omegon veTEC 571C:

When I close the camera in DirectShow mode, it remains open in the background: the indicator lights on the camera continue to light up and the cooling system also continues to run at full speed. However, the camera is shown as disconnected in the menu.
Further: The camera remains connected even if SharpCap has already ended and no other programs are running.

Even if I don't like to say it: I then have to open the camera with another program and then explicitly disconnect it there again...
So the disconnect seems to work fine in other programs...

I once created an extended protocol: I first open the camera in DShow mode, then disconnect it again and exit SharpCap.

Best regards!
StarFlea

[StarFlea]

Hmm, I'm just wondering whether the reason could be that my camera might be addressed as a ToupTek?
Omegon is just a brand but maybe there is a difference.
All I can say is that the programs (I tried a few) that obviously use the Omegon SDK were able to close the camera without any problem...

Of course it's just a guess but maybe it's worth taking a look: https://www.astroshop.de/Produktdownloa ... _10_SDK.7z

(The first link was broken - here is an actual!)

Postscript:
The actual ToupTek SDK version : 50.19728.20211022
The actual Omegon SDK version: 53.22004.20230115

[admin]

Hi,

I'm intending to retire the advanced directshow support for ToupTek made cameras in the future as I am now adding direct SDK support for those cameras. Currently I have support for pure ToupTek cameras, Ogma, Meade and Mallincam coming soon.

Depending on how much customization Omegon have done on the camera, it may show up in the latest version of SharpCap as a ToupTek camera - if that's the case then nothing else is needed but you start using that option from the menu.

If it doesn't show up as a ToupTek camera then that probably means I need to ship a copy of the Omegon SDK inside SharpCap (sigh... that makes about 5 different ToupTek style SDKs) - happy to give that a shot over the next few weeks if you are able to test it.

cheers,

Robin

[StarFlea]

Hi Robin,

that sounds good!
I hope this fixes the problem. I was quite surprised that long after I finished SharpCap, the camera was so hot that I almost burned my fingers!

The camera is displayed as veTEC. I also get a selection as a Touptek, but it doesn't work (-> error).

I saw in the repository of another (well-known) recording software that the appropriate SDKs are included for the various Touptek rebrands.

Thank you for your great work at SharpCap and I wish you a successful New Year 2024!

[admin]

Hi,

if the camera is currently appearing inside the 'ToupTek Cameras' section in SharpCap then please can you make sure you have the very latest SharpCap, try to open the camera from the ToupTek cameras section then send me the SharpCap log, which should include error information that will help understand what is going wrong.

cheers,

Robin

[StarFlea]

Aha, a new insight:

My camera is also identified as a ToupTek ATR3CMOS26000KPA. I can open them and separate them again. And that seems to work perfectly.

However, when I first connect it as veTEC571C and then disconnect it (which obviously doesn't happen cleanly) and then connect it as ToupTek ATR3CMOS26000KPA, I get the following error:
Error '8000FFFF' from call to Toupcam.put_Speed()

I only have Omegon drivers installed for the camera at the moment, as ToupTek hasn't updated its own for years.

[admin]

Hi,

OK, that's probably just going to be a "don't do that" situation. I think what is going on is that there are effectively 2 copies of the ToupTek SDK trying to both control the camera here (the one behind the directshow driver and the one that SharpCap is using directly) and that's messing things up. Similar things can happen with other camera brands if you open the camera in ASCOM and then by direct SDK without shutting SharpCap.

I do have a recent copy of the ToupTek drivers (Nov 2023), but actually the only thing that changes is the .INF file that lists the models (USB ids) supported by the driver. The actual driver .sys file itself is dated 2017. I suspect that the driver is relatively simple and just facilitates passing data between the USB and the SDK.

Interestingly, I have a recent ToupTek model (IMX585) that doesn't use the toupcam.sys driver - it auto configures with a Microsoft supplied driver called 'winusb.sys' (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windo ... stallation) I suspect that this might be a new direction and will mean that cameras will work without needing a driver install on modern versions of Windows.

cheers,

Robin

[StarFlea]

If it doesn't show up as a ToupTek camera then that probably means I need to ship a copy of the Omegon SDK inside SharpCap (sigh... that makes about 5 different ToupTek style SDKs) - happy to give that a shot over the next few weeks if you are able to test it.

Hi Robin,
is there any news about the implementation of the Omegon SDK?
At the moment I always have to first connect the camera via a third-party program and then explicitly disconnect it so that it is actually disconnected under SharpCap...

[admin]

Hi,

ah, misunderstanding maybe? I was under the impression that things were working OK using the camera under the 'ToupTek' cameras section in SharpCap and that there was therefore no need to install the Omegon version of the SDK separately. Is that not the case?

cheers,

Robin

[StarFlea]

Hi Robin!

I must have expressed myself a bit misleadingly...

In fact, I had been using my camera as a "ToupTek" for quite some time, but I often had problems with extremely low frame rates (0.5 or even 0.0 fps) and other problems that regularly spoiled my recordings.
Because the Omegon drivers were a few years more current than the ToupTek drivers, I switched to them and was able to largely solve the problems.

Although I don't have any problems with the ToupTek driver when disconnecting, it is apparently not a perfect fit for my Omegon veTEC: Some setting options are missing there, e.g. the readout mode (HCG / LCG) and a few other things.
The range of values for the two drivers is also completely different for many settings, e.g. B. USB Speed (0 - 9 or 0 - 2) or Gain (100 - 30000 or 0 - 10000).

It would be nice if the camera ran via the Omegon SDK...
Although: It's just a strong assumption on my part that this will solve the problem with the "not"-disconnection...

Best regards!
Star Flea