Trouble Processing M33 Data

[Cheman]

Hi Darryl
I redid your image using the calibrated data. Big improvement, not surprisingly. Attached is image and my workflow.
It does look like you had a tracking problem. If you look at the bright stars in the pre processed image, you can see that there is a "ghost" star(for lack of a better term, just to the top of each one. this is a sign that you might have had a jump in tracking or in dec correction. depending on what the orientation is in the image. I have seen this in my subs at times and just discard those subs. My tracking is much better now. I usually take as many images as I can, discard those I know are bad, then let DSS disgard a percentage as well in the manner you describe. Also in regard to dark background, dark is good, but black not so much. You may miss details and interstellar dust in many images if you go too dark. Just my opinion.
Che

darryl's (Small).jpg (68.29 KiB) Viewed 4840 times

StarTools 1.4.297
Tue Jan 05 08:09:14 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------
File loaded [C:\Users\Che\Desktop\DHE Autosave001.fts].
---
--- Bin
Parameter [Scale] set to [(scale/noise reduction 70.71%)/(200.00%)/(+1.00 bits)]
--- Crop
Parameter [X1] set to [355 pixels]
Parameter [Y1] set to [51 pixels]
Parameter [X2] set to [2841 pixels (-192)]
Parameter [Y2] set to [1497 pixels (-522)]
--- Wipe
Parameter [Mode] set to [Correct Color & Brightness]
Parameter [UNKNOWN] set to [Yes]
Parameter [Precision] set to [256 x 256 pixels]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [1 pixels]
Parameter [Drop Off Point] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Corner Aggressiveness] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Aggressiveness] set to [75 %]
--- Develop
Parameter [White Calibration] set to [Use Stars]
Parameter [Gamma] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Skyglow] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Digital Development] set to [91.58 %]
Parameter [Blue Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Green Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Red Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Headroom] set to [5 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [Off]
--- Life
Parameter [Detail Preservation] set to [Linear Brightness Mask]
Parameter [Compositing Algorithm] set to [Multiply, Gamma Correct]
Parameter [Inherit Brightness, Color] set to [Off]
Parameter [Output Glow Only] set to [No]
Parameter [Airy Disk Sampling] set to [128 x 128 pixels]
Parameter [Airy Disk Radius] set to [8 pixels]
Parameter [Glow Threshold] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Detail Preservation Radius] set to [20.0 pixels]
Parameter [Saturation] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Strength] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
--- Develop
Parameter [White Calibration] set to [Use Stars]
Parameter [Gamma] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Skyglow] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Digital Development] set to [89.73 %]
Parameter [Blue Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Green Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Red Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Headroom] set to [5 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [Off]
--- Deconvolution
Parameter [Image Type] set to [Deep Space]
Parameter [Mask Behavior] set to [De-ring Mask Gaps, Hide Result]
Parameter [Radius] set to [1.9 pixels]
Parameter [Iterations] set to [6]
Parameter [Regularization] set to [1.00 (optimal noise and detail)]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [8.0 pixels]
--- Contrast
Parameter [Expose Dark Areas] set to [No]
Parameter [Compensate Gamma] set to [No]
Parameter [Precision] set to [256 x 256 pixels]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [1 pixels]
Parameter [Aggressiveness] set to [50 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Headroom] set to [15 %]
--- Wavelet Sharpen
Parameter [Intelligent Enhance] set to [Yes]
Parameter [Scale 1] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Scale 2] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Scale 3] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Scale 4] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Scale 5] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [8.0 pixels]
Parameter [Amount] set to [147 %]
Parameter [Small Detail Bias] set to [75 %]
--- Develop
Parameter [White Calibration] set to [Use Stars]
Parameter [Gamma] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Skyglow] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Digital Development] set to [89.13 %]
Parameter [Blue Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Green Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Red Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Headroom] set to [5 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [Off]
--- Color
Parameter [Cap Green] set to [To Yellow]
Parameter [Bias Slider Mode] set to [Sliders Reduce Color Bias]
Parameter [Style] set to [Scientific (Color Constancy)]
Parameter [LRGB Method Emulation] set to [RGB Ratio]
Parameter [Dark Saturation] set to [2.00]
Parameter [Bright Saturation] set to [Full]
Parameter [Saturation Amount] set to [237 %]
Parameter [Blue Bias Reduce] set to [1.50]
Parameter [Green Bias Reduce] set to [1.38]
Parameter [Red Bias Reduce] set to [1.64]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
--- Develop
Parameter [White Calibration] set to [Use Stars]
Parameter [Gamma] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Skyglow] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Digital Development] set to [92.88 %]
Parameter [Blue Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Green Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Red Luminance Contrib.] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Headroom] set to [5 %]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [Off]
--- Wavelet De-Noise
Parameter [Scale 1] set to [90 %]
Parameter [Scale 2] set to [90 %]
Parameter [Scale 3] set to [90 %]
Parameter [Scale 4] set to [90 %]
Parameter [Scale 5] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
Parameter [Scale Correlation] set to [3]
Parameter [Color Detail Loss] set to [12 %]
Parameter [Brightness Detail Loss] set to [12 %]
Parameter [Grain Size] set to [7.0 pixels]
Parameter [Read Noise Compensation] set to [Off]
Parameter [Smoothness] set to [75 %]
--- Repair
Parameter [Radial Samples] set to [32]
Parameter [Sub Sampling] set to [4x]
Parameter [Algorithm] set to [Redistribute, Core Is Avg Location]
Parameter [Grow Mask] set to [0 pixels]
--- Magic
Parameter [Mode] set to [Shrink]
Parameter [Mask Grow] set to [1 pixels]
Parameter [Iterations] set to [3 pixels]
File saved [C:\Users\Che\Desktop\darryl's.jpg].

[dhellis59]

Very nice Che. Thank you for taking the time to work with my data and sharing your workflow. It definitely encourages me to see what could be had with modest equipment in my area.

Darryl

[Bill55]

Che, That's a good image you pulled out. I notice the work flow log is not as described in ST tutorials. I've been using ST for a while and I get along with it OK. I just muddle my way through the various modules. I've spent hours trying this and that and then start over again.
Is there a logic to your approach or do you muddle through like me and it works for you?

[Cheman]

hi bill
I usually follow a basic flow for my images that may varies a bit from what I may have done here. With my images, there is still a bit of "muddling thru" as you put it, in the sense that I may try something that doesnt improve the image, then discard that and move on.
With darryls image i was in unfamiliar territory and tried different things. According to Ivo's description of StarTools, the order in which you apply the modules is not as important as with other software, but I usually follow something along these lines
bin
crop
wipe
develop
decon
hdr
contrast
sharp
life
color
turn off tracking/denoise
repair
magic(usually tighten stars or shrink stars)

depending of the image, I may try something somewhere along the line with the layers module, but I havent really experimented with it too much but I should as it seems to be a very powerfull tool

I dont always keep the results of each module and often try different settings within each module
this is what I've found works well as a basic flow for my images.As a point of refference, I image with a QHY8 OSC camera thru either a Meade 12"ACF sct, or a William Optics FLT98
Che

PS I forgot to mention that I prefer to use develop vs autodev (sorry Ivo ) and I redo dev often to see if I can improve the image from that point. This is just a habit I've gotten into and cant really say that its the best way.

[Bill55]

Thanks for that info. Sounds like I'll just keep on experimenting along these sort of guide lines. Not wanting to hijack this thread but I have dabbled with layers trying to get the core of M42 right using images with different exposures. Best tip: make sure your images are the same size and cropped exactly the same.