Acquisition & processing Software

[julian489289]

I currently have a Canon 650D DSLR which I image through an Explore Scientific 102 mm ED Triplet mounted on a Skywatcher HEQ5 pro mount.  I control the set up through Ascom, Cartes Du Ciel, Apt, PHD2 and Astro Tortilla. I currently process using PS CS6.

I have been looking a Pixinsight to process the image that i stack in DSS.   However, rather than just investing in PI what are the groups thoughts and recommendations for going for a program such as PI ( no image capture) or looking for an image acquisition and processing software program to buy.

Also what programs should I be looking for?? 

[swag72]

Here's a question for you ......

What do you think is currently lacking from your acquisition and processing? I ask as I use Photoshop for the majority of my processing and it works fine. For acquisition I use SGPro and really rate it.

I'd hate for you to jump to PI with huge expectations and then find them unfulfilled. You can get a free 45 day trial on it to test it out.

[julian489289]

Sara,  I am more than happy with APT as a capture software coupled with PHD2 & AT.

However, i just cannot get the best results from CS6 re colour and depth of the stacked image.  When you see PI images they have so much colour and just look more like the images seen online or in books!!

[julian489289]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e7vx89bcynf49dw/M33%2007%2011%2015%20restack-1.jpg?dl=0

[swag72]

However, i just cannot get the best results from CS6 re colour and depth of the stacked image.  When you see PI images they have so much colour and just look more like the images seen online or in books!!

It sounds like you just need to learn the best ways to process in PS - There's plenty of people out there that use it to good effect. Unless you want to spend a load of money on PI

In all honesty, the amount of time that you would spend on learning PI (it is very different to anything else and so does have a learning curve) - If you spent equal amounts of time on PS you'd be equally proficient in producing good images .... in my opinion.

PI is not going to suddenly make your images pop - That's hard work and time with whatever package you chose to learn.

Just my opinion of course

[ollypenrice]

I don't think I'd use PI much if I were narrowband imaging. I'm a 'natural colour' or broadband imager who uses narrowband, mostly Ha and sometimes OIII, to enrich LRGB images. I process 90% in Photoshop but the 10% I do in Pixinsight is absolutely essential and I wouldn't want to be without it.

I take my unstretched, or linear, images into Pixinsight for dynamic background extraction and SCNR Green. Once I have done this I find colour balance is excellent and I have no colour gradients across the image. There are plug ins for photoshop which can do similar things (Gradient Xterminator and Hasta La Vista Green) but PI does them better.

We spend a lot on hardware but software is so important in the imaging process.

I work from a very dark site so if I need a programme to correct colour gradients then I think everyone does.

Olly

[Owmuchonomy]

Concentrating on the Photoshop part of the discussion have you tried using this method?

http://www.astronomersdoitinthedark.com/dslr_llrgb_tutorial.php