Green Overdose

General discussion about StarTools.
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Re: Green Overdose

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BrendanC wrote:Just to say, this thread might have provided me with a major breakthrough.

I've been choosing the first option when opening files. Auto dev would give me a hot, green mess, even with high quality sample files such as those provided by Jerry Lodriguss at http://www.astropix.com/html/i_astrop/p ... files.html. It would then just get worse with wipe etc.

However, if I choose the second option, it seems to be working better.

Ivo, I think more on-screen guidance on this very first, critical step would be very useful. I've been on the verge of abandoning ST, especially when I couldn't even get the Lodriguss files to work, because all I could see was that ST seemed to make a mess of perfectly good data. If it really is as simple as making the right choice at the beginning, it would help out a lot.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread, but as soon as I saw the title 'Green Overdose' it rang a very loud bell in my head...
Hi Brendan,

It may be that I am misunderstanding you, but you will/should notice virtually no difference in the final coloring, regardless of choosing the first or second option. That is, if you adhere to any of the recommended workflows as depicted in videos, first or third party tutorials or workflow charts. In any of those videos, tutorials and charts, you are advised to use Wipe to remove bias and - after processing the detail - use the Color module towards the end of your workflow, which balances the coloring. To reiterate, both options should result in the same coloring.

If this is not what you are experiencing, could you provide the steps that "make a mess" of the data you are importing? Thank you!

EDIT: It is perhaps also useful to note that, as of 1.6, data that has not been white balanced (and thus can be imported using the second option), can now be calibrated with many manufacturers' default matrices. For example, Jerry's M45 data combined with the matrix for his 700D can yields this;
M45Stack.jpg
M45Stack.jpg (320.8 KiB) Viewed 1223 times
Without the matrix applied, the coloring (with identical settings) would be more along the lines of what you would expect from an OSC;
M45Stack2.jpg
M45Stack2.jpg (308.64 KiB) Viewed 1223 times
Nothing wrong with either (I actually personally prefer the predictability of an OSC).
Ivo Jager
StarTools creator and astronomy enthusiast
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