IC 2944 Running Chicken Re Process

[Startrek]

No more discussions about PS , only Startools

I decided to Re process my image probably prompted (to some degree) about the recent PS discussions on our local forum , so this time rather than a conservative approach, I went a bit more more aggressive
Used the Super Structure module ( Brightness preset ) and adjusted mainly Strength and Gamma to control the dynamics. It can get out of hand if your not careful and swallow up finer details

Again same details OSC Dualband data set via Compose ( OSC/DSLR Bi Color )
Synthetic Luminance version
SHO version in Matrix 4th
HOO version in Matrix 1st one

Pretty happy with these latest versions as images have more punch without losing to much detail.



Comments most welcome

Clear Skies
Martin

[Mike in Rancho]

Nice, Martin. I kind of like the way you've added strength via the SS. I usually neglect that other than dimsmall or, in emergencies, isolate. Will have to experiment some.

The H(H+O)O (or near equivalent in the SHO matrices) is nice with the pale blue, though I think bluer would be good too. I wonder if, after this brightening, a little use of HDR (unless already employed), or perhaps Sharp, would then clarify a few structures within the overall brighter target.

[Startrek]

Thanks Mike,
These images definitely have more lift than the original , although you do lose some fine detail using Super Structure
Using Dim small is just a touch up tool , if your to aggressive with it you end up wth a mottled background where the nebulosity fades away into the outer Star field
I use Isolate as a touch up tool as well usually at only 20% ,again you can lose to much detail if your too aggressive although it does work well to pull back a busy bright Star field.
Now HDR , the only success I’ve had with HDR is using Tame.Reveal and Optimise are just way to powerful even throttling back to tiny values. I ever use them anymore
HDR is version 1.5,1.6 and 1.7 was absolutely brilliant, I don’t why Ivo changed it in 1.8 ,it just worked beautifully and I loved DSO core feature. Oh well you can’t have everything, it might work better on other folks data , not mine
In color I used Scientific with the 50/50 layering option. It does soften your Color palette and also the stars but I like it
Oh and I did use Sharpen as well , just default

Cheers
Martin

[Stefan B]

Hi Martin,

the new renditions look great, they have more punch than the ones before Especially the H(HO)O version stands out to me.

But I agree with Mike. My immediate thought was to apply some HDR to the brighter regions And the PS rendition of your friend looked sharper/more sharpened. Do you know if he only processed color wise in PS or if he also did some sharpening or the like in PS? If luminance was basically ST only there might be room for some (more) sharpening in ST.

Regards
Stefan

[Mike in Rancho]

Nothing wrong with a little extra use of HDR or Sharpen I think, at least if you use different settings?

I did a quick test with your large jpg from astrobin, after converting to tiff so ST could open it, and just kept it as non-linear and not reversed, so not into tracking. I used 1.8 as 9.544 still crashes out of Sharp if not in tracking.

Of course I suppose you could use 1.7 also if you like that HDR better, and maybe 1.8 for improved Sharp? Non-tracked may not matter too much...

I do think there's a little more there, and can be kept subtle. So for 1.8 HDR I had the overall setting down to maybe 1.10, since it was still pretty bright in there, but reduced the boosts to maybe 5 and 1 - yeah that low. And then ran a Sharp.

Even though the base image started as the 8-bit jpg, I think it clarified some details nicely. Up to you of course, both your aesthetics and what you would like to reveal in the image.

Really nice target and data though, offering many choices on how to present it.

[Startrek]

Hi Martin,

the new renditions look great, they have more punch than the ones before Especially the H(HO)O version stands out to me.

But I agree with Mike. My immediate thought was to apply some HDR to the brighter regions And the PS rendition of your friend looked sharper/more sharpened. Do you know if he only processed color wise in PS or if he also did some sharpening or the like in PS? If luminance was basically ST only there might be room for some (more) sharpening in ST.

Regards
Stefan

Hi Stefan,
Thanks
For the PS rendition he mentioned he only increased saturation a bit and left the mapping the same
To be honest I prefer my renditions as at least there some scientific value in the images. PS is just adding Artist flare
Regards
Martin

[Startrek]

Nothing wrong with a little extra use of HDR or Sharpen I think, at least if you use different settings?

I did a quick test with your large jpg from astrobin, after converting to tiff so ST could open it, and just kept it as non-linear and not reversed, so not into tracking. I used 1.8 as 9.544 still crashes out of Sharp if not in tracking.

Of course I suppose you could use 1.7 also if you like that HDR better, and maybe 1.8 for improved Sharp? Non-tracked may not matter too much...

I do think there's a little more there, and can be kept subtle. So for 1.8 HDR I had the overall setting down to maybe 1.10, since it was still pretty bright in there, but reduced the boosts to maybe 5 and 1 - yeah that low. And then ran a Sharp.

Even though the base image started as the 8-bit jpg, I think it clarified some details nicely. Up to you of course, both your aesthetics and what you would like to reveal in the image.

Really nice target and data though, offering many choices on how to present it.

Hi Mike,
Thanks
In regards to HDR 1.8 It seems illogical to have a module where you can only use 2% of its capability as the other 98% is unusable
It’s unlike any other module in ST . Most modules in ST 1.8 , the default values and presets yield good if not excellent results
Anyway enough said about HDR
A most enjoyable project IC 2944 , moving on to some new targets once this weather improves , hopefully next week
Thanks again for all your input
Cheers
Martin

[Mike in Rancho]

Martin you are quite the HDR activist.

I really like it, but it does require some custom work now - though that can be thought of as power in our hands. What works for M42, a galaxy, a glob core, the Rosette, and so on, are all pretty different. I now like to start out thinking of the two sides separately - over on the right, just for how much I need to alter the dynamic range presented by the data. 1.25 as a default may be strong for most cases, but if you are dealing with the Trapezium it might need to be increased. For Freddy's M81 I just tried out, I had it at 1.01 (I've used 1.00 too). Then the left side boostings help to bring out details within that altered dynamic range, and you might need to go back and forth a little.

Anywho, I'm pretty sure I can't get me any Running Chicken, but I'll have to look for something similar to try out the things discussed in your thread here for adding that extra strength to NB nebula.

[admin]

I used 1.8 as 9.544 still crashes out of Sharp if not in tracking.

This should now be fixed in 1.9.546.

Martin, with regards to the HDR defaults, I would love to understand the problems faced with the presets, as right now, I do not...
What 98% of the module is unusable for you?
Images would really help demonstrate the issue you are experiencing.

[decay]

Hi Martin, Ivo,

sorry for jumping in ...

with regards to the HDR defaults, I would love to understand the problems faced with the presets, as right now

but I would just like to point out this topic:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2736

Meanwhile I found out that presets are fine with some other data sets. So it may be true (as Jochen (@hixx ) pointed out) that reasonable presets might depend on the specific data set characteristics.

Best regards, Dietmar.