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I give up - I need to Guide. Pls advise.

Spacehead

By Spacehead
in Imaging - Discussion

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Spacehead

Spacehead

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It might work - if I could figure out how to plug it in.

I feel a bit lost again now - cant seem to get rid of the vignetting in my image, thought it would have dropped more than it did - cant load gradientxterminator because I dont know where to stick it on my disk or where to tell psp x8 to look for it - and it isnt even written for psp x8 - its for photoshop anyway which I find mind bending that psp would even be allowed to open it.  There is no free trial of nebulosity which I can find either.  I dont want pixinsight yet.

I was just hoping x8 would be a bit easier than it is - the tutorials showing photoshop curve editing...... I cant get x8 to place a selector on the line by hovering over the image preview like the tutorials ive been asked by happy kat to watch - all I have acheived is layers and levels.

I need a holiday - my head is spinning.

 

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Spacehead

Spacehead

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56 minutes ago, Oddsocks said:

Ok, apologies in order.....eating humble pie at this moment....

I looked the the .cr2 in PixInsight and it is a single sub, exporting this back to PS as a tiff and comparing your stacked tiff to the singe cr2 you can see much more detail and lower noise so the stacking routine in DSS was successful, I hadn't allowed for the weird vignetting field, there really isn't anything outside the very central region where you cropped your "final" result from.

If I concentrate just on that region I can bring out a very similar result to yours using Photoshop.

So the thing to resolve is why the vignetting, flat correction is not working well.

It could be that the exposure time being relatively short for the lights that the most sensitive part of the field is that middle portion where the Pelican just begins to appear out of the background noise. Even if you add more exposures to the stack most of the pelican will remain hidden below the background noise outside of that central region.

Looking at that single .cr2 in PixInsight there is so little there to work with that I doubt anyone will get more than you have managed so far. 

Longer exposures would help but then as the title of your post suggests...I-need-to-guide...

If you have the patience to set up periodic error correction on the mount and drift align, extend the exposure time to two or three minutes per sub then you will begin to bring out the rest of the Pelican above the noise floor.

Its ok - nothing to apologise for thats for certain.

Yes - main main issue in all of this is really the vignetting.  I really really thought that having flats would help reduce this - but whilst it HAS worked, it isn't nearly enough - and I cant find a way to zap the gradient.  Ive spent ages now - I just cant seem to do it.  But really most of it should be done with the flats as I understood things.

My original stack was with 50% mean - that is what produced my first image as posted above as a complete image aswell as the cropped middle bit.  I have also stacked with 30% mean - that was even less effective at removing the vignette than the 50%.  I have flats (I took 14 sets of 30) with higher % - so I might just mess around and see if going in the opposite direction to about 60% makes a difference out of curiosity.

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Spacehead

Spacehead

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Oddsocks - thanks for the advice.  I have downloaded and installed the gradient exterminator to my X8 PaintShop and it works - PERFECTLY - thanks to your directions.  I would never have found where to add it in - I'd googled all over the show but couldn't find how to do it!  What a great plugin that is and thanks Happy Kat for suggesting it existed!

Fabulous result with what it does - I will be buying that once the trial expires.

I am experimenting with it.

Conceptually now that the vignette is completely addressed (at my level) - I am after doing the following.
"increase the brightness/intensity of the RED shades in my image, without increasing the brightness/intensity of the rest of the image".

Lol - well thats my view of the world - just figuring out how to do it.

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happy-kat

happy-kat

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I'm just going to add a suggestion. I also use StarTools which has excellent inbuilt wipe functions, I mention this because the cost of StarTools might be a bit less more than the plugin. So I'll add a link when I'm on my PC to a blog that you could follow to process your image in the free StarTools trial. (can not save but could take a screen grab) Only a thought. I use psp and StarTools for my basic foray into having a go.

blog on processing an image using StarTools

 

edit StarTools worked a smidge cheaper on just looking.

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happy-kat

happy-kat

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If you take a look at that blog link it gives the settings to use in DSS to create a FITS file with no adjustments are shown. You don't save as FITS it is the auto save file that is created as a FITS file.

I had a go with your already altered file but it was not great so would be interesting to compare to file that has not been altered please. PNG attached, but would love a go with a re stacked version please.

 

pel1stack v1.1.png

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Spacehead

Spacehead

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Ok Guys, I have read through the blog post, racked and stacked them again using the settings as described and also from the screen shot from Oddsocks - so.......

1.  Here is an image showing the settings just before the stacking began.
dss_scr1.jpg

2.  Here is an image showing the screen immediately after processing with the above settings.
postdss.jpg


3. Here is an example of a flat file (one of 26 used with the same camera settings) - cr2
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/flat1.cr2

4. Here is an example of a dark file used (one of 15 taken immediately after the data set was taken on the night) - cr2
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/dark1.cr2

5. Here is an example of a light from the evening - 1 of 60 in the stack - cr2
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/IMG_0877.cr2

6. Here is the Autosave file which I haven't touched at all - totally "neat" out of DSS.
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/Autosave.fts

I will go and have a mess around with it in PSP X8 and see what I can get out of it.

ALso - please note the following which may be of use - just sort of surrounding factors on the image set.
1.  It is taken out the outskirts of Manchester - my light pollution is in the range between 16 and 32 according to this scale - so not good :/   I do want to say though - that despite the low Ha capture per subframe - I am actually OVER THE MOON with this data given its my first real attempt, because i'm pleased with the framing having struggled to find the pelican (naturally I cant see it and have no goto), it shows my new camera is working, it shows my motor is working, it shows my PA is vastly improved - so lots of little things coming together really.
lp.jpg

2. I took these images about a week before solstice, so they aren't even truly dark I would say.  As I flick through them - the sky is changing as I watch!!  Basically the sun was going down, never seemed "winter dark" if you know what I mean, then around 2 hours later it was coming up again.  So not the best time of year by a long shot!

3. Only 1 min subs due to tracking only at the moment.

4. Modded 1300D, SW200P, EQ5 with motors.

5. Data (lights) has had subs removed with lines (planes/satellites etc) in them, subs removed where that cog rotation causes jerks - (cant remember what that phenomenon is called) - so pretty clean 60 lights in all.

So in summary - I don't expect either my own noob processing skills or anyone elses expert skills to draw much out TBH - moreso I am looking for what "can" be got out though, by those with more skills than me - sort of a target for me to aim for because I am running a bit blind with these low content images.
I realise that more subs will help, darker nights are on their way, I am looking into guiding (have bought the controller conversion kit and am looking into my laptop and whats needed guide cam wise).

So.... if anyone can beat my initial JPG I showed right early on in this thread - hit me with it - I will take on board what you say and move forward.

Cheers







 

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geoflewis

geoflewis

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17 minutes ago, Spacehead said:

3. Here is an example of a flat file (one of 26 used with the same camera settings) - cr2
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/flat1.cr2

4. Here is an example of a dark file used (one of 15 taken immediately after the data set was taken on the night) - cr2
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/dark1.cr2

5. Here is an example of a light from the evening - 1 of 60 in the stack - cr2
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/IMG_0877.cr2

6. Here is the Autosave file which I haven't touched at all - totally "neat" out of DSS.
http://www.serlimited-uk.co.uk/space/Autosave.fts

Hi, I tried to open them but none of these links work for me.... Geof

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happy-kat

happy-kat

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Thanks for that.

You should look at the ISO comment from DSS. All calibration files should match on ISO I think (I want to say focus as well but that might be ok to be variable but you aren't using a filter wheel so I had expected all the same)

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Spacehead

Spacehead

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Geof I dont know whats wrong there - I have checked, its uploaded in Binary mode and its a directly output file from DSS - completely untouched with any other software.
Have you tried right click save as, because if your browser doesnt know how to display fits - it may simply display its content in ASCII or something.

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