stacked image from dslr Monochrome modded camera

General discussion about StarTools.
U308041
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 5:32 pm

Re: stacked image from dslr Monochrome modded camera

Post by U308041 »

ok Mike, I will try that. I wonder what Ivo would suggest . I have been hacking my way around Startools for three years now and I am barely scratching the surface. I have a vague idea about 10% of it. I would like to meet someone who totally comprehends all the choices one can make in each section.
U308041
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 5:32 pm

Re: stacked image from dslr Monochrome modded camera

Post by U308041 »

I literally would pay 100.00 for a hard copy book that would explain every module and option in that module , purpose , and what moving every slider does or could do.
a lot of times I do experiment but see no change in my image. I do think Startools gives a beginner great results and I am not switching to anything else with a giant learning curve. Life is short.
U308041
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 5:32 pm

Re: stacked image from dslr Monochrome modded camera

Post by U308041 »

Mike, You are a pretty dang smart guy on all things imaging. I don't know how long you have been doing this but I am impressed. Sort of Startools related but what do you think my matrix removal did to the "ideal iso" and dynamic range of the 350D? It used to be iso 400 according to one guru.
Mike in Rancho
Posts: 1141
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:05 pm
Location: Alta Loma, CA

Re: stacked image from dslr Monochrome modded camera

Post by Mike in Rancho »

Oh, I dunno, but thanks, I try! :D

Sometime this summer will make two years since I started toying around with AP - other than some very amateur stuff I did with subpar equipment many years prior. And I've had ST since late 2020, so maybe getting close to 1.5 years there.

Really just a lot of reading, here and on CN, and quite a few pesky questions I post here for Ivo to answer. ;)

I run a good number of tests and experiments on things too.

Practicing a lot helps improve your ST skills. Doesn't have to be your own data -- I've processed hundreds of other datasets from tutorial threads on CN (the big Elf Thread in beginner DSO is great), and just user data that gets uploaded for folks to try.

If you can get some basics of Wipe and AutoDev down first, ST is indeed great for beginners to just follow a standard workflow, using defaults or slight variations thereof, to get a decent result. But ST is more complex and capable than many realize, so there is indeed a big learning curve to become truly knowledgeable. And some of that is just the learning curve of AP post processing generally. I'm maybe close to transitioning from beginner to intermediate?

Do you have a copy of the big "unofficial/inofficial ST manual"? If not, download the PDF, it's probably 300+ pages now, well bookmarked, and is pretty much just what you asked for. A lot of good stuff from here like the Guy User Notes are incorporated, along with Ivo's ST website explanations, and it's all organized into sections. A lot of your "what does this slider do" questions will be covered in there.

I do not think the mono mod will change your recommended ISO. Those are typically generated based on the sensor's and camera's electronic characteristics, not the pixels that are being swallowed up.

Now, will it change your exposure times? That I don't know. The lack of filters could be comparable to changing from something darker, say a duoband, to more being passed through, like a UV-IR cut. So you'd get more light in the same amount of time. BUT...does removing the bayer matrix also entail removing any possible microlenses that your sensor could have had? That seems possible, and so query the effect of not having those little lenses funneling photons down to the pixels. Maybe it's a wash? :think:
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