Stacking Software

[jefrs]

Possible silly question. Could be a greek parliament. What stacking software to use with digital camera astro photos (and video/time lapse), in Windows 10. 

Looking for effective and with ease of use.  Some of the software apps I've looked at are pretty old now and rather clunky.

[Buzzard75]

To stack frames I used Deep Sky Stacker when I used a DSLR, if that's what you're referring to by digital camera. To do a timelapse, I used Photoshop and its timeline feature. I have since moved on to an astro imaging camera and use PixInsight for stacking, but still use Photoshop for timelapses.

[michael8554]

Many of the free stacking progs are continuously being updated, but the whole process can by definition be "clunky."

Michael

[assouptro]

I used to use DSS and still do for checking my subs to see if any need deleting but I use astropixel processor for stacking, it’s different and requires a bit of research but it’s results are (for me) better than DSS 

Cheers 

Bryan

[PeterCPC]

+1 for APP

Peter

[bottletopburly]

simplest stacker i have used, if you use the scripts option is Siril ,can look daunting at first as Siril can be complicated looking at it for the first time , but using the scripts then its a few mouse clicks  once you know what to do . 

[jefrs]

Thank you everyone. 

Yes by "Digital Camera" I mean my various micro 4/3, being mirrorless are not "SLR" but can swap lenses.  Back focus is a bit different but results are very good once that is understood and they're mounted properly. Initially the lack of a mirror box meant they wanted to sit practically inside the OTA; eyepiece projection works.  Lack of sensor noise on the GH4 is excellent as being developed for video the sensor is mounted on a heat sink and the LMOS is biased to sweep stray electrons off it.  Likewise the G7 but the E-M5ii has a bit more noise at high ISO and likes to turn magenta with long videos as its sensor cannot be cooled, good shooting controls on it though, and a USB tether program.

The crop size with a long lens means that some of my long lenses make effective telescopes in their own right; the 800mm mirror lens becomes FF equivalent to 1600mm and there is a x2 teleconverter for it. The Bigma 50-500, well you can work it out. Wide angle I can go down to 7mm. They can go on the Star-Adventurer. My telescope is a Celestron 130SLT, Barlow, various eyepieces.

I do have DSS but it's been a few year since I've been able to use the telescope, things happen like that. I was hoping software applications had moved on a bit.  

APP looks good but it's  £150 to purchase and I'm on a pension, hmm ...

Forgive me, I may be old and dim, but I cannot find any "Timeline Feature" in Photoshop Elements 14 (or 12). It may be there if it is called something else now. I do also have the 'Premiere Elements 14' which is the video app. I do not use 'Organiser' as I use a less intrusive database for that job.

[alacant]

1 hour ago, jefrs said:

APP looks good but it's  £150

I'm with @bottletopburly regarding Siril, not least of which that it doesn't cost €silly. It puts you firmly in control. It does exactly what you tell it rather than what it thinks you should be doing. Excellent same day/hour/minute support, almost at the PHD2 support level. Recommended.

Siril: free download

HTH

[happy-kat]

DSS had a new release earlier this year, that's not old even if you find the interface old the application isn't.

[JamesF]

6 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

DSS had a new release earlier this year, that's not old even if you find the interface old the application isn't.

Indeed so.  Development appears to be pretty active looking at the list of commits here:

https://github.com/deepskystacker/DSS/commits/master

James