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AstroArt V5 Image Capture and Processing Software

FLO

By FLO
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FLO

FLO

Posted
Posted

FLO has been appointed a UK retailer for AstroArt V5 :)

I met with Harry Page at Kelling to discuss which software I should use for my own imaging and for sale here at FLO. Harry is probably better known for his Pixinsight video tutorials but he was also one of the AstroArt V5 product testers and was impressed. He put me in touch with Fabio Cavicchio and, here we are :)

Our first delivery will arrive sometime next week. I shall use it myself so at least one of us here will have first-hand knowledge for customer support.

Price £135

Includes:

  • Complete Astroart 5.0 software on CD-ROM, CCD drivers, manual, several pictures for the image processing tutorials
  • 12 months of free upgrades. This means your purchase is protected if a new major version is released within one year
  • You have the right to use Astroart on several PC's if you don't use them at the same time (example: desktop at home, notebook outdoor)
  • Two years of technical assistance by email and phone. Program in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Manual in English

For more info and a list of features please visit our website.

Steve

astroart-v5-astronomy-software.jpg

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harry page

harry page

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Hi

Yes a excellent value and quality Package :(

You can capture , preprocess and process a image to good standard ( has things like gradient removal , curves, decon etc) :p

Certainly a good package for a newbie to intermediate user:cool:

can it extract every last bit from your image , probably not:eek: but will get you most of the way there :)

Regards Harry

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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The plate solving isn't bad and, though I didn't confess this on the image thread, I wasn't trying to image Sh2-129 at all when I started the test exposure!! I was in the wrong place but liked the nebula, didn't know what it was, so plate solved it in AA5.

You have to estimate the field of view on the RA axis of the image, tell it the pixel aspect ratio (square in my case) amd give it a clue as to where in the sky it is. The more accurate you are the faster it is but it is only a matter of seconds if you give vague values all round. When you mouse over the image it tells you the RA and Dec of the cursor. There's a NSEW figure on the image as well. I gather you can use it to control a slew as well but haven't done so.

I was bubbling with enthusiasm in the wee hours this morning because all the wrinkles of AA4 are gone and this ran like a dream on the stacking and calibrating. I will say that I use Registar for colour alignment because it is ultra accurate and can give slightly better star colour in the corners, maybe, but there isn't much in it. Registar will rescale if a filter or atmospherics alter your FL even minimally. I don't think any other programme does that.

Harry says it will calibrate and stack OSC images in one pass which is SO much better than AA4.

You can, apparently, run your guider in one instance of AA and your camera in the other, and the two will communicate to allow dither guiding and image recentering to correct for polar misalignment drift.

I'm thrilled to bits with AA5 and got a helpline reply in about three hours.

It's a bargain.

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malc-c

malc-c

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And them buy the hardcopy from FLO :)

Harry

Humm possibly :(

Interestingly I like the integration and how quick it was to start the guiding (all be it using the simulator). The guiding using the simulator was very tight, so then I repeated this with the Ascom simulator... and got this !

I'm hoping to try the demo out on the HEQ5 later to see how the guiding compares to phd.

post-23388-133877682059_thumb.jpg

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FLO

FLO

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We have received a number of enquiries asking what is included for the price so I have updated our website listing to show the following details:

Includes:

  • Complete Astroart 5.0 software on CD-ROM, CCD drivers, manual, several pictures for the image processing tutorials
  • 12 months of free upgrades. This means your purchase is protected if a new major version is released within one year
  • You have the right to use Astroart on several PC's if you don't use them at the same time (example: desktop at home, notebook outdoor)
  • Two years of technical assistance by email and phone.

  • 140-page printed instruction book in English

In a nutshell, you get the same software and support as you would if you purchased a download from the developer's website but in addition you receive a hard copy on CD-ROM and a proper 104-page instruction manual.

For an up-to-date price and a list of features please see HERE

HTH,

Steve

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Merlin66

Merlin66

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Once you understand the CCD plug-ins - a driver for each camera...

Very straight forward.

Yes, runs under all windows including Win7 and yes it will handle all starlight cameras including the MX7c.

(It even allows you to use the original ST-4 SBIG camera!!!!)

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dmahon

dmahon

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I'm thinking of giving this a try.

I currently use Nebulosity 2 and PHD to image, which I am very happy with. I stack in DSS.

The things that I am missing, but would like, are:

1) Autofocus

2) Plate solving

Presently I focus "manually" (using the computer or handheld control) with a Bahtinov mask, but I would like to autofocus with every change of filter and if the temperature changes, rather than have to go outside (or just not bother).

I "plate solve" via astrometry.net and a script that chrishilto gave me, which works fantastically well - but I would like an integrated solution in the long run.

Does AstroArt offer these functions and can they both be tried in the demo version?

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FLO

FLO

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I confess I don't yet know. We should recieve our first delivery soon. I will be putting aside a copy for my own use so will become more familiar with it's features and operation over time.

A demo copy of AstroArt V5 can be downloaded from the AstroArt website. You will have the same technical support whether you choose to then order/download a full working copy from their website or on CD-ROM with a printed instruction book from us here at FLO.

HTH

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I don't know either but I suppose you could look at the drivers and plug-ins list on the AA site and see if your motorized focuser was in there. If it is then I guess it's as likely to work as any other IT controlled accessory. (I'm never an optimist in this regard!!!) Or you could drop AA a line and ask if your robotic focuser is supported.

Olly

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harry page

harry page

Posted
Posted
I'm thinking of giving this a try.

I currently use Nebulosity 2 and PHD to image, which I am very happy with. I stack in DSS.

The things that I am missing, but would like, are:

1) Autofocus

2) Plate solving

Presently I focus "manually" (using the computer or handheld control) with a Bahtinov mask, but I would like to autofocus with every change of filter and if the temperature changes, rather than have to go outside (or just not bother).

I "plate solve" via astrometry.net and a script that chrishilto gave me, which works fantastically well - but I would like an integrated solution in the long run.

Does AstroArt offer these functions and can they both be tried in the demo version?

Hi

Yes it does plate solving , but do not use this much as I know where my scope is pointing :icon_salut:

I use the autofocus / electric focus control through the ascom interface

Harry

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harry page

harry page

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How "Auto" is the Autofocus, is it a case of chose a star press a button go make a coffee done?

Hi

You have to select a star to focus on and then run the autofocus routine , which does a good job :icon_salut:

You can have a coffee while it does this , I use a ascom cotroller for my focuser

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MikeWilson

MikeWilson

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Hi

You have to select a star to focus on and then run the autofocus routine , which does a good job :icon_salut:

You can have a coffee while it does this , I use a ascom cotroller for my focuser

Excellent :-)

Next question: How useful is the plate solving? Will it automatically slew, solve and re-adjust in a single step (or attempt [x] iterations?]?

I'd be sorely tempted if I were able to do the following:

1. Align the scope and set up in the usual way. Fire up the laptop.

2. Initiate an 'auto alignment', choosing Vega (or any other target). The scope slews towards Vega but misses by several degrees. The software performs a plate solve (it already knows the resolution/arcsec/pixel values) and then syncs on the current location and then performs a slew to Vega (or any other target).

2b. Repeat step 2 for two or three iterations until the target star is dead center.

3. Initiate focus routine on the star and auto focus on it (I have a Skywatcher 'auto' focuser and could pick up the HitecAstro focus controller for it later).

The above steps would save most of us a lot of setup time.

All the best,

Mike

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