Image processing - Recommended Workflows/ Tutorials?

[opticalpath]

I'd like to have another go planetary imaging after many years away concentrating on deep sky imaging. Trouble is, things have obviously moved on a lot since my long-ago efforts with a colour webcam and early versions of Registax, as I can see from browsing this forum. Can anyone recommend a source of info - a tutorial or workflow description - that would help me get up to date with current methods and software tools? I understand the basics, but just need to get my head around a practical workflow that exploits newer methods and tools. I would expect to be using a (older model) mono TIS camera + filters and LX200 10" for imaging.

Thanks for any advice.

Adrian

[Freddie]

Hi, no tutorial links but i would suggest you look for info. on:

AS!2 for stacking

Registax 6 for wavelets

Winjupos to combine R, G and B images

Photoshop or GIMP for final adjustments

[Space Cowboy]

I use the wavelet settings from this Registax tutorial :

http://www.sunspot51.com/Registax6/Registax6.htm

Image Analyser is a good alternative to Gimp or Photoshop :

[stev74]

There is lots of great info on riklaunim's website, definitely worth a look.

[opticalpath]

OK. Thanks for this. That's really helpful.

Just one point I'm not clear on: At what stage is planetary de-rotation performed with WinJupos? Is it a pre-processing activity applied separately to each R, G and B AVI before alignment and stacking? Or is it performed after alignment and stacking, at the point of combining the three stacked and processed R, G and B images? Or both?

Thanks.

Adrian

[Space Cowboy]

There are 2 ways of using winjupos de-rotate. De-rotating an avi or de-rotating the stacked image. To de-rotate the avi you first stack an image (using wavelets to sharpen) from the middle of the avi which is used as the reference frame. De-rotating stacked images is much quicker as it needs less processing power and uses the same mid avi reference frame.

[opticalpath]

There are 2 ways of using winjupos de-rotate. De-rotating an avi or de-rotating the stacked image.

Stuart, would I be right in thinking that it's normal practice to de-rotate the stacked images, to avoid the rainbow effect, but not to de-rotate the individual AVIs (unless they are unusually long)?

Adrian

[Space Cowboy]

Not sure what you mean by the rainbow effect Adrian?

[opticalpath]

Sorry, I meant the colour fringing that results from uncorrected displacement of features on the disk in the R, G and B images, caused by rotation during the time delay between different colour AVIs.

I was supposing that rotational smearing might not be enough to be worth correcting in an individual 2-3 minute AVI, but might be more noticeable over the longer interval between R and B captures and therefore require de-rotation of the summed R, G and B images before combining.

Adrian

[Space Cowboy]

I'd better let the RGB men answer that one. From what I've heard they use both methods. In theory de-rotating longer avis is more efficient at utilising the best frames but very long winded when processing 3 avis compared to OSC imaging with just the one.

The biggest advantage I've had from de-rotating longer avis is the reduction in noise due to using extra frames especially when de-rotating stacked images.

[Freddie]

I find that with a set of R,G and B AVIs of 2min 30sec each, there is no need to derotate anything. Just process each file and then combine in Winjupos.