Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Good bang for the buck for post processing software?


Recommended Posts

    The title is kind of self-explanatory... I'm currently using gimp/Paint.net (granted, i am not well versed in either of them) along with deep sky stacker. I have kind of learned as i went, and am currently sifting through "The Deep-Sky Imaging Primer" by Charles Bracken. But when i installed a PS lightroom trial (Forrest Tanaka used it in one of his videos, which he recommended so i thought I'd try it). Without any prior experience with any PS software, i was able to get better results than I've ever gotten with gimp. That got me looking into dedicated imaging processing software be it PS or a dedicated astrophotography software. But research hasn't exactly been unanimous. I've found that Lightroom is kind of a single function of many that i want (good, but not alone), PixInsight is generally regarded as the best, but I'm not really looking at spending that much. The book that i purchased references Nebulosity often, and that is a much friendly price. And there's always PS Paint Shop, etc.  So which one would be the best for the money paid? Or is there another that I've overlooked that would also be a good option? 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take a look at StarTools (http://startools.org/drupal/). I haven't used it but I know others on here have with good results, plus it meets your reasonably priced criteria.

+1 for StarTools, great piece of software at a giveaway price and you don't have to be an egg head to make head or tails of it. Neb3 is also good but I use the capture side of it rather than processing.

A.G

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 for StarTools. They do a fully-functional free version which doesn't save (though you can grab the screen ;) ) but is only $50 anyway. It does use an unfamiliar way of doing things so takes a bit of getting used to. Gimp and Paint.net are ok for some things but only handle 8 bit images (256 levels) whereas DSLR raw images are usually 14 bit (16384 levels) and ccd images 16-bit (65536 levels) so a huge loss of dynamic range as soon as you convert a raw/native file to 8 bit. I've started using PS CS2 as well which has been released as a free download and is quite useful for some things.

Louise

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.