deep sky stacker and CR2 problem

[wxsatuser]

8 minutes ago, alacant said:

I updated the software but really the point is I should be able to use the rc2 files as-is on 3.3.4 I think. Is there anything in the camera I may have overlooked? I have RAW + L with firmware version 1.0.1, no auto rotate and iso 1600...

TIA

The L is jpeg as well as RAW

[cgarry]

As a work-around while you are trying to get DSS working you could try converting you files to TIFFs using PIPP.  This should only take a few seconds per image, definitely not hours.

Give PIPP all your light, dark, flat and bias frames it will be able to spit out calibrated TIFFs ready to load into DSS for stacking.  Though it should not be that difficult to get DSS working...

Cheers,
Chris

[alacant]

Hi. OK, running out of idea. Could someone with 3.3.4 see if they can stack these two cr2 from my 1200D? I'd be so grateful so that I could then eliminate camera error. Free beer if you're ever over in Alicante. Guaranteed. TIA

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_uUt0LyuuEdOVJSS0RYRW03UVk/view?usp=sharing

and

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_uUt0LyuuEdbEtCNnJBUFdMSHc/view?usp=sharing

[Davey-T]

Stacked fine in DSS.

Dave

 

[alacant]

Dave, thanks so much. Could you share your windows version? Do I understand correctly that I install 3.3.4 simply by unpacking the rar and clicking the .exe? Do I uninstall 3.3.2 first? Any details most gratefully received. TIA

[Davey-T]

Don't remember uninstalling older version, just did as you say unzipped 3.3.4 and ran .exe and put a shortcut on the desktop.

If it says Deepskystacker 3.3.4 at the top of the screen when you start it up then all should be well.

Guess you could try uninstalling all DSSs and reinstalling, damn computers

This is on Win8.1 but I also have it running on Win 7 machine

Dave

[alacant]

OK, thanks again. I'm Linux only here with a virtual xp machine just for the astro stuff. Not ideal but that almost almost explains the lack of speed. I'm beginning to think I'm gonna need a machine dedicated to just to DSS. This setup has been fine with Nikon NEF files up to now but I can see I'm gonna need more processng power for the CR2s. They're enormous by comparison. A NEF was around 3Mb, a CR2 24Mb. Maybe that's due to the higher resolution on the Canon (?). Maybe 3.3.4 doesn'r work on xp? Loadsa maybes. I'll try 3.3.4 on a friends native windows machine tomorrow. As you say, damn computers...

[happy-kat]

My PC is running XP service pack 3. I can only use 3.3.4 for the 1100d. As already said I had to go through the motions of uninstalling and installing again to get 3.3.4 to work. The first pass install did not do the job. You will know when it has worked as you will no longer see the narrow finished image.

[alacant]

Sorry h-k for not replying. Yes, I have sp3 in a vm. I've tried all combinations of uninstall 3.3.2, install over the top, uninstall and try just 3.3.4 many times over but thanks for the heads up. I ridded the narrow final-after-stacking image after the 3.3.2 uninstall and first time 3.3.4 over the top. If it's working on your native sp3, that has to be something to do with VirtualBox. As you can see, we've eliminated faulty in camera CR2s so the next step will be to try a clean install on a native windows. In rural Spain, this is not as easy as it sounds...

[happy-kat]

It is hard to remember enough to describe it but I recall having to repeat the install, the more I think about it the more I am thinking I did it quite a lot. Do check the properties of the dss icon to check it is going to the right place for your install as well.

[alacant]

7 hours ago, wxsatuser said:

The L is jpeg as well as RAW

Yeah, I wonder if I really need that. It's that my viewer loads the jpg faster than the cr2 so it's easier to see which to stack and which to dump.

[wxsatuser]

3 hours ago, alacant said:

Yeah, I wonder if I really need that. It's that my viewer loads the jpg faster than the cr2 so it's easier to see which to stack and which to dump.

It will be faster as the jpeg is a lot smaller.

Wether you need jpeg is up to you and how much card space you have.

Personally I only shoot RAW for all my photography but that does'nt mean jpegs are wrong, it's
just there are more options when processing RAW.

[alacant]

I get around 100 shots RAW+L and 130 RAW so either way, with dark and flat frames, I'm only going to have enough for one object. A few more light snaps would never go a miss though I suppose. Having been a Linux and Nikon only user since the time affordable dslrs came onto the scene (when was that?), the learnng curve in switching to Windows and Canon has been steep to say the least!

[alacant]

OK, found it.

DSS intermediate and final files saved in tif format: nothing is written to autosave.tif and no final image is produced.

Changing to fits format for ntermediate and final files works fine, a final Autosave.fts file is produced and loads fine.

Thanks to everyone for their help, suggestions and encouragement.

[happy-kat]

That's brilliant well spotted. I use startools and use the autosave fits file so hadn't come across your problem to have related the two. Glad you are sorted now.

[alacant]

Yeah, I'm StarTools too. I've always used a final save as fits. So it looks as though 3.3.4 has changed in that respect. Anyway, It's here to be googled now so I hope at least we've saved someone a few hours down the line. Cheers.

[michael8554]

In my experience I have never been able to open the DSS autosave.tif in Paintshop Pro (vers X7 W7 64bit) - "Unable to open the file, please verify  that the file is valid"

But I can see a preview in windows explorer, it appears to be unstretched.

If I do a Save As as soon as DSS has saved the autosave.tif, I get a stretched version that will open in PSP.

I recently stumbled over a thread about converting the autosave using ImageMagic.

The theory being that the "110MB autosave.tif is a 55MB image with a 55MB Header, which isn't right, a known DSS Bug"

Not my theory, just quoting, but my Save As files are half the size of the autosave.tif........

Michael

EDIT:

Just done some more googling, I see that the autosave is 32bit, the Save As is 16bit, that would explain it