Last Updated on February 25, 2022 by Practical Astrophotography Staff

Those new to astrophotography will often wonder where exactly to start when researching what Astrophotography acquisition software to use for remote capture or control of their DSLR or CCD/CMOS Camera. There are many software apps that run on Windows that can be used for both DSLR and CCD/CMOS cameras. Starting off with the right acquisition software will help in the long run and save valuable time when learning to image. Starting with the right software will allow you to start to use your DSLR which undoubtedly most imagers already have. You can then progress further and connect your CCD or CMOS camera as you gain more experience and want to increase your skills and learn how to better image those deep sky targets. The following is a rundown of our top 5 picks for image acquisition software.

N.I.N.A 

Price: FREE
Website: https://nighttime-imaging.eu/
Compatible with: Windows

N.I.N.A. is designed for automated DSO imaging using the sequencing model. Whether you are new to the world of DSO imaging or are a seasoned veteran, the goal of N.I.N.A. is to make your imaging sessions easier, faster, and comfortable. N.I.N.A. attempts to make complex concepts and operations easy to understand and effect so that more time is spent on imaging rather than minding equipment.

BACKYARD EOS

Price: $35 USD Classic edition, $50 USD Premium edition
Website: www.otelescope.com/
Compatible with: Windows

See our Beginners Guide to using Backyard EOS here

BackyardEOS (for Canon cameras) and BackyardNIKON
(for Nikon cameras) was designed and developed for astrophotography. This highly acclaimed software is in use all around the world by thousands of users. Its intuitive user interface caters to the amateur and seasoned astronomers alike. Program your image capture plan and walk away. Backyard allows control of your DSLR camera and deep sky long exposure images all night long.

COMPATIBLE CANON CAMERAS
1Ds Mk II. 1D, 1Ds, 1Ds Mk III, 1D Mk III, 1D Mk IV,1Dx. 5D, 5Ds, 5DsR, 5D Mk II, 5D Mk III, 5D Mk IV, 6D, 6D Mk II, 7D, 7D Mk II, 10D, 20D, 20Da, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, 60Da, 70D, 77D, 80D, 100D / SL1, 200D / SL2, 300D, 350D / XT, 400D / XTi, 450D / XSi, 500D / T1i, 550D / T2i, 600D / T3i, 650D / T4i, 700D / T5i. 750D / T6i, 760D / T6s, 800D / T7i, 1000D / XS, 1100D / T3, 1200D / T5, 1300D / T6, EOS-M / M2 / M3 / M4
COMPATIBLE NIKON CAMERAS
1V3, D3, D3S, D3X, D4, D4S, D5, D40, D40X, D50, D60, D70, D80, D90, D200, D300, D300S, D500, D600, D610, D700, D750, D800, D810, D810a, D850, D3000, D3100, D3200, D3300, D3400, D3500, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D5600, D7000, D7100, D7200

APT: ASTRO PHOTOGRAPHY TOOL

Price: $21 USD
Website: ideiki.com/astro/Default.aspx
Compatible with: Windows

APT stands for AstroPhotography Tool and it is like a Swiss army knife for your astro imaging sessions. No matter what you are imaging with — Canon EOS, Nikon, CCD or CMOS camera, APT has the right tool for planning, collimating, aligning, focusing, framing, controlling/tethering, imaging, synchronizing, scheduling, meridian flipping, analyzing and monitoring. All its features are packed in an easy and comfortable to use interface with design that had no alternative back in 2009 when it was released. Since then APT is constantly being improved and refined by the real experience of many astrophotographers from all over the world including one of the APT authors. It works on MS Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10.
APT has many built in features such as Dark adaptation interface, auto preview, image browser, histograms, Bahtinov Aid  powered by the Bahtinov Grabber technology to provide focusing with sub-pixel precision with a mask, FWHM (Full Width Half Maximum) focusing method, HFD (Half Flux Diameter) focusing method, Automated focusing with ASCOM focusers using FWHM or HFD, Darkness clock and Deep Sky Darkness (DSD) calculator, Meridian Flip clock, Automated Meridian, 28 keyboard shortcuts, PointCraft for images plate solving, Ability to frame object with simple click in a solved image (GoTo++  mode in PointCraft), GoTo operations confirmed with plate solving (GoTo++ mode in PointCraft), Temperature compensation of the focus position, Focuser backlash measurement aid and Check lists creation for easier setup, packing, imaging.

COMPATIBLE CANON CAMERAS
1Ds Mk II, 1Ds Mk III, 1D Mk II, 1D Mk II N, 1D Mk III, 1D Mk IV, 1D X, 1D X Mk II, 1D C, 5D, 5D Mk II, 5D Mk III, 5D Mk IV, 5Ds, 5Ds R, 6D, 6D Mk II, 7D, 7D Mk II, 20D, 20Da, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, 60Da, 70D, 77D, 80D, 100D / SL1 / x7, 200D / SL2 / x8, 350D / XT / n, 400D / XTi / x, 450D / XSi / x2, 500D / T1i / x3, 550D / T2i / x4, 600D / T3i / x5, 650D / T4i / x6, 700D / T5i / x7i, 750D / T6i / x8i, 760D / T6s / 8000D, 800D / T7i / x9i, 1000D / XS / f, 1100D / T3
/ x50, 1200D / T5 / x70, 1300D / T6 / x80, 2000D / T7 / x90, 4000D / T100, , EOS R, EOS M50
COMPATIBLE NIKON CAMERAS
D3, D3X, D3S, D4, D4S, D5, D800/D800E, D810/D810A, Df, D700, D750, D200, D300, D300S, D500, D600, D610, D80, D90, D7000, D7100, D7200, D7500, D40, D60, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D5600, D850, Nikon Z7, Nikon Z6, Nikon 1 V3

NEBULOSITY 4

Price: $95 USD
Website: www.stark-labs.com/nebulosity.html
Compatible with: Windows

Dr. Craig Stark creates software for the amateur that focuses on simple interfaces that create an easy to use experience taking the frustration out of what is often a grueling and unpleasant part
of the imaging hobby. Stark Labs lSO appreciates that while a program should be simple, it cannot lack the functions necessary to capturing and creating jaw dropping, beautiful astroimages. Power and simplicity make a happy marriage. As imaging equipment and computers have become increasingly more obtainable, easy to use, and capable of capturing incredibly detailed DSO images, the capture and processing software available has failed to match — until now. Rather than leave beginning imagers in the dark when it comes to post processing, Dr. Stark has created Nebulosity to bring the joy back to imaging. It’s clean, clear interface is favored by advanced imagers too who find they save time and frustration.
Developers at Stark Labs recognized a consistent issue with many image capture and processing software programs — they tried to accomplish too much. Even in successful software programs, this massive array of functions is overwhelming to the novice imager and sends prices soaring! Avoiding function overload, Nebulosity 4 has been pared down to be everything you need and nothing you don’t. A clean and simple interface sets Nebulosity apart from the crowd while still providing precision camera control and full image processing capabilities.
Nebulosity by Stark Labs is a universally compatible (Windows XP/7/8 32/64 bit and
Mac OS X 10.6-9) image processing and capture software developed by Stark Labs. Compatible with a large variety of CCD and DSLR cameras and able to process images in a nearly any format. Created with the goal to be the perfect imaging software whether you’re a beginner or an advanced imager in search of an easy to use, simple capture and processing experience. Each tool within Nebulosity was developed purely for the astrophotographer in mind.
Why Nebulosity you might ask?
People looking at software for astrophotography have a wide range of options, these days. So, you might ask, why Nebulosity? Nebulosity takes a different approach than many packages. You’ve got a number out there that are trying to be the be-all and end-all package that controls everything from your camera to your dome to your toaster. As a result, they’re often very large (and therefore tougher to navigate), and very expensive. In general, this doesn’t make for something well-suited to someone just getting going in this hobby. In addition though, much of what you get in larger packages isn’t used by some of those doing the best work out there. You’ll find top imagers that use their astro package to control the camera, get the images, pre-process and stack them,
and they’ll then shift entirely (or nearly so) over to something like Photoshop or PixInsight. With Nebulosity, you can do all that for a fraction of the cost and with a far simpler user interface. This simpler interface has led many advanced users to abandon other packages and use Nebulosity in the field and for at least their initial processing. Why? Try it and find out! The demo is free and lets you try out all the features.

Compatible Cameras

• Atik Legacy (16, etc.) and current (beta-level support for all Atik cameras)
• Canon DIGIC II* / III / 4 / 5 EOS DSLRs (1D Mark IV, 1D Mark III, 1D Mark II N, 1D Mark II, 1Ds Mark III and 1Ds Mark II, 5D, 5D Mark II, 5D Mark III, 6D, 7D, 20D/Da, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D/Da, 70D, 100D/SL1/Kiss X7, 350D/Digital Rebel XT*, 400D/Digital Rebel XTi*, 450D/Rebel XSi/Kiss X2, 500D/T1i/Kiss X3, 550D/T2i/Kiss X4, 600D/T3i/Kiss X5, 650D/T4i/Kiss X6i, 700D/T5i/KissX7i,1000D/Rebel XS/Kiss F, 1100D/T3/Kiss X50).
• Fishcamp Starfish
• Meade DSI, DSI Pro, DSI II, DSI II Pro, DSI

QHY 8, 8L, 8Pro, 9, 10, 12
• QSI 500 / 600 series
• SBIG
• Starlight Xpress USB2 models (SXV / SXVF / SXV-R / Lodestar / etc. including those converted to USB 2 via the SX adapter)
IN ADDITION, ON WINDOWS, THE FOLLOWING CAMERAS ARE SUPPORTED
• ASCOM-5/6 compliant cameras
• Apogee cameras
• Atik 3xx, 4xx, 4000, 11000, 16, 16IC, and 16HR / Artemis cameras (both older
16- series and all newer cameras via their universal driver)
• CCD Labs Q8-HR / Q453, Q285M / QHY2 Pro
• FLI cameras
• Moriavian G2/G3 (v3 or higher firmware)
• Orion StarShoot Deep-Space Color Imager (original) **
• OpticStar DS-335 series, DS-336C, DS-615, DS616, DS-142, DS-145, and PL-130
• SAC10
• SAC7 / SC1 long-exposure modified webcams / Atik 1 and Atik 2 cameras

SEQUENCE GENERATOR PRO V3.0

Price: From: $149.00 now then $59.00 / year
Website: www.mainsequencesoftware.com/Products/SGPro
Compatible with: Windows

he main program costs $99 but there is an amazing addon for framing targets and producing mosaics that costs an extra $39. That is a sum total of $138 for a program that advertises to do absolutely everything in a wonderfully automated manner.
The user interface is certainly more modern and less cluttered than MaxIm DL, plus the total price is about 23% of MaxIm DL’s. The developers created Sequence Generator Pro after having used much of the software I listed at the top of this post, and noting they would have liked certain features and certain automation they lacked. Moreover, their philosophy is not to over-price their software as us astrophotographers have enough expenses when it comes to actual equipment. All this bodes well for Sequence Generator Pro in our view, particularly since the developers used to use PHD Guiding and PHD2 with Nebulosity and decided that good as they are, they wanted more.

A very prominent feature of Sequence Generator Pro is its ability to plate solve to center your targets precisely. This can be done via a number of external options (as it lacks its own system to do this). Elbrus is free but very fiddly to get installed correctly. Pinpoint costs around $150 and is easier to install but people have mixed feelings as to how well it performs. Then comes Astrometry.net. This one is free but requires an Internet connection as it uploads the image, has it plate solved and retrieves the results. The great thing about Astrometry.net is that it can do a blind solve, which requires no information as to the image scale or rough area of the night sky.
Good news for those of who image outdoors without an active Internet connection is that you can actually install a local Astrometry.net service on your computer that contains the actual plate solver plus all the astrometric index files needed for successfully plate solving all your images. Those of us who have used AstroTortilla before will note its great similarities and the reason for this is simple — AstroTortilla actually uses a local Astrometry.net service as well. Therefore, Step 1 on my tutorial on installing and setting up AstroTortilla is perfectly relevant here once you open the Index Downloader used to download the astrometric index files for your local Astrometry.net service.

 

ASTROART 7

Price: $165 US
Website: www.msb-astroart.com/

A complete software for astrophotography: image processing, astrometry, photometry, camera and telescope control. All major cameras, telescopes, filter wheels and focusers are supported by Astroart. Updated plugins are released for free. Astroart is also an open system with plug-in support and free development kit for C++, C#, Pascal, Visual Basic. Fully compatible from Windows XP to Windows 10.
ADVANCED FILTERS — Adaptive de-noise, maximum entropy deconvolution, hot pixel removal, adaptive remove gradient, comet enhancement, un-sharp mask, de-blooming, DDP, FFT, masks, etc. with real-time preview.
ASTROMETRY AND PHOTOMETRY — with integrated star atlas. Batch photometry, aperture photometry, plate solving, MPC reports, user annotations.
IMAGE STACKING — Fast and precise on sets of images. Several algorithms for every situation (star fields, comets, planets, spectrums, etc.).
COLOR IMAGING — Native 96 bit (32 bit for each color plane), visualized in real time without modifying the underlying data. Real-time de-bayering, LRGB combine, adaptive saturation, real-time color balance and color curves.
INSTRUMENTATION — Complete camera and telescope control. Scripts for automatic research and observatory automation, centering via plate solving, shortest-path telescope sequences.
HIGH SPEED — Astroart is an extremely fast software thanks to its code optimized in SSE assembly. It can align and stack hundreds of images quickly and offers real-time preview on most filters.

SUPPORTED CAMERAS
Although Astroart supports a wide range
of cameras it is not simply plug and play, you must download the correct plugins that suit your camera. See the website for more information: //www.msb-astroart.com/ccd_en.htm
ASCOM generic (Atik, QHY, ZWO ASI, Orion, etc.) – Version 2.10
Canon™ DSLR cameras – Version 1.20 / 2.80 Nikon™ DSLR cameras – Version 1.10 Apogee™ – Version 2.40
SBIG™ All cameras – Version 5.40
SC Modified web cams – Version 2.50
FLI™ Legacy cameras 1.50
Starlight-Xpress parallel port
FastInterface supported, fast focus. For Windows 2000/XP.
Meade™ DSI I, I PRO, II, II PRO – Version 3.50 Meade™ 208 / 216 XT – Version 3.00
Meade™ 416 XT/XTE – Version 1.00
Meade™ 416 XT/XTE SCSI – Version 1.00 Lumenera™ – Version 1.20
XIMEA™ All cameras – Versione 1.00
XIMEA CCD cameras.
Audine/Genesis KAF40X – KAF160X – Version 2.70
Audine/Genesis USB – Version 1.00
Imperx™ VCE – Version 1.00
Artemis and Atik (without ASCOM) – Version 2.00
HISIS™ 2216, 23, 24, 33, 38, 44 – Version 2.60 Cookbook™ 245 – Version 2.60
OES Alpha Mini – Version 2.51
Opticstar DS-335C/ICE – Version 1.0
QSI – 1.0
SAC10™ – Version 1.00
Orion first autoguider, without ASCOM. – 1.0 QGuider, QHYx, CPx-x, ALccd-x, CCDLuna-x, MagZero, without ASCOM – 1.0
QHY drivers are also available at the QHY web site. Some older drivers were developed By Tom Van den Eede.
Yankee Robotics™ – Version 1.00
Trifid CCD cameras, USB connection