Is there any agreement on what software for a complete imaging newbie?

[CCD-Freak]

I use Astro Art 8 for pretty much my whole imaging process.  It controls the telescope and has a very fast plate solve engine.  I control my imaging camera and it does auto-guiding and focuser and filter wheel control.  Once you have captured your images AA8 has very fast stacking and post processing capabilities.  It is a "one stop shop" at a fairly reasonable price.  I started with AA2 and have stayed with it to the current version.  It just keeps getting better and more capable.

https://www.msb-astroart.com/

This recent image of NGC1333 was captured and processed with AA8.

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by CCD-Freak
can't type (^8

[Merlin66]

+1 for Astroart - it punches well above its weight!!!

 

[900SL]

SiriL, free, getting better with every update, and Affinity Photo. Also Lightroom although I have the old pre-subscription version. 

SiriL will stack and process and stretch, Affinity is a Photoshop alternative and great value

 

5 minutes with Siril, rough edit, compressed jpeg:

 

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by 900SL

[wongataa]

I have settled on Astro Pixel Processor.  I have tried Siril and Pixinsight.  Pixinsight was so user unfriendly I swiftly gave up on it.  With APP I got a useable result with my first try out.  Then investigating further got better results.  This resulted in me thinking it was useful and buying it.  I finish off images in Photoshop and Lightroom but I already have those so aren't new to me.

[LaurenceT]

2 hours ago, wongataa said:

I have settled on Astro Pixel Processor.  I have tried Siril and Pixinsight.  Pixinsight was so user unfriendly I swiftly gave up on it.  With APP I got a useable result with my first try out.  Then investigating further got better results.  This resulted in me thinking it was useful and buying it.  I finish off images in Photoshop and Lightroom but I already have those so aren't new to me.

What was your view on Siril? I've looked at APP on  YouTube (yes, I know 😀) and liked the step by step guide, just like to know before pulling the trigger on a year's subscription or trying Siril.

[wongataa]

Siril worked OK but I just found APP easier to use and get results I was happy with.  There is a free trial of APP if you want to have a go with it.  I did that before spending any money.

[900SL]

SiriL interface has been significantly improved. It uses 'scripts' which are short sequences of instructions to process lights, darks, flats, any combination. You pick the script which suits your frames and it then auto loads them and even does frame by frame calibration, which is very useful if you have gradients in your lights. It will also extract RGB channels from OSC data. It takes a little bit of study to use it effectively (YouTube guides) but once you figure it out it is a great stacking and processing package. You can do it automatically or once you get more experienced, manually. For a free package it is excellent. I've used DSS, APP, sequator and a few others, SiriL wins out once you know how to use it.

APP is pretty good too. I find SiriL quicker and with similar processing abilities

[StephenRh]

I am very new to astro-imaging but I have found Siril, especially with the help of various on line tutorials, not too bad to pick up. In addition I use  GIMP for additional processing.

[Denys]

On 11/03/2022 at 08:08, 900SL said:

5 minutes with Siril, rough edit, compressed jpeg:

That is a very nice image!

I apologize for deviating from the main topic of this post, but may I ask you what equipment and how much integration time did you use?

Now, back to the main topic, as a beginner myself, I've been using DSS for stacking and GIMP for some very basic post-processing. I like both, there are a few tutorials available to guide you, and more importantly (at least for me), they are free.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Denys

[900SL]

On 12/03/2022 at 18:39, Denys said:

That is a very nice image!

I apologize for deviating from the main topic of this post, but may I ask you what equipment and how much integration time did you use?

Now, back to the main topic, as a beginner myself, I've been using DSS for stacking and GIMP for some very basic post-processing. I like both, there are a few tutorials available to guide you, and more importantly (at least for me), they are free.

Edit..wrong thread

Edited March 13, 2022 by 900SL