Why isn’t my camera listed on the RSpec camera screen?

For video cameras, use one of the two options listed below.

1. RSpec communicates to your camera directly (with DirectShow)

Your video camera must appear in RSpec’s list of cameras (under the Open button on the Live Video tab).

If your camera doesn’t appear in RSpec’s list of cameras, you need to install the manufacturer’s DirectShow drivers. (These are also sometimes called DirectX drivers.)

Go to the camera manufacturer’s site to download and install their DirectShow driver Not all vendors provide DirectShow drivers.

For ZWO video cameras: First install their Camera Driver from this link.  Then install their ASI Cameras DirectShow from this link.

2. RSpec communicates with SharpCap. SharpCap communicates with your camera

If your camera manufacturer doesn’t provide DirectShow drivers, RSpec can’t talk directly to the camera.

But, you can still do spectroscopy even without a DirectShow driver. Use SharpCap to control your camera.

SharpCap speaks directly to most astronomical cameras, including ASCOM cameras.  It doesn’t require DirectShow.

SharpCap saves image frames to your disk, where RSpec picks them up, in real-time. To see how this works, watch videos 48 and 49 here.

We’re always happy to answer questions.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us via our contact form: link or via direct email.

Note: Using the two methods above at the same time confuses the camera. If you access the camera from RSpec, you will have to unplug your camera and reboot your computer before you can use SharpCap. And vice versa.