Using Regim with StarTools

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Guy
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:35 am

Using Regim with StarTools

Post by Guy »

I was inspired by the post here to have a look at Regim by Andreas Rörig as an alternative to Deep Sky Stacker (DSS).
I thought it might be useful to share the setup I am currently using - and would be interested in others' experience and advice.

EDIT: Others have reported a problem with colours in some circumstances but I am having difficulty isolating the reason for this. I'll investigate this and will provide an update when I have a resolution. If anyone has similar issues please let me know.

One reason for problems with colour is that the camera is not supported directly by Regim and you need to set up DCRAW support.
I have described a simple colour test below so that you can check to see if you need to set up DCRAW support.

Installing:
  • Follow the instructions on the web site and in the manual for installing it - make sure you have Java Runtime Environment 1.6.0 or higher installed.
  • Start Regim by clicking on regim.cmd (or regimSmall.cmd - which uses less memory - if that doesn't work)
Setting Up - Example for DSLR - with notes for OSC and monochrome cameras
- In the 'Preprocessing' Menu select 'Preprocessing'

Select 'Calibration' tab:
  • Repair defects -unticked - only available for mono images
    Files are RAW -ticked - for DSLR and OSC images only
    Standard DSLR -ticked - for DSLR - tick 'Custom' for OSC CCD or if camera not recognised
    Stretch RAW to 16 bit -ticked - Output uses full 16-bit dynamic range
    Auto scaling -unticked
    Auto offset -unticked
Select 'Register' tab:
  • 'Manual one star/Comet' - unticked
    Parameters below kept at default:
    • Number of stars - 130
      Star min. brightness - 0.05 - Lower threshold for star detection - see the 'Status' field for number of stars found
      Star max. brightness - 1.0 - Upper threshold
      FWHM low limit: - 2.0
      Transform mode - Linear
      Search radius - 10 - arcsecs/pixel - depends on image scale
    2x upsample -unticked
    Same scale -ticked - if all images have the same scale
    bicubic interpolation -ticked - untick if you have problems and image is oversampled
    normalize background -ticked - tick if using 'Sigma' or 'SDmask' - untick for 'Median' and other combination methods
Select 'Combination' tab:
  • Option - 'Sigma' -with a sigma of 1.6 or 'Median' - select from: Blend, Median, Sigma, SDMask or Maximum
    Ignore black border -ticked - ignores any black border during combination
Processing:
Select 'Files' tab
  • Navigate to the correct folder.
    Select the type of sub-frame (RAW, TIF, FITS or JPEG) using the 'Files of Type' drop down list.
    Select Lights files and press 'Add to images'
    Select Darks files and press 'Add to darks'
    Select Flats files and press 'Add to flats'
    Select Flat Darks (Dark Flats) and press 'Add to flat darks'
    - You can use Bias frames instead of dark flats here if the Flats exposure time is not longer than a few seconds.

    do calibration -ticked
    do deblooming -unticked - tick if using a camera without antiblooming
    do normalisation -unticked
    do register -ticked
    do preview -unticked
    do combination -ticked

    Press the 'OK' button at the bottom of the form and processing will start
Processing takes a while.

When complete the resulting image is displayed -
The image is automatically stretched just for viewing - to see the unstretched image press the function key F4
You can adjust the stretch by moving the black and white point sliders on the right. This does not change the saved image.
Note: If colour, the resulting image is not white balanced.
Save the file in Tiff or Fits format.

Load into StarTools:
- If it is a (stacked) RAW monochrome image select 'Linear, was not Bayered or is white balanced'
- If it is a (stacked) RAW DSLR or OSC colour image select 'Linear, was Bayered, is not white balanced'
For more information on loading files in StarTools see StarTools Main Window Use.

Notes:
RAW Support:
  • Regim supports RAW files itself using jrawio for RAW file conversion - which supports fewer cameras than dcraw. You can check support using the instructions below.
  • If your camera is not supported you may need to install dcraw (if not already installed) and point to where it is installed:
    'File' Menu - Preferences:
    'Use DCRaw' - tick
    • - set the path to point to the location of the dcraw .exe file (e.g. C:\Program Files\dcraw\dcraw-9.24-ms-64-bit.exe)
      - Note: Version 8.98 (32-bit) of dcraw didn't work for me - it worked OK with version 9.27 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • jrawio produces images which are slightly different in size to dcraw. So if you want to compare Regim with DSS directly you will need to use the dcraw option.
Temporary Files
- Regim makes a number of temporary .fit files which can be deleted after completion.

Memory use and Performance:
The cmd file you start Regim with affects how much memory is used and performance.
- regim.cmd uses 2GB RAM
- regimSmall.cmd uses 1GB RAM but will be slower
- regimLarge.cmd uses 3GB RAM and should be faster

Bicubic Interpolation Setting:
  • The user manual says not to use bicubic interpolation if the image is oversampled. However, problems have been reported which have been fixed by turning bicubic interpolation on. This is why the recommendation is to turn it on.
  • If you are experiencing problems which may relate to registration - try turning it off:
    - 'Register' tab - bicubic interpolation - unticked
Troubleshooting problems with colour
Checking Regim Settings:
  • Preprocess the single RAW file Colour_Test_1_RAW.CR2 on its own using Regim.
    Colour_Test_1_CDPP_TIFF-small.jpg
    Colour_Test_1_CDPP_TIFF-small.jpg (12.21 KiB) Viewed 46248 times
    [/url]
  • The Camera it was taken with was an unmodified Canon 1000D which is not supported directly by Regim so you will need to either:
    - set up DCRAW support as described above, or
    - in the 'Calibration' tab you will need select 'Custom' and tick 'First row contains red pixel'
  • Preprocess as described above but don't set up 'Register' tab and keep 'do register' unticked
  • Save the result as a tiff file
  • The result should look like SigmaCombinedFiles-dcraw-16b.tiff
    SigmaCombinedFiles-dcraw-16b-small.jpg
    SigmaCombinedFiles-dcraw-16b-small.jpg (3.79 KiB) Viewed 46249 times
    - The short fatter blue pen should be on the right and the red pen on the left.
    - If not, there is a problem with the Regim settings - go back and check them.
    - If the image is very dark it might be because you have not ticked 'Stretch RAW to 16 bit' on the 'Calibration' tab.
Checking support for your camera:
  • Take a similar image with your own camera and repeat the test and check the image looks as expected.
    - If not, then the camera is not being properly supported and you will need to set up DCRAW support as described above.

Other functions
Regim also has some other interesting functions and tools not used here - it is worth exploring further. These include Photometry, Plate Solving and listing the stars in an image.

I'm still refining the settings and will update this post if my process changes
I'd be interested if anyone else has different settings they prefer - or any other experience or advice regarding Regim.

Guy
Last edited by Guy on Thu Jan 05, 2017 12:38 am, edited 15 times in total.
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admin
Site Admin
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Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by admin »

Great guide! :thumbsup:

This deserves a sticky!

Now I will definitely have to give Regim a go next time I stack (to my shame I've never tried it...).
Ivo Jager
StarTools creator and astronomy enthusiast
wedgef5
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 11:55 am

Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by wedgef5 »

Thanks for posting this! I've been interested in using Regim for a couple of reasons. I'm a bit of a Java coder myself, and I would like to use something that is being more actively developed than DSS.

That said, I gae it a try with some NGC 7331 data I collected this past weekend, and the result wasn't very good. It appeared as though my flats had not been used at all (heavy vignetting) and there was virtually no color at all in the final image.

Have you seen either of these two issues?

Thanks again...

Matt
Guy
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:35 am

Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by Guy »

Hi Matt,

Unfortunately there seem to be issues experienced with colour - as I said in the post.
I've done some tests on daylight pictures to try and reproduce this and the colours appear fine - although obviously this may not be an entirely equivalent test.
Until now I hadn't heard of issues with flats being ignored.

There is active support for Regim directly from the author Andreas Rörig via the regim_astro group on Yahoo.
It is hosted by Yahoo Germany but provides good support in both German and English and subscribing to the group is easy.
If you describe the issue there and provide a way for him to recreate the problem I expect you will get a resolution.

What type of subs did you use? If from a DSLR did you use the native DSLR support or the external dcraw support?
One test you could do is to convert the files to TIF and then use regim with the TIF files and see if that works. This would eliminate any effect of the RAW conversion.

Please let us know how you get on.
As you say - it would be good to have an alternative to DSS which is actively being developed.

Guy
smokey688i
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Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by smokey688i »

Matt/Guy,

I finally had some success with Regim - bottom line, I had to enable bicubic interpolation on the Register tab, and use the dcraw option in Preferences to get it working. I'm guessing jrawio doesn't support my Nikon D5100.

I've been using DSS for some time with good results, but wanted to see if any improvement could be gained with Regim. Also, a fellow astrophotographer friend has been having issues with DSS crashing if he ran it with more than 25 or so light subs loaded (temp file overload error due to his many-megapixel camera), so it's a small victory that I was able to get Regim up and running.

-Chris
Guy
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:35 am

Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by Guy »

Hi Chris,

Thats good news.
Thanks for perservering with this and letting us know the settings that worked.
So what problems did you have when you had bicubic interpolation switched off?
I'll update the post wih your information.

Guy
smokey688i
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Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by smokey688i »

Well...it seems enabling bicubic interpolation set things right, but when I disable it, I get an equally acceptable result now...

Previously I had seen a number of issues, including much less detail than the DSS output, a sort of crosshatch pattern, and color that would not process out in Startools.

But whatever the issue was, it seems enabling bicubic interpolation for a run fixed my problem...

Here's a sample of M31 I just processed, with bicubic interpolation on:

https://1drv.ms/i/s!AmLjlsCWOS9Mjzs3Jh-SZI4arvBv
Guy
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:35 am

Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by Guy »

Thanks for the explanation Chris.
It'll be interesting to see if others have similar problems.

The image looks good.
To try and help others who have similar problems I have added a simple colour test to allow people to test their Regim settings and also support for their camera.

Guy
Burly
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Location: Northamptonshie uk

Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by Burly »

wOW liking this more than DSS star colours look better too ,im impressed latter image stacked in DSS,7x300s 25 x approx bias as darks ,flats not much data and maybe more detail in there,thanks guy ,comments welcome as how to tease more detail welcome https://www.dropbox.com/s/u0nr5xhvbiunw ... s.fit?dl=0
https://flic.kr/p/2czJ3js
https://www.flickr.com/gp/82940128@N03/fs59GZ

Btw Modified 1000d, sw200pds
Rkonrad
Posts: 247
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:55 am

Re: Using Regim with StarTools

Post by Rkonrad »

I've haven't had any success with Regim. Colours seem to be opposite what they should be - there is some good documentation on this subject so some time later I will study it more.

Meanwhile Dave, I gave a go with your data. It was far from simple but this is what I came up with. https://www.flickr.com/gp/rkonrad/0b71jb
Generally I think you need a lot more exposure for something like the "bubble". Our challenge image (from the yahoo dslr group which I think you're part of) used quite a bit of exposure and I found it really difficult...

I had to crop generously to make the wipe successful. In the end I chose "vignetting"
To separate the stars from the nebula I needed to do an inverse star mask and apply "isolate"
Finally I masked (arbitrarily) the central portion of the nebula and did a default "life".

Here is the log file:
File loaded [/home/rkonrad/Downloads/astrobin/ei carn/bubble nebula SigmaCombinedFiles.fit].
---
Type of Data: Linear and was Bayered, but not whitebalanced
--- Auto Develop
Parameter [Ignore Fine Detail <] set to [Off]
Parameter [Outside RoI Influence] set to [15 %]
Parameter [RoI X1] set to [0 pixels]
Parameter [RoI Y1] set to [0 pixels]
Parameter [RoI X2] set to [3948 pixels (-0)]
Parameter [RoI Y2] set to [2622 pixels (-0)]
--- Crop
Parameter [X1] set to [142 pixels]
Parameter [Y1] set to [24 pixels]
Parameter [X2] set to [3916 pixels (-32)]
Parameter [Y2] set to [2597 pixels (-25)]
--- Crop
Parameter [X1] set to [33 pixels]
Parameter [Y1] set to [21 pixels]
Parameter [X2] set to [3704 pixels (-70)]
Parameter [Y2] set to [2537 pixels (-36)]
--- Wipe
Parameter [Mode] set to [Correct Color & Brightness]
Parameter [Temporary AutoDev] set to [Yes]
Parameter [Precision] set to [256 x 256 pixels]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [5 pixels]
Parameter [Drop Off Point] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Corner Aggressiveness] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Aggressiveness] set to [75 %]
--- Auto Develop
Parameter [Ignore Fine Detail <] set to [Off]
Parameter [Outside RoI Influence] set to [15 %]
Parameter [RoI X1] set to [0 pixels]
Parameter [RoI Y1] set to [0 pixels]
Parameter [RoI X2] set to [3671 pixels (-0)]
Parameter [RoI Y2] set to [2516 pixels (-0)]
--- Crop
Parameter [X1] set to [8 pixels]
Parameter [Y1] set to [8 pixels]
Parameter [X2] set to [3598 pixels (-73)]
Parameter [Y2] set to [2451 pixels (-65)]
--- Wipe
Parameter [Mode] set to [Correct Color & Brightness]
Parameter [Temporary AutoDev] set to [Yes]
Parameter [Precision] set to [256 x 256 pixels]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [5 pixels]
Parameter [Drop Off Point] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Corner Aggressiveness] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Aggressiveness] set to [75 %]
--- Auto Develop
Parameter [Ignore Fine Detail <] set to [4.0 pixels]
Parameter [Outside RoI Influence] set to [15 %]
Parameter [RoI X1] set to [0 pixels]
Parameter [RoI Y1] set to [0 pixels]
Parameter [RoI X2] set to [3590 pixels (-0)]
Parameter [RoI Y2] set to [2443 pixels (-0)]
--- Auto Develop
Parameter [Ignore Fine Detail <] set to [3.6 pixels]
Parameter [Outside RoI Influence] set to [100 %]
Parameter [RoI X1] set to [1601 pixels]
Parameter [RoI Y1] set to [1330 pixels]
Parameter [RoI X2] set to [2001 pixels (-1589)]
Parameter [RoI Y2] set to [1414 pixels (-1029)]
--- Color
Parameter [Cap Green] set to [No]
Parameter [Bias Slider Mode] set to [Sliders Reduce Color Bias]
Parameter [Style] set to [Scientific (Color Constancy)]
Parameter [LRGB Method Emulation] set to [Straight CIELab Luminance Retention]
Parameter [Dark Saturation] set to [2.00]
Parameter [Bright Saturation] set to [Full]
Parameter [Saturation Amount] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Blue Bias Reduce] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Green Bias Reduce] set to [1.02]
Parameter [Red Bias Reduce] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
--- 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 [64 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 [36 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
--- 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 [64 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 [11 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [8.6 pixels]
--- Wavelet Sharpen
Parameter [Structure Size] set to [Large]
--- Wavelet Sharpen
Parameter [Structure Size] set to [Medium]
--- 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 [3.6 pixels]
Parameter [Amount] set to [188 %]
Parameter [Small Detail Bias] set to [75 %]
--- 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 [64 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 [36 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [6.0 pixels]
--- Develop
Parameter [White Calibration] set to [Use Stars]
Parameter [Gamma] set to [0.86]
Parameter [Skyglow] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Digital Development] set to [Off]
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]
--- HDR
Parameter [Small Detail Precision] set to [Max]
Parameter [Channels] set to [Brightness Only]
Parameter [Algorithm] set to [Equalize]
Parameter [Dark/Bright Response] set to [0.25]
Parameter [Detail Size Range] set to [21 pixels]
Parameter [Strength] set to [1.2]
--- Bin
Parameter [Scale] set to [(scale/noise reduction 50.00%)/(400.00%)/(+2.00 bits)]
Image Size 1795 x 1221 pixels
--- Color
Parameter [Cap Green] set to [No]
Parameter [Bias Slider Mode] set to [Sliders Reduce Color Bias]
Parameter [Style] set to [Scientific (Color Constancy)]
Parameter [LRGB Method Emulation] set to [Straight CIELab Luminance Retention]
Parameter [Dark Saturation] set to [7.50]
Parameter [Bright Saturation] set to [Full]
Parameter [Saturation Amount] set to [78 %]
Parameter [Blue Bias Reduce] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Green Bias Reduce] set to [1.15]
Parameter [Red Bias Reduce] set to [1.05]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
--- Wavelet De-Noise
Parameter [Filter Type] set to [Distance Weighted Outlier Rejection]
Parameter [Grain Size] set to [4.5 pixels]
--- Wavelet De-Noise
Parameter [Filter Type] set to [Gaussian Noise Diffusion]
Parameter [Grain Size] set to [5.6 pixels]
--- 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 [36 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
Parameter [Scale Correlation] set to [2]
Parameter [Color Detail Loss] set to [49 %]
Parameter [Brightness Detail Loss] set to [49 %]
Parameter [Grain Size] set to [6.6 pixels]
Parameter [Read Noise Compensation] set to [Off]
Parameter [Smoothness] set to [77 %]
--- 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 [64 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 [15 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [12.5 pixels]
--- Develop
Parameter [White Calibration] set to [Use Stars]
Parameter [Gamma] set to [0.94]
Parameter [Skyglow] set to [0 %]
Parameter [Digital Development] set to [Off]
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]
Image Size 1795 x 1221 pixels
--- Wavelet De-Noise
Parameter [Filter Type] set to [Distance Weighted Outlier Rejection]
Parameter [Grain Size] set to [5.0 pixels]
--- 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 [8.5 pixels]
Parameter [Scale Correlation] set to [6]
Parameter [Color Detail Loss] set to [25 %]
Parameter [Brightness Detail Loss] set to [25 %]
Parameter [Grain Size] set to [5.0 pixels]
Parameter [Read Noise Compensation] set to [Off]
Parameter [Smoothness] set to [75 %]
File saved [/home/rkonrad/Downloads/astrobin/ei carn/bubble nebula SigmaCombinedFiles.tiff].
File loaded [/home/rkonrad/Downloads/astrobin/ei carn/bubble nebula SigmaCombinedFiles.tif].
---
Type of Data: Non-linear sRGB source
--- Magic
Parameter [Mode] set to [Shrink]
Parameter [Mask Grow] set to [2 pixels]
Parameter [Iterations] set to [1 pixels]
--- Life
Parameter [Detail Preservation] set to [Max Contrast]
Parameter [Compositing Algorithm] set to [Power of Inverse]
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 [64 pixels]
Parameter [Glow Threshold] set to [12 %]
Parameter [Detail Preservation Radius] set to [20.0 pixels]
Parameter [Saturation] set to [50 %]
Parameter [Strength] set to [112 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
File saved [/home/rkonrad/Downloads/astrobin/ei carn/Dave-Bubble.tif].
Cheers Richard
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