iAstroPhoto v. 1.2.1

Errors and Troubleshooting

• In the event of a communication failure, a dialog box will appear with an error code and some text indicating where in the software the error took place.  In my experience these errors are often due to the camera being in the wrong state (wrong mode, not turned on, in autofocus with the lens cap on, etc.).  Most errors are recoverable: simply make sure the camera is in the correct state and try the operation again.  If that fails quit the program, cycle the power on the camera and try again.

• If you connect to the camera when it is in a shooting mode other than manual (M) or shutter priority (Tv), an alert box will appear saying

The camera must be in manual or Tv mode to use this program

Change mode to M or Tv now to continue

The program will then wait for you to switch the camera to the correct mode, at which time the alert will disappear and the connection should proceed normally.

• If the program crashes on startup, try removing the preferences file in ~/Library/Preferences/com.meowsoft.iAstroPhoto.plist (~/Library means it's in the Library folder in your home folder) and restarting.

• When using serial port shutter (bulb) control, if there is strange behavior (such as triggering the shutter when the camera is turned on), exit iAstroPhoto, unplug and replug the serial cable from the USB port, and cycle power on the camera. This resets the serial cable state when you restart.

• iAstroPhoto cannot use RAW image format for focusing operations. RAW format is good for your actual astrophotos. When controlling your camera with the camera module via USB the images (including RAW) will be saved in the directory you choose in the Preferences. If you want to save these pictures, be sure the "Erase images on program exit" checkbox is not checked in the Preferences. All images loaded into the focus module are always erased when the program quits.

For cameras other than the EOS Digital Rebel/300D/Digital Kiss, I am very interested in what kind of errors appear.

Problems that are not solved by restarting the program and turning camera off and on should be reported to me at stevepur@mac.com.

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