ImagesPlus or PixInsight for serious processing?

[Flea77]

I have been looking at upgrading my image processing workflow and have tried PI with far better results than what I get with DSS/Lightroom/Photoshop. There are some things I do not like about PI however so I thought I would see what everyone's opinion is between the two software packages.

Is either one clearly better than the other? What are some of the things I would give up choosing one over the other? I am trying the demos however there is no way to get a comprehensive look with only a short trial.

One advantage IP has is that I already own the camera control module and it seems to work fine.

Thanks for any info!

Allan

[MeyGray3833]

I have been trialling PI and I like it very much, however it isn't what I would call user friendly in the beginning and a few things like a non live preview without clicking another button drives me crackers. I wouldn't say PI gives necessarily better results as I have seen some absolute cracking shots come out of PS when all the plug ins are loaded and used, however, it certainly provides different results.

I have also found that as I still don't know a super amount about PI like I do PS, I am still falling back to PS for some tweaking. I guess this will slow right down over a period of time, however, I can't see me getting rid of PS or stop using it completely.

Other software that can do procesing include MaxIm, Astro Art and CCDSoft to name a few off the top of my head, and as mentioned IP.

[Jessun]

Nothing wrong with cherry picking the best features from each program - apart from the obvious and sad loss of cash. I use a few features in PI, but always end up in PS for the familiarity of it, and its ease of use.

PI does seem more powerful for AP though so I wish I knew it better. Off to Harry's Astroshed to learn more...

[Flea77]

Maybe I should clarify. I still use Lightroom and Photoshop for final touchups, just primarily am looking at IP and PI for stacking and stretching etc. I have absolutely no intention of replacing PS or LR.

Allan

[MeyGray3833]

My humble recommndation then is that I'd try PI, it seems to have more powerful tools than IP(fiddled with IP a bit at my mates place) and I think you'd get more out of it when you learn more of it.