MaxIm DL™

Product Description

Cyanogen Imaging^® MaxIm DL™ includes an extensive suite of image acquisition, processing, and analysis tools. Starting with complete observatory integration, MaxIm DL takes you from gathering raw data through to the final high-quality result with the minimum of effort.

A typical imaging sequence will include hours of autoguided images with dither, automatic filter changes, and pier flipping – all the while slewing your dome and monitoring the weather.  Every image is tagged with extensive data in its FITS header. When your weather sensor reports unsafe conditions MaxIm DL will automatically shut down your equipment, park the telescope, and safe the dome.

Once your images are collected, MaxIm DL can automatically assemble your calibration images into groups, select the correct groups for each individual image, calibrate, and stack your images.  You can process hundreds of images from different targets with just a few mouse clicks.

MaxIm DL also includes advanced photometry and astrometry capabilities.  Photometric measurements are made using best practice median-mean and partial-pixel algorithms vetted by professional astronomers.  Astrometric measurements are performed using PinPoint LE, widely recognized as the most powerful and accurate package available today.

New!  MaxIm DL Version 7

MaxIm DL Version 7 features 64-bit operation with enhanced speed and memory handling – perfect for modern high-resolution cameras.  It also has an all-new modern user interface.  Ribbon Bars provide a more convenient, faster access to all functions of the software.  The new Dark Mode display is easier on the eyes and helps preserve night vision.

Version 6 remains available for those running 32-bit cameras.   Both versions can be installed and run simultaneously.

Key Features (MaxIm DL Pro level)

MaxIm DL runs under 64-bit operating systems.  Please see System Requirements for more information.

Please see Compare tab above for the feature list for each product level.  Additional details are available here.

• Complete observatory integration. Controls all of your astronomical equipment.
• Integrates your camera, autoguider, filter wheels, focusers, camera rotator, telescope mount, observatory webcam, remote switches, weather station, and dome.
• Fully ASCOM compliant.
• Built-in mini-planetarium helps you maintain “situational awareness”.
• Designed for efficiency. Create your own presets for finding, centering, focusing, and imaging sequences.
• Multithreaded hardware interfaces for smooth and responsive operation.
• Automated shutdown with user-definable triggers (including weather) and sequencing.
• PinPoint V7 with online all-sky solving – easily recover if your telescope gets lost.
• Automatic pier flipping with guide star reaquisition.
• Multistar and differential autoguiding.
• Monitor and control your observatory with dome webcam, remote switches, and weather monitoring.
• Stack hundreds of images of different targets in one operation – with automatic alignment and bad data rejection.
• Blend in narrowband data to create fully realistic images or false color representations of your data.
• Includes a complete image processing toolkit, including a large variety of filters, deblooming, curves, deconvolution, color tools, and much more.
• Analyze multispectral photometry data for huge numbers of images including multiple targets; export light curves and AAVSO reports.
• Instant Raw image color preview – see Raw images in full color without Bayer conversion.

Imaging

• Complete integration of all your observatory hardware in a single package.
• Supports your equipment – compatible with more equipment than any competing package. Supports ASCOM equipment plus a huge variety of cameras and filter wheels.
• Multi-threaded equipment control for smoother operation.
• Instant presets for quick changing between find, focus, complex imaging sequences, etc.
• Save and load all program settings – instantly reconfigure for different hardware setups.
• Built-in mini-planetarium provides full “situational awareness” with advanced features such as instant image overlays, FOV indicator with rotator control, extensive catalog search capabilities, and much more.
• Instantly recover from a “lost” telescope with PinPoint V7 online all-sky blind solving.
• Monitor and control your observatory with ASCOM switch controls, observatory webcam, and integrated weather sensors.
• Automatically execute a script for each image to optimize preview or process on the fly.
• Advanced imaging techniques such as dither, automatic per-filter focus offsets, AO control, graphical track logs, audible alarms.
• Highly flexible sequence capability including up to 32 filter/exposure slots and auto-mosaic.
• Improved autoguider support with enhanced reliability and new guiding modes.
• AO and TDI (drift scanning) support.
• Bookmark locations on sky – perfect for session planning and marking unexpected discoveries.
• Automated pier flipping.
• Automated observatory shutdown sequences, including multiple triggers and user-defined sequence.
• Full ASCOM compatibility.
• Compatible with DC-3 Dreams’ ACP browser-based automation tool.

Processing

• Intelligent Calibration™ automatically selects the best bias, dark, and flat-field frames for each individual image. Calibrate both your main camera and autoguider without changing settings.
• Powerful image stacking tool automatically identifies and groups image by target object and filter, automatically rejects poor quality images, and includes multiple automatic and manual alignment modes. Automatically stack and LRGB combine multiple images at once!
• Narrowband image blending tool takes your stacked and aligned image sets and merges them with intesity and wavelenth controls. Use realistic or exaggerated wavelength values for optimum discrimination of object features.
• Includes a host of image enhancement filters including:
  • Kernel Filters including sharpen, smooth, Guassian blur, median, dilation, erosion, custom.
  • FFT filters
  • Unsharp Mask
  • Wavelet filters
  • Digital Development Processing
  • Rank filter
  • Local Adaptive filter
  • Rotational Gradient filter
  • Deconvolution filters
  • Background and Gradient Removal
• Easy-to-use Batch processing and advanced scripting capability.
• Color tools include stacking, balance, saturation adjustment, pseudo color, color filter, remove background, realign planes.
• FFT analysis.
• Generate, save, and reuse background flattening profiles for multiple images and targets.
• Complete photometry and astrometry capabilties. New photometry capaibilities include unlimited image sets, multispectral analysis, and enhanced target recognition and image quality assessment.
• Other functions include:
  • Align
  • Stack
  • Remove Bad Pixels
  • Add Noise
  • Remove Bloom
  • Remove Pedestal
  • Resize
  • Histogram Specification
  • Curves
  • Levels
  • Threshold
  • Pixel Math
  • Mosaic
  • Rotation
  • Clone, Edit, and Annotation tools
• Preserves the dynamic range of your image with high bit depth floating point processing for both monochrome and color images.

Product Delivery

MaxIm DL is delivered via internet download.  Registered users can optionally purchase a USB stick; please contact Diffraction Limited for more information.

Software Returns Policy

All software sales are final.

A free demo period of the MaxIm DL Pro level software, with full technical support is available to determine suitability of the software prior to sale.

Please be aware of the differences in product level before choosing your level for purchase.  Lower software levels do not include all features and all equipment control capabilities; however, it may be possible to upgrade at extra cost.

Please note that all software sales are final.  No refunds are given on software products.  A free demo period with full technical support is available to determine suitability of the software prior to sale.  Please be aware that feature availability varies by product level; see the Compare tab above and here for detailed information.