Reprocess of Antares Rho Ophiuchus - 1.3.5.279RC

[Rowland]

Trying out 1.3.5.279 with an old image of Antares Rho Ophiuchus.

Primarily, with use of the Color Constancy selection and RGB Ration CIELAB Luminance Retention. What caught my attention was the Noise Reduction and Read Noise Compensation, which is jaw dropping I generally don't go on like this, but it is really impressive.

http://www.astrobin.com/88324/0/

StarTools 1.3.5.279
Fri Apr 4 15:49:45 2014
-----------------------------------------------------------
File loaded [/home/geoland/Pictures/5drhooph/master/light-BINNING_1.fit].
---
--- Auto Develop
Parameter [Ignore Fine Detail <] set to [Off]
Parameter [Outside ROI Influence] set to [15 %]
--- Crop
Parameter [X1] set to [901 pixels]
Parameter [Y1] set to [434 pixels]
Parameter [X2] set to [4901 pixels (-733)]
Parameter [Y2] set to [3434 pixels (-319)]
--- Bin
Parameter [Scale] set to [(scale/noise reduction 50.00%)/(400.00%)/(+2.00 bits)]
--- Wipe
Parameter [Mode] set to [Correct Color & Brightness]
Parameter [UNKNOWN] set to [No]
Parameter [Precision] set to [256 x 256 pixels]
Parameter [Dark Anomaly Filter] set to [1 pixels]
Parameter [Drop Off Point] set to [100 %]
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 [95.29 %]
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 [5.0 pixels]
--- HDR
Parameter [Small Detail Precision] set to [Max]
Parameter [Channels] set to [Brightness Only]
Parameter [Algorithm] set to [Reveal DSO Core]
Parameter [Dark/Bright Response] set to [Full]
Parameter [Detail Size Range] set to [364 pixels]
Parameter [Noise Suppression] 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]
--- Color
Parameter [Cap Green] set to [To Yellow]
Parameter [Bias Slider Mode] set to [Sliders Increase Color Bias]
Parameter [Style] set to [Scientific (Color Constancy)]
Parameter [LRGB Method Emulation] set to [RGB Ratio, CIELab Luminance Retention]
Parameter [Dark Saturation] set to [2.00]
Parameter [Bright Saturation] set to [6.00]
Parameter [Saturation Amount] set to [200 %]
Parameter [Blue Bias Increase] set to [1.50]
Parameter [Green Bias Increase] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Red Bias Increase] set to [1.00]
Parameter [Mask Fuzz] set to [1.0 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 [1.0 pixels]
Parameter [Scale Correlation] set to [3]
Parameter [Color Detail Loss] set to [12 %]
Parameter [Brightness Detail Loss] set to [12 %]
Parameter [Redistribution Kernel] set to [4.5 pixels]
Parameter [Read Noise Compensation] set to [1.00 %]
Parameter [Smoothness] set to [75 %]
--- 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 [1.0 pixels]
Parameter [Amount] set to [100 %]
Parameter [Small Detail Bias] set to [75 %]
--- Rotate
Parameter [Angle] set to [180.00]
File saved [/home/geoland/Pictures/5drhooph/light-BINNING_1.tiff].

[1074j]

I saw your image over on astrobin-nice. I do have a question for you and that is why do you do wavelet sharpening after noise reduction? I though it was best to do noise reduction as close to the end as possible.
Lex

[admin]

Expertly processed and such a good example of a target that benefits from the Color Constancy algorithm.
Hard to believe this is from a DSLR.

Glad you discovered the read noise compensation parameter and find it useful! It can really clean up a background that has been overstretched to show mainly read noise. I'm pretty happy with the advancements that have been made over the past year or so ,trying to home in into the read noise component of the total signal and attack that component specifically.

Like Lex, I too noticed the wavelet sharpening at the end after final noise reduction. I guess it's not a biggie as noise is still well under control.

[Rowland]

Thanks guys.

That's a good question, Lex. I prefer to use wavelet sharpening last. It's a personal preference and I find it useful for controlling contrast. Perhaps not suitable for all images, but it works quite well at times.