What paid processing software?

[Swoop1]

Bonus time is approaching and I might get enough pocket pennies to buy, amongst other things, a processing software package (Photoshop etc.)

What are your preferences and why?

[Davey-T]

Wouldn't bother with P'Shop now its on monthly subscription, try free trials  of a few other things to see which you prefer.

Affinity Photo is similar to P'Shop, Astro Pixel Processor is quite popular and a few others whose name escapes me ATM

Dave 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Davey-T

[MarkAR]

Pixinsight. Pre and post processing and it runs on Mac.

[Merlin66]

Have a look at AstroArt. http://www.msb-astroart.com/

It punches well above it's weight. I use it for all my camera acquisition, pre-processing and final image processing.

Recommended.

 

[PeterCPC]

+1 for Affinity Photo.

Peter

[Alien 13]

+2 for Affinity Photo.

Alan

[tomato]

Affinity Photo is a good buy even though the half price deal has ended.

APP is great for calibration and stacking, mosaics and includes image processing tools also.

PI is a very comprehensive package and I would recommend it if image processing is what really floats your boat.

Howver, for best all round value for money, I think StarTools is top of my list, the latest version has a lot of new features and an improved help function. 
The default settings usually produce a decent result, but there is a lot of functionality in there if you want to go deeper.

[DaveS]

+1 for AstroArt 7, I do all the grunt work on it, then into Affinity Photo for the final polishing.

[newbie alert]

On 30/06/2020 at 23:33, Davey-T said:

Wouldn't bother with P'Shop now its on monthly subscription, try free trials  of a few other things to see which you prefer.

Affinity Photo is similar to P'Shop, Astro Pixel Processor is quite popular and a few others whose name escapes me ATM

Dave 

PS,  is like £10 per month..use to waste more on a Costa coffee.. I like PS,  don't personally feel the need to switch to Pixinsight 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Pixinsight gets my vote anyday.

Initially I was put off by the price and because it takes a bit of getting into (most people say it has a steep learning curve, I am not sure I agree, it has a different approach to all other programs and so is a bit strange but once you pick it up it really is great software and well worth the price). You can get a months free trial which may not be enough to get how it all works but if you tell them they will extend the trial period. I certainly would give the trial a go and ask for more if you still not sure but be prepared to give it a fair trial. There is so much help with tutorials on line and some really good books to help.

Steve

[Swoop1]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and reasoning. This has given me some food for thought.

[DaveS]

One thing to remember is that AstroArt is more than a processing program, it can do everything for capture too including platesolving and guiding. It was the software I moved to from APT when I moved from DSLR to CCD.

I did try PI, but since I was already using AA5, and shortly updated to 7, and PI was such a different experience, I stayed with AA7 which does everything I want in post production.

[Merlin66]

+1 from me.

 

[carastro]

I use Photoshop, never bothered with Pixinsight as was already established on PS and happy with it, but then I have an old version and don't pay monthly.  

I have Astroart which I use for stacking, but have never used it for post processing, are there any tutorials anywhere?  @DaveS?

Carole 

[DaveS]

I haven't seen any apart from some "legacy" files on Warren Keller's site which you have to pay for. Bit annoyed that he describes it as "legacy" as though it was some antediluvian antique, when it is very much alive and being developed. The latest version has much better help files and built in tutorials, though I bashed my way in to AA5 the hard way.

Most of my images on here have been processed entirely in AA5 or 7, with only some NB images (So far) having been taken into Affinity Photo for final polishing.

[DaveS]

This image of Deer Lick and Stephan's Quintet was processed entirely in AstroArt 5.

[Merlin66]

Carole,

The online AstroArt Guide (part of the AA7 download) has some basic tutorials to get you started.

[johneta]

Pixinsight has given me the best results, and Photoshop for finishing and daytime photography

[MartinB]

I use a combination of PS and Photoshop.  One thing to consider is the amount of internet support available.  There are loads of great youtube videos out there for PI and PS.  Also, do you do a lot of daytime photography or widefield nightime DSLR stuff?  If so Lightroom which comes with the CC package is very powerful.  From what I can gather Affinity Photo is pretty much on a par with PS but will probably work out cheaper in the long run.  Gimp is much updated software, free and with plenty of tutorials on YouTube.  

[x6gas]

On 06/07/2020 at 18:08, MartinB said:

I use a combination of PS and Photoshop.  One thing to consider is the amount of internet support available.  There are loads of great youtube videos out there for PI and PS.  Also, do you do a lot of daytime photography or widefield nightime DSLR stuff?  If so Lightroom which comes with the CC package is very powerful.  From what I can gather Affinity Photo is pretty much on a par with PS but will probably work out cheaper in the long run.  Gimp is much updated software, free and with plenty of tutorials on YouTube.  

In my view Affinity Photo is terrific value - it really is - but it's not really on a par with Photoshop... at least not yet.

A couple of immediate limitations for astro work are that it's sample point function only samples single pixels not an average (which is a pain when working to specific background values) and the macro functionality is hugely inferior to PS's actions (added to which you can get a large number of pre-canned actions for PS - both free and paid).

AstroArt is a hugely powerful and underrated package, though I must admit that I haven't upgraded from AA5 (and it stuck in the claw to pay so much to get the latest version) and instead I've switched to PI for pre-processing now - though the jury is out as to whether the results in PI are better (it sure does take longer in PI!)

[DaveS]

I started with AA5 and continued for quite a while. When I tried to update to V6 I found I'd  lost the original manual with the SNo in so held off. Eventually bit the bullet and bought a new install of AA7 which is much more powerful. Had a go with the trial of PI, even bought the book, but just couldn't get my head around the philosophy.