Gamma increase produces artefacts

Bugs, glitches and unexpected behaviour.
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almcl
Posts: 263
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:15 pm
Location: Shropshire. UK

Gamma increase produces artefacts

Post by almcl »

Not sure if this is a bug or (more likely) operator error but.

Today I separated the stars from a post tracking image with a view to quietening down the background. The extracted stars looked rather dimmer in the 'stars only' field, so I launched the develop module intending to apply enough gamma to restore their brightness. Bearing in mind that the star image should only contain stars and no background, I was surprised to see a mottled pattern appearing in the background as the gamma slider was increased. (Images below, and yes, it's not a very good image - M46 is very low on the horizon at my latitude.)

Should this happen? And is there any way to prevent it?

Part of the star field:
The extracted star field.jpg
The extracted star field.jpg (55.08 KiB) Viewed 5670 times
After applying a gamma increase:
After applying gamma 2.jpg
After applying gamma 2.jpg (86.12 KiB) Viewed 5670 times
Skywatcher 190MN, ASI 2600 or astro modded Canon 700d, guided by OAG, ASI120, PHD2
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admin
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Re: Gamma increase produces artefacts

Post by admin »

Hi,

I can't think of any way a linear stretch would introduce noise or mottle. :)

How exactly do you extract the star field?
Ivo Jager
StarTools creator and astronomy enthusiast
almcl
Posts: 263
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:15 pm
Location: Shropshire. UK

Re: Gamma increase produces artefacts

Post by almcl »

via the work flow here: http://forum.startools.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=244.

Using a star mask then the Heal module:
-- Heal
Parameter [Quality] set to [Ultra]
Parameter [New Darker Than Old] set to [Yes]
Parameter [Grow Mask] set to [0 pixels]
Parameter [Neighbourhood Samples] set to [0]
Parameter [New Must Be Darker Than] set to [Off]
Parameter [Neighbourhood Area] set to [200 pixels]
Mask used (BASE64 PNG encoded)

The mask was
download.png
download.png (56.39 KiB) Viewed 5648 times
The the layer module to extract the stars:
--- Layer
Parameter [Layer Mode] set to [Subtract]
Parameter [Cap Mode] set to [Clip]
Parameter [Brightness Mask Mode] set to [Off]
Parameter [Filter Type] set to [Gaussian (Fg)]
Parameter [Blend Amount] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 pixels]
Parameter [Filter Kernel Radius] set to [1.0 pixels]
Parameter [Offset X] set to [-0.5 pixels]
Parameter [Offset Y] set to [0.0 pixels]
Parameter [Brightness Mask Power] set to [1.00]
Skywatcher 190MN, ASI 2600 or astro modded Canon 700d, guided by OAG, ASI120, PHD2
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admin
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Re: Gamma increase produces artefacts

Post by admin »

Hmmmm....

Could it be the Offset X by half a pixel? (this is a bug that has been fixed in the latest version)
Ivo Jager
StarTools creator and astronomy enthusiast
almcl
Posts: 263
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:15 pm
Location: Shropshire. UK

Re: Gamma increase produces artefacts

Post by almcl »

Hadn't noticed that update! I was using 1.4.341.

I'll download and see what result comes from that.
Skywatcher 190MN, ASI 2600 or astro modded Canon 700d, guided by OAG, ASI120, PHD2
almcl
Posts: 263
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:15 pm
Location: Shropshire. UK

Re: Gamma increase produces artefacts

Post by almcl »

Yippee! That's cracked it!

No artefacts in the star field when stretched now in .344!

Thanks for the brilliant support, as ever Ivo!
Skywatcher 190MN, ASI 2600 or astro modded Canon 700d, guided by OAG, ASI120, PHD2
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admin
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Re: Gamma increase produces artefacts

Post by admin »

almcl wrote:Yippee! That's cracked it!

No artefacts in the star field when stretched now in .344!

Thanks for the brilliant support, as ever Ivo!
Great! Not sure where that glitch snuck in (it only happened when the image X or Y resolution is an odd number).
Ivo Jager
StarTools creator and astronomy enthusiast
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