Help with software for DSO astrophotography

[Dadek]

Hey people,
What software (freeware) should I use for DSO astrophotography?
I scoured the internet and found many many different combinations and it is a bit daunting for a beginner.
What I know for sure is that I need PHD2 for guiding and I would use Gimp and Stellarium.
So many programs offer overlaping features and I would like to know which ones are "essential"?

Cheers!

[vlaiv]

You need planetarium app and telescope control - Stellarium

You need capture application - if you have dedicated astro camera here are some choices: SGP Lite, Nina, APT, SIPS

I switched to SGP Lite after using SIPS for some time and eventually went for SGPro (payed version). For DSLR I think most people opt for APT, but there is ASCOM driver for Canon cameras, so in principle you could use any above application with Canon DSLR as well (not sure about other DSLRs like Sony and Nikon and such - if they have ASCOM drivers available).

You will need guiding app - PHD2

You will need stacking/calibrating application - DSS and ImageJ (with some plugins). First is only sensible option, second is a steep learning curve. I believe there are other options as well (like Siril?) but I have not used them, so can't give direct recommendation.

In the end you will need processing software - Gimp (use 2.10 and above as it has support for 32bit per pixel format.

[PeterCPC]

Let's not forget Sharpcap for capture.

Peter

[vlaiv]

3 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

Let's not forget Sharpcap for capture.

Peter

I left it out on purpose. It is very good software for planetary and live stacking work, but not so good for DSO imaging, in my opinion.

It is not the fault of software, but rather consequence of the fact it is primarily aimed at planetary. It uses native drivers first - you need to specifically select ASCOM driver to do capture with.

Native drivers operate a bit differently - they are aimed at fast readout and because of that - subs are not as stable as with ASCOM drivers (or so I've found). This means that calibration is more likely to fail when using native drivers vs ASCOM drivers that are specifically aimed at long exposure.

[MarkAR]

I'm using KStars/Ekos. (Still learning)

It's pretty much all in one for control and capture. Can be used with PHD2 and Pegasus Astro as well.

All you need then is stacking and post processing.

[Look left]

Vladivostok I know this is an old post however can you help me please.

trying out Nina and just downloaded but it does not pick up my Canon Rebel T3 camera?  You mention in this post there is a Ascom driver for Canon DSLR - does it work and can you tell me where I can get it please.

i,ve seen one link but it is GitHub so I had a look but just couldn't understand how to use the GitHub site.

so any link where it's a press here icon would be great.

[vlaiv]

12 minutes ago, Look left said:

Vladivostok I know this is an old post however can you help me please.

trying out Nina and just downloaded but it does not pick up my Canon Rebel T3 camera?  You mention in this post there is a Ascom driver for Canon DSLR - does it work and can you tell me where I can get it please.

i,ve seen one link but it is GitHub so I had a look but just couldn't understand how to use the GitHub site.

so any link where it's a press here icon would be great.

I'm not 100% sure as I've not tried this myself - try following link:

https://github.com/vtorkalo/ASCOM.DSLR/raw/master/DSLR.Camera Setup.exe

 

[Look left]

Hi,many thanks for the link. I,ve gone onto it but it seems as though it's 2 year old with no comments and it's GitHub so what do I need to do as it says you can build solution ? I,m not IT savvy . 

[rickwayne]

INDI, KStars, and Ekos? All open source, lots of cameras including just about every DLSR you could want, actively supported, runs on everything from a Raspberry Pi on up to Windows and Mac OS, has just about every feature you could want. Planetarium program, observatory/telescope control, acquisition, guiding, polar alignment...

I used Siril for awhile before deciding to spend some money on Astro Pixel Processor. I would occasionally have issues with getting color to come out right but in the main it worked pretty well. I was not a huge fan of its file-based progression -- every step, from conversion to FITS to calibration to registration to integration makes an entirely new set of FITS files -- but it's hardly the worst thing. (For example, if you decide you want to back up and try a different option, you don't have to go all the way back to the beginning.) It offers good choices for calibration and integration algorithms. Overall it's not the easiest thing for a beginner to learn (that would definitely be Astro Pixel Processor!) but if you read and watch the tutorials and keep at it, Siril will definitely do the linear-phase processing job for you and has tools for the nonlinear phase as well. Usually, though, I wound up doing that stuff in an image editor.

[bruno]

nebulosity  is a good program for capture and stacking or iris ( need to be a rocket scientist) but it,s free and very pwerful

[iapa]

3 hours ago, bruno said:

nebulosity  is a good program for capture and stacking or iris ( need to be a rocket scientist) but it,s free and very pwerful

free version, well, pre v3 did, include watermarks on process images tho'