The table below lists the drivers that are included with the current release of MaxIm DL, as well as some drivers available from third-party sources. Additional third party drivers may be available but not listed; please consult the equipment manufacturer for more information.
ASCOM Camera Drivers
Today many astronomical cameras use ASCOM standard interfaces. Some camera manufacturers provide direct MaxIm DL plug-ins. Some manufacturers provide both options. Please see the manufacturer's web site for driver downloads and installation instructions.
MaxIm DL Camera Plug-in Drivers
MaxIm DL supports cameras via a "plug-in driver" architecture. This allows new cameras to be added. The commonly-used ASCOM interface is itself supported through a plug-in supplied by Diffraction Limited.
A number of camera plug-ins for specific camera brands and models are included with MaxIm DL, as a convenience to the user. In most cases they also require the installation of drivers made by the camera manufacturer.
Installing Camera Drivers
Almost all cameras require the manufacturer's camera drivers to be installed, even if they are operated via a plug-in included with MaxIm DL. Please be sure to visit the manufacturer's web site for driver downloads and installation instructions.
Obsolete Camera Drivers
Over the years a number of cameras have become obsolete. Some of those use ISA or parallel port interfaces, so they cannot be operated in modern Windows operating systems. Those have been permanently retired.
Other cameras are no longer manufactured or supported, but may still operate in modern Windows. This includes many models that use USB or serial port interfaces. In order to support these older models, plug-ins are available for many of these older models. These plug-ins are provided "as-is". No maintenance or technical support is provided.
Some of the obsolete plug-ins are distributed with MaxIm DL. Others are distributed in a separate Obsolete Driver Pack. For a complete list of obsolete models still potentially operable in MaxIm DL, and a link to download the Obsolete Driver Pack, please see Obsolete Camera Models.
Notes
Camera Model |
Installation |
Select in MaxIm DL |
ASCOM compatible cameras |
ASCOM Platform and any drivers supplied with the camera must be installed. See manufacturer's instructions for more information. |
|
Andor Technology |
Plug-in is included. Manufacturer's drivers must be installed. |
Andor Tech for all models. |
Apogee Instruments |
Manufacturer's drivers must be installed. Apogee AP, KX, and SPH are supported via the optional Obsolete Driver pack. |
Apogee Alta for Alta cameras |
Atik |
All drivers are supplied by the manufacturer, |
Consult manufacturer's instructions. |
Canon EOS |
Plug-in is included. Manufacturer's drivers must be installed. |
Canon EOS II (Canon EOS 1 for older models) |
Diffraction Limited |
See SBIG below. |
|
Fishcamp Engineering Starfish |
All drivers are supplied by the manufacturer. |
Consult manufacturer's instructions. |
Finger Lakes Instrumentation |
All drivers are supplied by the manufacturer. |
Consult manufacturer's instructions. |
Lumenera |
Plug-in is included. Manufacturer's drivers must be installed. |
|
Meade |
Supported via ASCOM. All drivers are supplied by the manufacturer. Some older models are available in the optional Obsolete Driver pack. |
|
Nikon DSLR |
Plug-in is included. Manufacturer's drivers must be installed. |
|
Olympus DSLR |
See Obsolete Driver pack. |
|
Optronics Macrofire |
Plug-in is included. Manufacturer's drivers must be installed. |
|
Orion Telescopes and Binoculars |
Many models are compatible with Video DirectShow (see below). Some models may have ASCOM support. Also see Obsolete Driver pack. |
|
QHY |
Supported via ASCOM. All drivers are supplied by the manufacturer. |
|
PVCAM |
Plug-in is included. PVCAM software must be installed and configured before you can link to the camera. |
|
Quantum Scientific Imaging |
All drivers are supplied by the manufacturer. |
|
SBIG |
Plug-in
is included. SBIG provides drivers for all cameras that are currently
in production. For 2nd Generation driver cameras such as STX, STXL, STT, STI, and STF, the SBIGDriverChecker utility supplied with the camera is used to install and update the drivers. The drivers are available on the supplied memory stick or by download from the product page. Obsolete serial port cameras including the ST-4, ST-5, ST-6 and STV are supported via the optional Obsolete Driver pack. |
DL Imaging for STC, Aluma CCD, Aluma AC, and StarChaser series cameras. Use DL Imaging+FW for the filter wheel selection. SBIG Universal for ST, STF, STL, STT, STX, and STXL series cameras. Use SBIG Universal Filter Wheel for the filter wheel selection. SBIG w/AO when using an AO tip/tilt guider option. Use SBIG AO w/FW for the filter wheel selection. Note that there are also "Legacy" versions, which support older cameras series. |
Simulator |
Useful for testing purposes, this selection emulates the operation of a camera. No drivers are required. |
|
Starlight Xpress |
Plug-in is included (provided by manufacturer), but an updated version is available directly from the manufacturer. The Obsolete Driver pack includes "native" drivers for most of the older USB 1.1 cameras; however we recommend updating the firmware and using SX Universal instead. |
SX Universal including AO support.
|
Video DirectShow |
Plug-in is included. Video sources such as webcams, VIVO video cards, frame grabbers, and FireWire inputs are supported using this interface. Manufacturer's drivers must be installed. |
|
ZWO |
Supported via ASCOM. All drivers are supplied by the manufacturer. |