Solar software.

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denababy
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Solar software.

Post by denababy »

Hi here I am again hoping you can point me in the right direction as to which you consider to be the best stacking and processing software to make my images better. I have Autostakkert 2 and Photoshop cs2 but having read so many write ups I feel confused. There is a software named AVIstack that is supposed to be specifically for the Moon and the Sun but before I download it I need to know what you think is the best software. Please help thank you.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by EGRAY_OBSERVATORY »

Hello denababy,
A very important question you have raised.

I will try and reply more fully this evening, as my previous reply failed to get to this forum, but briefly here:-
SharpCap,
AutoStakkert,
Registax,
PaintShopPro.
All suitable for Solar-imaging, but could depend on your camera's make and type in the case of SharpCap.

Look out for a later post.

Terry


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Re: Solar software.

Post by David_The_Bears_Fan »

Never used Avistack so can't comment on how effective it is. I use software roughly in the following order:-
Firecapture
AutoStakkert3
ImPPG
GIMP
For mosaics I use Microsoft ICE or AutoStitch and Tilting Sun for my orientation grid.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by pedro »

I use

Firecapture
Registax
IMPPG
Photoshop

more info at:
http://pedroreastrophotography.com/imag ... ssing.html
Last edited by pedro on Tue Jun 16, 2020 12:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by Starry Jack »

SharpCap
AutoStakkert 3
IMPPG
GIMP


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Re: Solar software.

Post by _Zakalwe »

denababy wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 11:08 am Hi here I am again hoping you can point me in the right direction as to which you consider to be the best stacking and processing software to make my images better. I have Autostakkert 2 and Photoshop cs2 but having read so many write ups I feel confused. There is a software named AVIstack that is supposed to be specifically for the Moon and the Sun but before I download it I need to know what you think is the best software. Please help thank you.


Firecapture: for image acquisition. It can seem a bit daunting, but it really is the best. As you get used to it you can learn how to do timelapses and animations.
Autostakkert!3: For stacking there really is no equal. Upgrade from 2 to 3 as it's a fair bit faster.
ImPPG: for deconvolution and sharpening.Again, it's probably the fastest software out there for solar imaging.

For final processing I use Photoshop CS5. GIMP will also work well.
Ignore AVIstack...it's ancient technology and a PITA to use.
Ditto with Registax for stacking. It's ancient technology and Autostakkert is light years ahead for stacking. Wavelet sharpening still works OK, but I personally only use it for sharpening planetary images. ImPPG is faster and easier for solar and Lunar imaging.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by denababy »

Thanks for all your replies. I have been trying to download FireCapture for weeks and for some reason I cannot, even tried to disable my firewall, all I get is a page of files but there is not a FireCapture.exe. I have most of the suggested software except IMPPG, I will look into that.
Why is there not a software program that does everything necessary for both Solar and nighttime astronomy instead of having various programs? Even if it had a price tag, but let’s face it Photoshop is not cheap, and we use only a very small part of the program. I have watched Marty Wise videos and there is one where he uses IMPPG, if the experts use something we should learn from them.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by _Zakalwe »

denababy wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2020 3:37 pm
Why is there not a software program that does everything necessary for both Solar and nighttime astronomy instead of having various programs? Even if it had a price tag, but let’s face it Photoshop is not cheap, and we use only a very small part of the program. I have watched Marty Wise videos and there is one where he uses IMPPG, if the experts use something we should learn from them.
Probably because a lot of this stuff is developed *for free* by amateurs.

Solar/lunar/planetary imaging is also very different from Deep Sky imaging. Having said that, Autostakkert can be used for DSO stacking.

The experts do use very different software, but they are only interested in data integrity Speaking for me only, I am interested in pretty pictures. :D

There shouldn't be any issue with downloading Firecapture. Are you using the correct site? http://www.firecapture.de/ It will download as a .zip file......you do have a suitable file for unzipping?


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Re: Solar software.

Post by rsfoto »

Hi,

I use for H-alpha

Lucam Recorder for AVI acquisition
AviStack 2.0 for stacking
Photoshop for getting the mosaic together

and for White Light I use

Sharpcap for SER acquisition
AviStack 2.0 for stacking
Photoshop for getting the mosaic together


regards Rainer

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San Luis Potosi Mexico

North 22° West 101°
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Re: Solar software.

Post by EGRAY_OBSERVATORY »

Hello again denababy.
In answer to your " Why is there not a software program that does everything necessary for both Solar and nighttime astronomy instead of having various programs? " - the simple answer, that there could be a program for all, but first it needs an astronomer-type person who has the IT skills
to know every requirement for all astro-imaging.
That program itself would likely be far more complex to understand and use and my guess is that it's price could well run into hundreds or even a gra thousand or more £/Euros/etc.

So unless there is a market, it would be better to use the freebie or less than freebie programs, of which one that has been mentioned on this post, is PhotoShop which I have used in the past, but the price is way over the top where I use PaintShopPro, which apparently does almost everything that Photoshop does, but at a fraction of the price.
Simply at £10 per month/£120 per year and only a small part of Photoshop needs to be used, for amateurs is not what I call a fair price and that's not the same for Photoshop CS3 either.

Whereas PaintShopPro between about £55 and £70 as a one of payment (currently on offer) does everything that I have needed...

I could easily afford the Photshop prices, but don't believe in paying for a Rolls Royce, when a Mini can do the same job...

Sooner spend the dosh on better astro-gear or even flying etc., etc.

So SharpCap is free and relatively simple to use and can even cater for several cameras plugged into the USB's.
AutoStakkert for doing what its' name suggests and again is straightforward and simple to use as well as free too.
Registax is a highly capable program which has been around for many years and an all-round useful tool for getting the best of. Also it is free.
PaintShopPro versions 9 and 2018 (32 & 64bit) I have been using along with several previous versions in the past and very useful for all manner of PC
digital-image processing and relatively cheap as said above...
All are suitable for Solar-imaging, but could depend on your camera's make and type in the case of SharpCap.

Best Wishes
Terry


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Re: Solar software.

Post by DeepSolar64 »

I currently use GIMP. It's freeware.

https://www.gimp.org/


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Re: Solar software.

Post by denababy »

Thanks for your replies, I and many others are firstly in awe and secondly grateful to those folk that write and publish their software for others to use, than you.
A lengthy explanation given that puts into perspective the thinking and dedication by the software developers. Again thank you.
May be my age and the fact I struggle to remember my own name sometimes that I am looking for a one stop solution. I have only just got around to some sort of filing system on my laptop. I take quite a lot of data but am still struggling with the processing, I have to watch various videos before I start. Thanks again for your time.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by _Zakalwe »

There really isn't a one-stop shop for solar, to be honest. There's just too many variables.
However, it's very easy to build a workflow and the only difference in doing that is that the various stages are done in separate programs rather than in a single program. The steps would be the same even if there was a one-stop shop:

Image capture:- Firecapture
Stacking:- AS!3
Sharpening:- ImPPG. This can also do batch processing for sharpeneing many images at once. It will also batch align a series of images.
Final colourisation and tweaking:- Photoshop/Paint Shop Pro/Gimp.

Once you get used to it the process becomes quite simple. The place for artistic touches is at the final two steps. ImPPG is great for inverting parts of an image (for example in the image below the disc has been inverted and blended into the normal prominences. A gradient background was then added in Photoshop.)

Image07_06_2020 Full Disc Normal Proms Inverted DiscGrad Bkgrnd by Stephen Jennette, on Flickr


You can also play with different colour schemes (there's no rules on the sun having to be yellow!). I did a series a few years back that I called "Alien Sun" to play with different colour schemes and backgrounds. I liked the effect, but recognise that it's a personal thing that not everyone will appreciate!

ImageAlien Sun by Stephen Jennette, on Flickr

ImageAlien Sun traditional Disc by Stephen Jennette, on Flickr


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Re: Solar software.

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Very nice work! I love the colors you used!


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Re: Solar software.

Post by denababy »

Hello everyone, I have taken your advice and have downloaded two programs, Autostakkert 3 and Reigstax 6 but cannot manage FireCapture or ImPPG, does not matter what I do they will not download, I have tried different servers Google chrome and Explorer, I have also turned off my Mcafee fire wall. I was going to purchase a new Solar scope but not until I overcome the download issues.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by marktownley »

denababy wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:33 pm Hello everyone, I have taken your advice and have downloaded two programs, Autostakkert 3 and Reigstax 6 but cannot manage FireCapture or ImPPG, does not matter what I do they will not download, I have tried different servers Google chrome and Explorer, I have also turned off my Mcafee fire wall. I was going to purchase a new Solar scope but not until I overcome the download issues.
Is there someone in a local astro society that could help you download them?


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http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
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Re: Solar software.

Post by _Zakalwe »

denababy wrote: Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:33 pm Hello everyone, I have taken your advice and have downloaded two programs, Autostakkert 3 and Reigstax 6 but cannot manage FireCapture or ImPPG, does not matter what I do they will not download, I have tried different servers Google chrome and Explorer, I have also turned off my Mcafee fire wall. I was going to purchase a new Solar scope but not until I overcome the download issues.
I've downloaded both programs and put them into a Dropbox for you. Click on this link to download them onto your PC (I've assumed that you are using a PC with a 64 bit version of WIndows?)


https://www.dropbox.com/t/RS1thNi4cc4GH4tR


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Re: Solar software.

Post by denababy »

Thank you Zakalwe, I have put them both on my desktop and will try them tomorrow ( Thursday) thanks again. :D


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Re: Solar software.

Post by _Zakalwe »

denababy wrote: Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:22 pm Thank you Zakalwe, I have put them both on my desktop and will try them tomorrow ( Thursday) thanks again. :D
No worries. Shout out if you need some help.


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Re: Solar software.

Post by ffellah »

Denanaby: let us not forget Astra Image. It is an absolutely great program that I use all the time and it is moderately priced.

I recommend it.

Franco


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Re: Solar software.

Post by _Zakalwe »

ffellah wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 12:30 am Denanaby: let us not forget Astra Image. It is an absolutely great program that I use all the time and it is moderately priced.

I recommend it.

Franco
I used to use Astra Image...very powerful albeit slow.
I haven't touched it since ImPPG came along. The Lucy Richardson deconvolution routines in ImPPG are blisteringly fast compared to Astra image.

How do you use it?


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Re: Solar software.

Post by Bruce G »

Might as well toss my hat in the ring

SharpCap for capture. I find it more intuitive and easier to use than FireCapture. However, it lacks the capability of accepting an external seeing quality trigger and it doesn't know how to automatically start a new capture when the previous one finishes. I have tried to migrate to FireCapture, but I find the user interface too clunky.

AutoStakkert! for stacking. Simple and easy, though there are some things to learn specific to solar images

imPPG for deconvolution. The controls are a bit weird (use the up-down arrows instead of trying to use the sliders for adjustments), but the results are immediate and allow you to see how you're doing. The image is rescalable too, whereas AstraImage has only a small square that you can't enlarge (though it has many more deconvolution options). I like to overenlarge my image when doing deconvolution because it makes it easier to see, and avoid, the processing artifacts

Photoshop for image processing. I have been using Photoshop since Version 3 (mid 1990's), so I'm kind of used to it. I would recommend something less complex for most people. You don't need 80% of the stuff in there. No use paying for it.


As others have noted, there is no single program because the individual programs were written by people who wanted to accomplish a particular task and also because the program would become large and difficult to maintain. Program maintenance is a major pain in the rear. I spent most of my career writing and maintaining proprietary application software. Users do things that you simply can't imagine.


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