DeepSky Stacker Help – RAW Files

[DirkSteele]

Am I lost?  Why am I asking for help in the beginners’ sections of imaging?  While I have pointed a wide field DSLR at the night sky while I have been observing in the past, I am a dedicated visual observer, the but the allure of Comet Neowise has proved too much of a temptation.  😉  Now after that silliness, on with my question.

 

I have taken a series of short exposures of Comet Neowise.  I have also taken darks, flats and bias frames (yes I did some reading before going outside with my camera), with the intention of stacking all of this using DeepSky Stacker (recently downloaded, using the 64 bit version 4.2.3).

 

I am using an unmodified Canon 70D, and shot everything in RAW.

 

When I load everything into Deepsky Stacker, the depth is being shown as 16-Bit Gray.  It seems to be ignoring all the colour data contained in the RAW file.  Is there something I am missing to get DSS to acknowledge these are colour frames and treat them accordingly?

 

Edit:  Adding a screenshot with the depth circled.

 

Or should I be modifying the file format to something else (which would beg the question why it cannot handle RAW)?  If this answer to this is yes, would it be TIFF and I assume I would need to do the conversion for Lights, Flats, Darks, and Bias?

 

Thanks for your help.

(no doubt I will be back asking for processing help as I can see there is a substantial light pollution gradient across the image thanks to living in central London).

Edited July 20, 2020 by DirkSteele
adding image

[PeterCPC]

DSS can absolutely handle RAW images. Have you put your camera in the RAW/FITS setting?

Peter

[DirkSteele]

I shot in RAW.  What I am struggling with is why DSS seems to suggest this is a 16-bit gray image.

[Alien 13]

I know that not all Canon RAW files are created equal and some software struggles with certain versions although I cant confirm this is the problem you are facing. What has worked for me in the past is the free software "Adobe DNG Converter" this converts a Canon RAW file to a standardized Digital Negative which can be processed as a normal RAW, the software is easy to use and can do "batch" conversions and as said is universally compatible with all image processing software. I would give it a try to see if it helps.

Alan 

[PeterCPC]

I don't think that there is anything wrong with it saying grey 16 bit. It will convert them to RGB.

Peter

[DirkSteele]

4 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

I know that not all Canon RAW files are created equal and some software struggles with certain versions although I cant confirm this is the problem you are facing. What has worked for me in the past is the free software "Adobe DNG Converter" this converts a Canon RAW file to a standardized Digital Negative which can be processed as a normal RAW, the software is easy to use and can do "batch" conversions and as said is universally compatible with all image processing software. I would give it a try to see if it helps.

Alan 

Thanks.  I will give that a go.

[DirkSteele]

2 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

I don't think that there is anything wrong with it saying grey 16 bit. It will convert them to RGB.

Peter

Showing my lack of knowledge here.  Would that conversion occur at the end of the stacking process? i.e. the output Tiff that is saved by DSS when it finishes (and automatically)?

Edited July 20, 2020 by DirkSteele

[PeterCPC]

It's been a while since I used DSS (now use APP) but it will convert them as part of the stacking process. That's why I said have you input your camera so it knows that it's RGGB. The end result will look grey but you then stretch the colours in the processing tab.

Peter

[Zakalwe]

Make sure that you are using the correct version of DSS to suit the camera.

[Zakalwe]

Download the latest version of DSS:  http://deepskystacker.free.fr/english/index.html

Go to Settings:RAW/FITS DDP Settings

Go to the FITS section. Tick the tab as below. Then select the correct camera type or the correct Bayer matrix in the drop down.

Your camera is supported (as listed on the LIBRaw page: https://www.libraw.org/supported-cameras )

 

 

 

There's a good tutorial here: https://astrobackyard.com/deep-sky-stacker-settings/

[wxsatuser]

RAW files are grey it's correct in DSS.

Edited July 22, 2020 by wxsatuser