Thanks Cuiv! I found it very helpful and much easier to get my head around than other tutorials for multi-night stacking out there. I ran my first stack from 3 nights and it turned out perfect, I have to say it did a better job than DSS.
These videos are just the best. The subframe selection is extremely powerful the way you use it. I'm worried you're going to burn out and the amazing videos will stop.
Another concise and informative video. Ahh, I remember the days of pre-processing in PI. I must be even lazier as I do most of my pre-processing sessionsunder Astro Pixel Processor. BTW, using the info from your past videos I was able to go out (on a full moon) and image last night without issues. That included all connections worked, plate solve (Astap) worked, autofocus worked as did my sequence and imaging session. I know I saw on one of your videos maybe where you were doing a manual plate solve or something but there was a horizontal information line. The very last column showed the image's angle in degrees. I could not find that last night so I had to briefly bring up SGP so I could match up my angle to my last session. However, Kudos to you for getting me this far. Thanks
Awesome to see that this is being useful! The plate solve should give you the rotation of your camera (which you can use in the framing wizard to properly center the target). If you issue is reproducible, it might make sense to ask directly on the Dev's Discord channel!
I laugh at people who say photoshop is hard, i bet they have never tried pixinsight!.. Ive had a play with it but i just get lost in its millions of menus, i swear you need to be a scientist to understand it fully!!. Looking forward to the next video Cuiv!, keep up the great work!
Oh yeah PI is amazing, I keep learning more about it every time I use it. It is crazy that it even exists - I am so thankful for those people who decided to start creating it.
Cuiv, another great vid. And wow, hasn't PixInsight become a powerful tool? Like NINA, it just keeps improving, although I sometimes feel like I can't keep up with it's development.
Is there a "best" time to measure subframes? is it better to measure the initial captures? After Calibrating? After Debayering? Great video by the way!
have you compared subframe selector weighting with the new normalize scale gradient script? I wonder if they could be used somehow to complement each other.
Jury is still out, but using WBPP with Stars weighing (new in WBPP, so I don't need to use SFS separately anymore), I notice better results than NGS for images with clouds streaming by. Because it stars based selection rejects those images, while NSG tries to fix them..
Your videos are amazing. Thanks so much! I have one very specific question. I noticed that you had "Calibrate Master Darks" unchecked in the WBPP script. If I uncheck this box, I get a very big warning that this is not good practice. My reading on this suggests that this should be unchecked only if you have already removed the Bias from the Darks which I have not done (since I don't use Bias frames). I'm guessing that since there are no Bias frames to subtract from the Darks,, that this checkbox has no impact at all for me but I'm not sure. Do you know? I have a CMOS camera (ASI 1600mm PRO) and use Flat Darks with no Bias frames as you do.
You're actually right on the money there - without bias frames, this is moot. In the end, flat darks could actually be used as bias frames (especially on a cooled camera), and then you need to tell PI whether your dark frames have already been bias-calibrated or not. But for us, it's irrelevant!
Hello Cuiv, I enjoyed watching your entire Pixinsight series and have learned a lot. However, I have not yet been able to generate a quality final image that is even close to what you do. Of course my equipment is different (I use a Canon DSLR with CLS filter on an 8" Celestron AVX), but my recent target has been M101 so the C8's FOV is perfect for this galaxy. I have gathered over 470 30s subs and all the required calibration frames from my Bortle class 7 backyard. Is there any chance you could take a look at my data to see where my process is failing?
I could definitely have a look at the data if you upload your stack (or even your subs) somewhere - and if you don't mind, maybe even do a video based on that (if there is video material), if you're OK with that. What's very hard with Canon DSLRs is how high the dark current (and associated random noise) is, as the sensor is uncooled. Did you take dark frames as part of the session? What about flats and flat darks?
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thank you for the offer. Here is a link to my cloud share ... sauerbrun-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/p/richard/ErTIXrYy_8BHkTCsgiRpXHoBcQLKF1JPgbHtafEuBeCM6w?e=ZpldFw ... The ZIP file has all my lights, darks, bias & flats (I know you do not like bias frames). I also used Deep Sky Stacker to pre-process the data and have uploaded the resulting .TIF file. I, like you, suffer from a lot of light polution just outside Phoenix, and never seem to get enough photons on my images.
Hi Cuiv ... Tim of AstroAddict suggested that my flats were bad, so I took a new set (using NINA and your suggestion for exposure calculation ... thanks by the way - another great video). I re-ran DSS with the new flats and got a slightly better final image. I uploaded these new files to the same location. Thanks again for your assistance and guidance.
Great video as always Cuiv, can you explain how this process differs from using your normal WeightedBatchPreProcessing & NormalizeScaleGradient method? Also could NormalizeScalGradient be incorporated in to this workflow, would there be any benefit?
I'm told you only really need bias frames if your darks won't be of the same duration as your lights, and would therefore require the darks to be interpolated or extrapolated ("optimized" as it is called in the image calibration process in PI) to match the duration of your lights.
So I am guiding with my 30s exposures, and I'm using short subs because here in Tokyo, my optimal exposure time is already ridiculously low because of the light pollution (far less than 30s with this camera at gain 101). So if anything my exposures are too long! I have a two-part video coming on this, the first part is already out here: th-cam.com/video/SYQ1i4k62eI/w-d-xo.html
Hey, just so you know, you forgot to set your reference image (0207...) in the integration process. Love to watch yours posts. Excuse my french by the way.
Thanks for the feedback Christian! You are right! In this case though, since we already have our weights from a FITS keyword and don't do quality/noise evaluation, it wouldn't matter much... but it's wouldn't hurt either - I'll make sure to point this out in further pre-processing videos!
Wow! I reject everything FWHM above 3.3 (average 2.5-2.9) and eccentricity above 0.6. As a result, I routinely throw away 10-20% of frames. Maybe I am too strict. My resolution is 1.2”/pixel. Overall SNR of integrated L>30-60. Under bortle 7, SNR>60 for broad band picture, especially galaxies is almost impossible to achieve.
It will use the dark frames with the closest exposure time to the flats automatically. You can also force it to only use flatdarks of exactly the same length with a checkbox when you select the flats tab.
I don't use bias frames either - I keep the bias tab empty, and put all the dark frames (including flatdarks) in the Darks tab - nothing in the bias. Seems to work (I think!)
What are you doing in Japan? Moved there to get a good deal an a Takahashi :) I am green with envy always wanted to visit there but not in a tourist way.
I've been in Japan for over 13 years now! Living and working here... I wasn't doing astro at the time. I've longed to get a Takahashi for ages (especially the Mewlons), but they're just too expensive....
I find the Mewlons (esp like mine where its 2500mm), we get pretty large stars esp in Tokyo seeing. Even going. to Chiba, I'm not certain if I ever for anything below FWHM 4. After moving back to Australia, and having had the opportunity to try out some really dark skies (SQM-L 21.87?), 1 single 10 min sub just blew out of anything I had taken in Chiba :D.
I never knew you could run multiple expressions and run them consecutively to see what happens, another great post.
Thank you Walter! PixInsight is indeed very powerful...!
I especially liked your in depth demo of the subframe selector - - great work! And please add my +1 vote for a NINA flat wizard video.
It's coming soon, hopefully!! :) Thanks for the positive comment!
Thanks Cuiv! I found it very helpful and much easier to get my head around than other tutorials for multi-night stacking out there. I ran my first stack from 3 nights and it turned out perfect, I have to say it did a better job than DSS.
These videos are just the best. The subframe selection is extremely powerful the way you use it.
I'm worried you're going to burn out and the amazing videos will stop.
Hahaha, I'll try not to! :) The videos will keep coming (hopefully!)
Another concise and informative video. Ahh, I remember the days of pre-processing in PI. I must be even lazier as I do most of my pre-processing sessionsunder Astro Pixel Processor. BTW, using the info from your past videos I was able to go out (on a full moon) and image last night without issues. That included all connections worked, plate solve (Astap) worked, autofocus worked as did my sequence and imaging session. I know I saw on one of your videos maybe where you were doing a manual plate solve or something but there was a horizontal information line. The very last column showed the image's angle in degrees. I could not find that last night so I had to briefly bring up SGP so I could match up my angle to my last session. However, Kudos to you for getting me this far. Thanks
Awesome to see that this is being useful! The plate solve should give you the rotation of your camera (which you can use in the framing wizard to properly center the target). If you issue is reproducible, it might make sense to ask directly on the Dev's Discord channel!
I laugh at people who say photoshop is hard, i bet they have never tried pixinsight!.. Ive had a play with it but i just get lost in its millions of menus, i swear you need to be a scientist to understand it fully!!. Looking forward to the next video Cuiv!, keep up the great work!
Oh yeah PI is amazing, I keep learning more about it every time I use it. It is crazy that it even exists - I am so thankful for those people who decided to start creating it.
Cuiv, another great vid. And wow, hasn't PixInsight become a powerful tool? Like NINA, it just keeps improving, although I sometimes feel like I can't keep up with it's development.
Thank you! PixInsight is an incredible tool, although I use maybe 5% of what it can do! :)
Excellent video!
Thank you!
Is there a "best" time to measure subframes? is it better to measure the initial captures? After Calibrating? After Debayering? Great video by the way!
This one has convinced to purchase Pixinsight....
There is quite a learning curve! But it is worth it. I'm hearing good stuff about APP too.
have you compared subframe selector weighting with the new normalize scale gradient script? I wonder if they could be used somehow to complement each other.
Jury is still out, but using WBPP with Stars weighing (new in WBPP, so I don't need to use SFS separately anymore), I notice better results than NGS for images with clouds streaming by. Because it stars based selection rejects those images, while NSG tries to fix them..
Your videos are amazing. Thanks so much! I have one very specific question. I noticed that you had "Calibrate Master Darks" unchecked in the WBPP script. If I uncheck this box, I get a very big warning that this is not good practice. My reading on this suggests that this should be unchecked only if you have already removed the Bias from the Darks which I have not done (since I don't use Bias frames). I'm guessing that since there are no Bias frames to subtract from the Darks,, that this checkbox has no impact at all for me but I'm not sure. Do you know? I have a CMOS camera (ASI 1600mm PRO) and use Flat Darks with no Bias frames as you do.
You're actually right on the money there - without bias frames, this is moot. In the end, flat darks could actually be used as bias frames (especially on a cooled camera), and then you need to tell PI whether your dark frames have already been bias-calibrated or not. But for us, it's irrelevant!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks!
Hello Cuiv, I enjoyed watching your entire Pixinsight series and have learned a lot. However, I have not yet been able to generate a quality final image that is even close to what you do. Of course my equipment is different (I use a Canon DSLR with CLS filter on an 8" Celestron AVX), but my recent target has been M101 so the C8's FOV is perfect for this galaxy. I have gathered over 470 30s subs and all the required calibration frames from my Bortle class 7 backyard. Is there any chance you could take a look at my data to see where my process is failing?
I could definitely have a look at the data if you upload your stack (or even your subs) somewhere - and if you don't mind, maybe even do a video based on that (if there is video material), if you're OK with that. What's very hard with Canon DSLRs is how high the dark current (and associated random noise) is, as the sensor is uncooled. Did you take dark frames as part of the session? What about flats and flat darks?
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thank you for the offer. Here is a link to my cloud share ... sauerbrun-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/p/richard/ErTIXrYy_8BHkTCsgiRpXHoBcQLKF1JPgbHtafEuBeCM6w?e=ZpldFw ... The ZIP file has all my lights, darks, bias & flats (I know you do not like bias frames). I also used Deep Sky Stacker to pre-process the data and have uploaded the resulting .TIF file. I, like you, suffer from a lot of light polution just outside Phoenix, and never seem to get enough photons on my images.
Hi Cuiv ... Tim of AstroAddict suggested that my flats were bad, so I took a new set (using NINA and your suggestion for exposure calculation ... thanks by the way - another great video). I re-ran DSS with the new flats and got a slightly better final image. I uploaded these new files to the same location. Thanks again for your assistance and guidance.
Great video as always Cuiv, can you explain how this process differs from using your normal WeightedBatchPreProcessing & NormalizeScaleGradient method? Also could NormalizeScalGradient be incorporated in to this workflow, would there be any benefit?
I'm told you only really need bias frames if your darks won't be of the same duration as your lights, and would therefore require the darks to be interpolated or extrapolated ("optimized" as it is called in the image calibration process in PI) to match the duration of your lights.
With modern sensors without any amp glow, that can work - but 183, 294, 1600, that's out!
Ok, my brain hurts now ;) But keep going.
Let me know if there is anything I can clarify :)
@@CuivTheLazyGeek
i sure will!
Hi finding the videos very useful, and starting to use NINA. A general question is why multiple short subs rather than using longer subs with guiding?
So I am guiding with my 30s exposures, and I'm using short subs because here in Tokyo, my optimal exposure time is already ridiculously low because of the light pollution (far less than 30s with this camera at gain 101). So if anything my exposures are too long! I have a two-part video coming on this, the first part is already out here: th-cam.com/video/SYQ1i4k62eI/w-d-xo.html
I missed parameters of your you lights shot (duration, gain) and which is the camer you have, can you Answer here?
thanks. great video, anyway
Thank you! This is a ASI533MC Pro camera, with 30s subs, gain 101, and offset 70
Sorry for this dataset, did you use a broadband filter?
Yes, just UV/IR cut filter
@@CuivTheLazyGeek thx :)
I guess you can only shoot with the moon almost zero.
Hey, just so you know, you forgot to set your reference image (0207...) in the integration process. Love to watch yours posts.
Excuse my french by the way.
Thanks for the feedback Christian! You are right! In this case though, since we already have our weights from a FITS keyword and don't do quality/noise evaluation, it wouldn't matter much... but it's wouldn't hurt either - I'll make sure to point this out in further pre-processing videos!
Wow! I reject everything FWHM above 3.3 (average 2.5-2.9) and eccentricity above 0.6. As a result, I routinely throw away 10-20% of frames. Maybe I am too strict. My resolution is 1.2”/pixel.
Overall SNR of integrated L>30-60. Under bortle 7, SNR>60 for broad band picture, especially galaxies is almost impossible to achieve.
How do you use flatdarks with the weighted Subframe Selector? I see bias frames, but no settings to tell it that I'm using flatdarks.
It will use the dark frames with the closest exposure time to the flats automatically. You can also force it to only use flatdarks of exactly the same length with a checkbox when you select the flats tab.
So if I don't have any bias frames, I just load the flatdarks where bias normally goes, and it will work correctly? No need to change anything else?
I don't use bias frames either - I keep the bias tab empty, and put all the dark frames (including flatdarks) in the Darks tab - nothing in the bias. Seems to work (I think!)
What are you doing in Japan? Moved there to get a good deal an a Takahashi :) I am green with envy always wanted to visit there but not in a tourist way.
I've been in Japan for over 13 years now! Living and working here... I wasn't doing astro at the time. I've longed to get a Takahashi for ages (especially the Mewlons), but they're just too expensive....
I find the Mewlons (esp like mine where its 2500mm), we get pretty large stars esp in Tokyo seeing. Even going. to Chiba, I'm not certain if I ever for anything below FWHM 4. After moving back to Australia, and having had the opportunity to try out some really dark skies (SQM-L 21.87?), 1 single 10 min sub just blew out of anything I had taken in Chiba :D.
@@AnakChan I am so jealous of Australia!! Yeah in the end, the conditions here are just too bad to warrant using excellent equipment...
Australia's a great place, i live there out in a country town in the middle of nowhere luckly. No pollution as far as the eyes an see!
@@troyhunter4740 like wise, Kalgoorlie