Old calibration files

[dmahon]

I'm racking up image files like there's no tomorrow (but still have many years worth of disk space left). Every time I go back and add more data to an image I start from the original uncalibrated images all over again. Rather than essentially waste time, I could just stack the calibrated files and add more data to those.

Do you all discard your flats/dark/bias files (and uncalibrated lights) and just keep the calibrated lights? There doesn't seem to be any advantage in keeping the originals and the calibration files assuming you have done your calibrations correctly in the first place (once the calibration files are no longer useful for future images).

Or should I just continue to keep everything?

[roundycat]

You are right - I think!

I tend to calibrate using up to date cal files and then assemble channel masters. I keep the masters as they can be added to but ditch the individual subs. Their only purpose is to enable you to make masters anyway.

As new cal files are taken so the older ones are ditched. Darks drift and old flats are totally useless.

Dennis