Is using PIPP and AS!2 together really necessary?

[Leveye]

Question for the masters out there. If I'm using a ZWO ASI120MC camera for planetary and taking AVI frames would I really need to use PIPP at all? If so what are the benefits? I seem to be getting better results just loading all the frames straight into AS!2 even when stacking the same amount of quality frames.

[knobby]

Think you've answered yourself

[riklaunim]

When I compared some outputs from my AVIs both gave equally good results. You don't have to use both of them. I just pass all AVIs through castrator and then to AS2.

[Leveye]

Autostakkert grades frame quality yes? That seemed to be in question on another forum.

[Steve Ward]

I always use PIPP first , mainly to centre and crop images before going on to stack , Castrator can do this but not with DSLR frames which PIPP handles with ease .

PIPP is one of the best free programs out there and is gaining new features by the week , I love it. 

[riklaunim]

Autostakkert grades frame quality yes? That seemed to be in question on another forum.

Yes, it stacks the amount you tell it to and it will pick starting from the best ones.

[Leveye]

I do use PIPP when I image planetary occasionally using eyepiece projection and my DSLR. It converts the .Mov file to Avi  frames and crops that I understand but if using my ZWO's avi files I really see no point. Some say use both. I'm not seeing any better results using both.

[Psychobilly]

PIPP... 781x 23MP raw files of the Eclipse , aligned,cropped and converted into a movie in 300secs....  I like it

[SnakeyJ]

When processing a good haul of data, I use PIPP first to centre, crop and quality sort. I then batch stack the results in AS!2. This is faster with lots of captures and I find PIPP's sort algorithm a little more dependable. However for final process, I often go back to the raw stacks individually in AS!2 and manually exclude any more dubious frames.

PIPP is also useful for converting your captures to UTLRG, if this is not supported by your capture programme :-)

[Leveye]

When processing a good haul of data, I use PIPP first to centre, crop and quality sort. I then batch stack the results in AS!2. This is faster with lots of captures and I find PIPP's sort algorithm a little more dependable. However for final process, I often go back to the raw stacks individually in AS!2 and manually exclude any more dubious frames.

PIPP is also useful for converting your captures to UTLRG, if this is not supported by your capture programme :-)

Very useful info thank you. How do you manually exclude frames using AS!2 if i may ask?

[SnakeyJ]

Very useful info thank you. How do you manually exclude frames using AS!2 if i may ask?

If you click on the display window, you can cycle through the frames one at a time using the arrow keys and press the space bar to exclude any you don't like.    I often find after a change of gain that the first few frames have some FPN which both AS!2 and PIPP seem to favour!    Shadow transits are also an area where the algorithms are not as good as the human eye.    But the process is tedious if you want to review large stacks.

[Leveye]

I never knew that. Many thanks much appreciated Jake!

[cgarry]

If you click on the display window, you can cycle through the frames one at a time using the arrow keys and press the space bar to exclude any you don't like.    I often find after a change of gain that the first few frames have some FPN which both AS!2 and PIPP seem to favour!    Shadow transits are also an area where the algorithms are not as good as the human eye.    But the process is tedious if you want to review large stacks.

Yes, the quality algorithms always seem to latch onto something they should not!  I have had great fun with Mars especially where frames with 'double images' due to the seeing get given a high quality rating.

If you do get some examples of obviously poor frames getting higher quality ratings that they should then I would be interested in getting hold of them.  That way I might be able to extend PIPP's quality algorithm to better handle them.  I guess I am being dumb here, but what do you mean by FPN?

Cheers,

Chris

[SnakeyJ]

Yes, the quality algorithms always seem to latch onto something they should not! I have had great fun with Mars especially where frames with 'double images' due to the seeing get given a high quality rating.

If you do get some examples of obviously poor frames getting higher quality ratings that they should then I would be interested in getting hold of them. That way I might be able to extend PIPP's quality algorithm to better handle them. I guess I am being dumb here, but what do you mean by FPN?

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks Chris, FPN is fixed pattern noise, both horizontal and vertical banding, which seems to occur on first few frames after a change in gain on the qhy5l-iim - though think this is related to the sensors noise reduction re calibrating.

I won't hijack the OP's thread further, but will pm or perhaps start another thread on quality sort algorithms - as there would be wider interest in this.

[Leveye]

What's a good percentage for quality when going through the frames on your own? For Jupiter say? Best to just eyeball it?

[Steve Ward]

I usually get PIPP to save just the top 35% of the frames in the original AVI , and then in AS!2 I Stack just the top 15% of those after the initial "Analyse" stage.

[Luke]

I normally use PIPP before Autostakkert, I tend to cut down to about 30% to 45% depending on seeing.