Which stacking software to start with

[Bill-T]

I am new to astro but have bought Zyrene ( https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker ) and used it successfully for macro photography but I'm sure the requirements for astro pictures are more specialised. Any recommendations for a starter software package please? 

[DaveS]

Deep Sky Stacker is free and pretty damn good. Worth starting out with before spending real money.

[LaurenceT]

1 hour ago, Bill-T said:

I am new to astro but have bought Zyrene ( https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker ) and used it successfully for macro photography but I'm sure the requirements for astro pictures are more specialised. Any recommendations for a starter software package please? 

It largely depends on what type of files you are capturing your astro images in.

I use Zerene for macro photography and it's excellent but it won't work for stacking fits files in astrophotography as it only works with tiff and jpeg files, if you are capturing your astro images in those files it might be worth a try as you already own Zerene.

As mentioned DSS works well, I stack my images in Siril and 99% of the time it's perfect. For the other 1% that Siril rejects I've used DSS and it works well for those, just one of the many mysteries of astrophotography processing!

Edited 1 hour ago by LaurenceT

[Elp]

DSS for simplicity, Siril for better control and also post processing options. Both free.

Edited 1 hour ago by Elp

[ONIKKINEN]

If you are patient and have some time to spare for learning, then Siril as it is very good but a bit difficult for a total beginner to use. Otherwise go with DSS, its very simple to use and does an ok job at stacking.

[LaurenceT]

I'm obviously bored this morning with time on my hands, I batch converted some fit files of the Eastern Veil nebula to jpegs in Irfanview and then stacked them in Zerene. As you can see the final result is less than stellar (pun intended).