CCD Camera Help, Please!

Hi all, still new here, enjoying every second. I recently purchased a Meade ETX90 telescope and have been doing best to grasp a view of the sky inbetween the onslaught of clouds we seem to recieve in the UK. More recently I purchased a CCD camera, a TS OPTICS CCD Astro CAMERA to be more precise.



Here is the spec:

TS OPTICS CCD ASTRO IMAGING CAMERA

The TS SSI advantages:
-- real CCD sensor (Sony HAD) - more sensitivity than CMOS sensors
-- high resolution (5.6µm Pixel)
-- AmCap-Software - camera control program
-- 1,25" nosepiece with filter thread - connects directly to astronomical telescopes

Technical details:
-- Sony HAD CCD colour sensor with 640x480 pixel resolution (VGA) and 5.6µm pixel size
-- The 1.25" nosepiece with integrated filter thread allows direct access to telescopes and the use of additional filters also.
-- AmCap control software shows a live picture from the camera directly on your PC screen. Ideal for focusing! Still pictures
and videos can be captured also. Thus making this camera also ideally suitable as a digital eyepiece.
-- Frame rate: max. 20-30/sec (depending on PC). Best quality with 5/sec (uncompressed images)

I am basically seeking some guidance and advice about software i can use in conjunction with my CCD camera, as the AMcap one which came with the camera is very basic. I have a copy of Maxim DL I'm currently trying to get my head round, the tutorials are a bit mind blowing as I'm a total beginner when it comes to AstroPhotography, I am still awaiting a decent sky to practice on, all I have managed are a few half decent Lunar films stacked using Registax to produce some 'personally satisfying' results. What I really want to learn about is how to take longer exposure images, especially of galaxies and nebula's. Can anyone tell me if this is possible with the current setup I have and what other software or websites may assist me in my quest to take better images.

Regards,

DM

I don't do astro-photography just regular astronomy, but this could be a good site for some hints and tips to help you. Sky and Telescope website
You should try uploading your images to ATS and start a thread on astro-photoghraphy.

For free you can try Sharpcap, craterlet or wxastrocapture.
They seem to be popular.