StarTools

I had noticed that several folks on FB imaging group use APP for stacking and indicate that the stacking is better than DSS. I decided to give it a try. A bit of a learning curve as I grew up on DSS for the last couple of years. I am by no means demeaning APP although to date I have not noticed a big difference. I was on the trial version and it has expired. Was curious of others input as maybe I am not doing things quite right. Or is it a case of diminishing returns versus expectations. Seems simple enough to use after figuring things out but there are certainly many settings. I did just do a computer build based on some previous thread input from Ivo. Really sped up ST but APP is a bit of a memory hog and identified so by others.

I have done a few stacks using SIRIL to see what that is about but have no desire to try APP as there are enough settings and options in DSS to fine tune it. For the amount of time or money I spend on this hobby DSS fits very well and it is in active development so not stagnant.

APP has some advantages over DSS when it comes to complex stacking tasks, e.g. integrating lights from multiple nights, different cameras/optics, creating mosaics etc., outlier handling, creating a bad pixel map and other functions. The speed is also really great as it is GPU accelerated. The results it delivers are just a tad better for me (compared to DSS 4.1),while the DSS results where already great. I also see a lot of improvements over the last year in APP, but I wish the price would be more in the StarTools region, of course. As happy cat said below, you need to make up your mind yourself whether the premium would be worth it. I am still hoping StarTools would provide a stacking function which incorporates tracking functionality already, but probably this will never happen.

Thanks for the replies. The price is what I struggle with as well. I think I will stick with DSS for now.

APP all day, for me. Not even close.

Way more options than DSS, including excellent gradient reduction and stacking of dissimilar image scales.

Downsides are you can't save stacks (only calibrated files) and it's not free (not that I'd expect it to be, considering what it's capable of).

Melty