The Celestron NexImage 5 camera is a modified webcam, designed specifically for taking pictures of solar system objects. That means Sun, Moon, and the larger/closer planets. It really isn't made for taking pictures of very faint deep sky objects.So, as far as the hardware being able to meet that requirement, it does meet it quite nicely. Whatever efforts Celestron put into creating this product though, it was all at the hardware end.The software that comes with the camera on CD does work, but it quite dated. It hasn't been updated in years. Fortunately, the only software that has to be installed from the disk are the camera drivers on the CD. However, the drivers also have an update available from Celestron's website, and I would definitely recommend getting the update for the driver. I've heard that the camera drivers only work reliably with Intel processors though, and may have issues with an AMD based system. I didn't risk testing this, as I had an i5 Intel based laptop available.The included ICAP and Registax 6 sofware on the CD, while usable, can be ignored. I ended up using FireCapture for taking my pictures from the camera, and AutoStakkert! 2 for the digital image processing requirement. Both of these software packages are available for free off the Internet, and are currently supported by their creators. There is a learning curve to use both programs, but I found it well worth the effort needed to master them, despite the lack of written documentation available. Both have Yahoo groups to discuss using each program, and I've used the discussion groups to ask questions, and get relevant answers from an active user community.My other issue with the NexImage 5 camera though is not with the camera sensor itself, or with the electronics attached to it to make it work. The electronics are fine. The only other real issue I had was with the optical window that is placed in front of the sensor. This window has an anti-reflective coating on it. I suspect it also cuts out some of the infrared sensitivity that the camera may have. (I can't prove that though.) The coating works as designed. My problem came though when I was testing the system - telescope, camera, and laptop computer - with a glass solar filter to take pictures of the Sun. After the camera had heated up significantly, being used outside in 100+ degree weather, that coating on the window developed fringes that were clearly visible to the eye. This affected the images I recorded for the Sun and Moon in particular.Now while I admit that having the camera heat up some was not a good idea, I don't think it should have affected the window coating. The sensor recovered just fine. And because I'm stubborn, instead of sending the camera back to Celestron to get repaired, I just decided to resolve the issue myself. (I do have some professional experience with cleaning optics.) That adventure took a lot more time than it should have. I ended up having to use alcohol to clean off the fringes, and some of that window coating. Of course, getting rid of all the dust specs I introduced wasn't easy either. This is why most users should not attempt to open up a camera to clean the optics themselves. When the camera pixels are in the micron range, your eye just can't see the dust specs that can settle in there and affect the image. It took me two weeks to finish cleaning up that mess.So, just keep in mind that you have to be careful of the environmental factors the camera is subjected to, particularly heat. Moisture would also not be a good idea. If you remember that, and take advantage of the currently available programs on the Internet to run the camera, you will do just fine with it. However, don't feel bad if you decide to use something else either.