The Best Astrophotography Stacking Software... for YOU?

how do we stack our astro images are you using deep sky stacker free and simple or did you move on to app and pixel site because you thought that dss is just not enough let's answer the question which one is suitable for you the pros and cons of the most popular stacking objects and while researching for this video i found something which i did not expect my name is tim and this is esther eddick in this video we will compare the following features of the software cost on a scale from free to pixel side simplicity how easy the software is to use for beginners quality with a direct comparison of the stacked images and adaptability how good the program can handle difficult stacking tasks dss is very popular for beginners and used extensively throughout the entire community why is this small piece of software a foundation of this hobby it's free the overlay is structured for easy access a big preview window to admire your work file list on the bottom and all necessary features in a small list on the left top to bottom workflow oriented the options menu contains only the most important settings to adapt to your needs the help file contains everything you need to learn the process and some insights into the maps behind astrophotography and if you get stuck a simple search on youtube will reveal countless tutorials to guide you simplicity very solid i award a 10 out of 10. dss will stack your light frames into a master integration frame but that's about it you can maybe set some settings for outlay rejection but nothing more you can drizzle but with no settings you can set a slight cosmetic correction but without a preview of the effects comparing this to app and peaks inside we can have all of the settings and have a preview of what's going on dss falls behind if you detect strong gradients or a hard to correct color balancing dss can do very little and you have to deal with that in post and that's where other pieces of software can step in and save the day adaptability 3 out of 10. app is a program i enjoy a lot and i stack all of my images with it but that will of course not bias the pros and cons as for this day app costs 150 euros definitely an obstacle for beginners that's why i'd recommend to learn the stacking process in dss and move on to app if you are sure that you want to continue deep sky imaging but why should you move on at that point the structure is similar to dss but the overall look and interface and loads of buttons can be quite daunting at the start big preview window file list at the bottom all the settings for stacking are on the left ordered from loading the files to integration if you are new to the software you will definitely need to watch some tutorials there is a tooltip for every button you can use but sometimes it's like reading a book rather than a tip on what settings you should use great to use after one or two tutorials 7 out of 10. now it's getting interesting app gives you the full control over the entire process key features are full manual calibration distortion correction and local normalization while stacking even difficult problems can be addressed gradients can be corrected in each frame before stacking and background neutralization can be performed as well but the most important features come after stacking the tools tab contains very powerful processes the light pollution removal tool works like black magic and the color calibration also gives you options to find unit plus automatic stretching saved my work many times since i'm really bad at doing so in photoshop these three features are in my opinion the best reason to use app and you can stitch mosaics like it's nothing adaptability 9 out of 10. remember that app can't do the editing for you you still need a program like photoshop or pixel site to finalize the image speaking of which now we move to the most advanced piece of astronomy software of probably all time pixensight was made with one purpose in mind giving you everything you need to stack your astra images in every way possible it's focused on a non-destructive and scientific workflow and that's exactly where many people bump into the wall remember our scale from 3 to pixel side yeah guess where pixel side is on that scale right now it costs 230 euros that's more than some pieces of equipment but is this price worth it yes the interface looks clear and simple but once you want to start and extend the process menu you will be overwhelmed by complicated technical terms way too many settings you can choose from and a processing procedure that takes weeks to learn they have a script just for stacking but what's that good for if they tell you that you should do it manual anyways i had to watch a lot of tutorial videos and even bought a book on the entire thing to get even a simple routine running simplicity of pigs inside one out of ten now that we are over that pixel site really has everything you need and even more once you learned how to use the tools you can stack and edit the image in every way you want and there's always a way to get our difficult tasks you can do moza eggs comets deep sky objects with drizzling and just like in app the tools after you've finished stacking work wonders you can't wish for more adaptability 10 out of 10 you just can't miss it when you trade it for the first time now you know the ups and downs of each piece of software but let's look at the actual stacked images these are the stacked images from pixel size dss and app this one is pixensight let's zoom in it looks quite good the noise is clean and the detail is there now let's compare to app these images are registered let's take a look it doesn't look that much different maybe a bit brighter but nothing special it looks almost the same and now let's load the ss from the overall perspective this one looks hella close to pixensight and app let's zoom in maybe take a look at the noise it's maybe a bit more reddish and if you compare the stars the stars in pixel side are much sharper i'd say much sharper than in dss let's take a look but the noise in dss is also better and app is closer to pixel side let's zoom in right here the noise in dss looks great but the stars are not sharp the noise and pick inside is much worse but the stars are much better but the overall result dss is an amazing sticking software with great quality that's the thing i did not expect the stacking quality of dss almost perfectly matches app and pixensight i was very surprised that a free piece of software can deliver such great images but in the end stacking is all just math it's nothing but the price or is it now which one is the software you want to use dss is entry level beginner but the quality of the final product makes it a well choice even for popular astrophotographers like trevor jones for example he has made a lot of amazing images with dss and everyone else can as well problem starts as soon as you confront it with difficult tasks i'm speaking out of my own experience here i'm terribly bad with photoshop correcting gradients color calibration and stretching are just not possible with dss and if you don't know how to correct them in post you will have a very rough time you know photoshop from the inside out dss is the software you can rely on app can handle all of that it will give you the perfect stacked image and it's super easy to continue the process in your editing software so if you're not up to the difficult tasks that dss leaves you behind with app is just perfect for you if you have used dss to its full extent and you are sure that you want to continue deep sky imaging app has got you covered if i say that who needs pigs inside this video is still mostly about stacking if you are a person that wants full control and tweak every last setting to perfection get picks inside my routine is stacking the english in abp because it's so simple and the result is great and then i move on to editing with fix inside the price of 230 euros is for a package that allows you to do everything you want in the best way possible no doubt many people say that this price is way too high and then they go buy a 3 000 refractor if you want the best image possible with full control our stacking and editing with tools that neither app or dss have pigs inside does not seem that expensive i'd love to discuss this topic even more with you so definitely take a look at the comments if you want a second opinion for us here the weather is bad i try to get by improving my equipment and editing skills i will probably make more videos about processing during this time so hit me up with some ideas thank you so much for watching if you want more of these videos subscribe to this channel and as for me my name is tim i'm an astro addict i wish you clear skies with an appeal with us you

Channel: AstroAddict

Views: 12,410

Keywords: Astrophotography;, astronomy;, telescopes;, deep, sky;, omegon;, universe;, stars;, skywatcher;, altair, astro;, phd2, stacking, tutorial, tips, deep sky stacker, pixinsight, astropixelprocessor

Id: 8cu1ZOIsWyY

Length: 9min 51sec (591 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 07 2020