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Canon M3 ASCOM 0.2.0

Canon M3 ASCOM 0.2.0 Pre-release
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@radorybar radorybar released this 19 Oct 16:42
v0.2.0
a99c19e

Canon M3 ASCOM (formerly m3alpaca) is an ASCOM Alpaca camera driver that makes a Canon EOS M3 running
CHDK usable as an astro camera (e.g. in N.I.N.A.) over one USB cable.

This is a pre-release: it works with the real camera and in N.I.N.A. on two Windows PCs, but has not been
used for a full night under the sky yet.

Install

Download canon-m3-ascom-0.2.0-setup.exe below and run it. Python is not needed. The wizard asks which
USB driver to use:

  • A: standard Windows camera driver (recommended): nothing is replaced, the camera keeps working with
    Windows and other programs.
  • B: WinUSB: slightly faster transfer; the camera must be connected and switched on during setup.
    The standard driver can be restored from the Start menu or when uninstalling.

The installer is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may warn: More info → Run anyway.
Step-by-step guide: docs/INSTALL.md.

What's new since 0.1.0

  • Renamed to Canon M3 ASCOM (package canon_m3_ascom, program canon-m3-ascom)
  • Setup wizard with the choice of USB driver; the WinUSB driver is installed through libwdi
  • New transport through the standard Windows driver (WPD), no Zadig needed
  • Icon in the notification area, log file, autostart, Start menu shortcuts (logs, diagnostics, config)
  • Gain is the ISO value itself (100 … 12800)
  • Faster frames: raw decoding ~4× and ImageBytes encoding ~30× faster, remote capture stays ready
    between frames
  • Stability: automatic reconnect after a pulled cable or a camera restart, non-blocking disconnect,
    keep-alive, discovery survives network errors, protection against stale PTP data
  • A failed exposure is reported so that N.I.N.A. fails the frame at once, instead of waiting for its
    timeout or saving the previous image again
  • The log shows the time each frame spends in the camera, on USB, in the driver and in the client

Verified

On a Canon EOS M3, firmware 1.21A, CHDK 1.6.1-6315, Windows 11, N.I.N.A. 3.2:

  • both driver options (standard driver and WinUSB), install and uninstall
  • sequences of frames; pulling the USB cable and switching the camera off and on during a sequence:
    the frame fails, the next one works again
  • about 3.3 s of overhead per frame (camera ~1.5 s, USB ~1 s, decoding ~0.6 s), independent of the
    exposure time

Checksum

SHA-256 of canon-m3-ascom-0.2.0-setup.exe:
2F0B4E09EC5462442F0CD086F4F00FB52F76EDE1A07C2C4CC8DA6CC82F7E921E

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m3alpaca 0.1.0

m3alpaca 0.1.0 Pre-release
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@radorybar radorybar released this 17 Oct 22:04
v0.1.0
5242aa4

First public version of m3alpaca: an ASCOM Alpaca camera driver that makes a Canon EOS M3 running
CHDK usable as an astro camera (e.g. in N.I.N.A.) over one USB cable.

This is a pre-release: it works with the real camera and in N.I.N.A., but has not been used for a
full night under the sky yet.

Features

  • Built-in CHDK PTP client (Python, pyusb + WinUSB): raw remote capture over USB, the same sequence as
    chdkptp's rs -raw, with one persistent USB session
  • 14-bit raw decoding: 6112×4060 buffer, 6000×4000 active area, RGGB Bayer data
  • Alpaca ICameraV3: ImageBytes transfer, discovery, ISO as a gain list, sensor temperature,
    subframes, exposures from 1/4000 s to 300 s
  • ptpdiag: step-by-step diagnostics for the first connection (USB, PTP, CHDK, Lua, test frame)
  • Simulator backend with a star field coupled to an Alpaca focuser, for trying autofocus indoors
  • USB-level camera emulator; tests run without a camera
  • Install script and guide for a telescope PC

Verified

On a Canon EOS M3, firmware 1.21A, CHDK 1.6.1-6315, Windows 11:

  • raw capture over USB, ~38 MB/s (a 43 MB frame in ~1.2 s), about 3 s overhead per frame
  • black level 2048, RGGB colour order
  • exposures of 30, 60 and 120 s, without an automatic in-camera dark frame
  • exposures from N.I.N.A. 3.2; autofocus with the simulator backend

Requirements

  • Windows 10/11, Python 3.12, N.I.N.A. 3.x (or another Alpaca client)
  • Canon EOS M3 with CHDK 1.6
  • WinUSB driver for the camera, installed with Zadig

See the README and the
telescope PC install guide.

Install

Download the source zip below, then on the imaging PC:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\install.ps1

The wheel (m3alpaca-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl) can also be installed with
pip install m3alpaca-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl.

Known limitations

  • Tested only on the EOS M3; other CHDK cameras need their sensor geometry added
  • Exposures cannot be aborted once started on the camera
  • No binning; no DNG output yet
  • Not tested yet: a night on the sky (autofocus with a real focuser, plate solving, long sequences)
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