Stacking

[Martin 2]

If you want to stack a load of exposures with different exsposure times and different ISO settings do you do them all together or stack each group first and then stack the final images.

M2

[Jamie]

Stack each group then stack all the different ISO/EXPOSURES .........

[OXO]

Depends what your stacking is it for Nebula's and such too avoid burning out or is it a star cluster etc etc if the later then i would stack em all in one...

James

[Ant]

I would agree with James.

If it's a object that might be subject to burning out then stack seperately. If it isn't then do them all together.

E.g. M42 needs long exposures to get the outer edges, but short exposures to capture the fine detail in the core. So you'd stack the two batches one at a time. and then use some photoshop magic to combine the two!

Ant

[Martin 2]

OK, I understand what to do for each type now

Thanks Guys

M2

[Ant]

If it's planets then it's a whole different ball game!

Couple of tips though.

Stack the images, then save as the highest quality you can, then create a copy of the file. Work on the copy never the original. That way if you learn something nw in the future you can revisit your old images and pull more out of them. And if you do something stupid you can start over!

Wish someone had pointed out that little gem when I first started stacking stuff. The images that I've lost over the years is soul destroying.

Ant

[OXO]

Wish someone had pointed out that little gem when I first started stacking stuff. The images that I've lost over the years is soul destroying.

Yes i know that feeling too

[Ambermile]

Stacking planets eh? Let Registax sort them in order of quality then stack the best 20 or so. Use this stacked image as the reference frame for stacking the rest.

Arthur

[MartinB]

That's a good idea Arthur. How do you integrate it into the avi file though?

[Ambermile]

Well, you optimise and stack the first 20 or so, then go back to the stack section and select it there.

Arthur

[Ambermile]

That answer was a bit cocky guys, sorry. Here it is properly

Normal bit:

Select AVI

Select Alignment Area

Align

Limit

Sneaky bit:

On Optimise screen, select number of frames and click Create in Reference Frame box

Enhance image when prompted, click Continue

Normal bit again:

Click Optimise or Optimise and stack as normal

Then carry on as you normally would

Easy ...

And in case anyone's wondering why - you need your best frame as a reference because Registax uses it as a "benchmark" to stack the rest of the frames. The better your reference then the better the resulting stacked image will be.

[MartinB]

That's great Arthur. Registax quality matching against the reference image always seems a bit haphazard so this must help.

[daz]

(Did you know this before Kelling Arthur?? )

It does indeed make a difference Martin!

[Ambermile]

Yup - sneak preview after laptop crash ...