Having light frames processed against darks and flats

[Matthew]

A feature I would love to have in BYE is to have it automatically use my Dark, Flats (white and dark) and BIAS masters - so whenever I take a light frame it automatically does the basic processing if I request it to subract the matching dark master frame, and apply the BIAS and Flats to it - right then and there.

 

Normally when I do an imaging run of say 6 light frames at ISO 400 for selected durations depending on the target's brightess and dimmests regions choosing from duractions of 120 seconds, 240 seconds, 360 second, 480 seconds, 600 seconds, 900 seconds, 1200 seconds  and 1800 seconds.  Then I have to process them in Deep Sky Stacker - either individually, in groups or all the light frames together.  I have my library of Flat Whites, Flat Darks, BIAS and Dark masters of the above durations - which generally comprises 30 shots median averaged into a .TIF master file.

 

It would be great if BYE could do this featrue for each shot when I take it - either before it does the next shot - or asynchronously whilst the next shot is running - do the simplest of Flat, BIAS and Dark frames processing on the Light frame just taken if one supplies the above libraries of matching shots.

 

Any chance this might be consdiered?

 

Many thanks,

 

   Matthew

[astroman133]

You use libraries of flats?

 

Perhaps you can get away where you typically image, but where I live, but I have to shoot flats as I image. I live in the desert which is dusty. So, I need to take flats as part of each imaging session in order to accurately remove the dust donuts from the images that were shot during that session.  I do maintain libraries of master dark and flat dark frames. Because I shoot flat darks I have no use for bias frames, even though they are easy to shoot. I could avoid having to maintain a library of master flat dark frames by using a master bias frame instead, but I choose to use a master flat dark.

 

Also, for me, image calibration is an integral part of the automated stacking workflow (in both ImagesPlus and CCDStack). Performing that step at capture time would provide no benefit and would make the capture process more complicated.

 

I will also say that I use a different processing workflow from you. I typically shoot only a single exposure duration for a given target (or a single luminance exposure and a different R, G, and B exposures when shooting with a monochrome camera). I then use image masks to selectively process one part of an image differently from another part. For example I create a mask to sharpen a nebula while not affecting the background. Or I do noise reduction on the background without blurring the nebula.

 

Occasionally, I will shoot shorter exposures, to combine with longer exposures, for a target with a high dynamic range. The Orion Nebula is an example of that. However, that type of capture is not the norm for me.

[admin]

BYE/BYN's focus is exclusively image acquisition, that is controlling your camera.  I have purposely stayed away from any features that goes beyond this design goal.  

 

The reason is once you start adding image processing features it quickly becomes out of hand and the app would gradually lose (rather quickly) its ease of use and each out-of-context feature would add additional configurations and would takes considerable UI real estate.  The biggest and most reoccurring praise I get for BYE/BYN is its easy of use due to a clean UI layout.  Adding features that do not meet the image acquisition only design goal will convolute the UI

 

It's a good idea, but I think I would fail at trying to make it appealing and useful to the mass.

[s3igell]

I, for one, really wouldn't want BYE/BYN to attempt to also be my Image Processing App.

 

Reasons:

1. O'telescope's 1-2 man team is already rather thinly stretched, and has a hefty list of Image Capture Features either committed or considered.
2. Calibrating individual RAW Lights isn't in itself sufficient to complete an AP Image Stack, there are still Registration and Stacking and Stretching and...  So, is it really of value to have BYE do "Part of the Job" when DSS or PI or ST will be assigned the rest of that Processing Task??  If anything, the Histogram Stretch/Curve Feature gives you enough flexibility that you can confirm the Quality of your just-shot-Image.
3. Most of us, at least those who Image at a Dark Site, are perpetually in Laptop Battery Conservation Mode.  Using extra CPU and HDD and RAM Power in order to attempt the Calibration Step would be Counter-Productive.

[Matthew]

Thanks Guylain for your feedback - which seems quite reasonable I must say.  I do tend to use BYE as you say strictly for acquisition - then my work flow goes DSS -> Photoshop, over time I may try ImagePlus, or CCD Stack or MaximDL - then into Phtoshop for my processing - but at the moment I am trying to improve rig control and data acquisition.  Data processing will likely be my area for improvement sometime mid next year.