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Fits or xisf format


tristarcapt

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Thank you, really appreciate your quick response!  I'll just test it out.  There's a batch conversion script within pixinsight that I was planning on using.  I use pixinsight for most of my image processing and with raw files from a dslr it first has to decode them with a tool called "libraw".  This just slows the process down a little bit.  It doesn't have to do that with fits or xisf files, so it makes it faster.  You probably already knew all that, but just in case, that's the primary reason I was wondering if you were considering implementing the ability to save as fits or xisf.

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50 minutes ago, tristarcapt said:

I use pixinsight for most of my image processing and with raw files from a dslr it first has to decode them with a tool called "libraw".  This just slows the process down a little bit.  It doesn't have to do that with fits or xisf files, so it makes it faster.  You probably already knew all that, but just in case, that's the primary reason I was wondering if you were considering implementing the ability to save as fits or xisf.

Please realize that Guylain would have to do the same "decode them with libraw" task on each Image immediately after it has been Downloaded from the DSLR at end of Exposure.  This means that the Start of the Next Image is then Delayed by that "Libraw Decode and Rewrite to Disk" time.

The equivalent Feature (Create TIFF Version) is already available in the Premium Version of BYE/BYN.  TIFF and FITS are very similar equivalent File Formats - except TIFF doesn't have a common set of Astronomy Header Extensions.  XISF is a Proprietary Format - loosely based off of TIFF/FITS - produced managed and updated solely by PixInsight (they may have released a Library to support XISF - not sure).  The same "Image Decode and Rewrite" Delay would be incurred in this case too.

Please realize that there is more to the FITS/XISF File Format Conversion than simply Appending the Capture Timing Equipment and Target Data which BYE/BYN encapsulates (some of it anyways) in EXIF Data.  And if it really is only the EXIF Data that you are after, most Photo Display Software and Websites such as AstroBin directly support EXIF Import too.

Just additional details for you to perhaps clarify what you would consider for this Feature Request. 

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Thanks for the detailed response.  I believe, but not positive, that pixinsight released the xisf as "open format" in the hopes that it would replace fits as the new AP imaging format, not really material though.  I do have the premium edition and see the option to create tiff and have not tried it yet.  I was under the impression that a tiff header did not record the ascom stuff like coordinates, focuser position, filter, …. I'm primarily interested in capturing that data too.  That's why I was curious if he was thinking of adding the ability to save in fits.  If it's already there in tiff then, Great!

I use a couple of different imaging programs depending on what I'm trying to accomplish and a different one does let me save my DSLR images as either RAW or FITS.  As far as taking additional time at the end of an exposure to download, it doesn't really seem like there's much difference.  The fits does take slightly longer but they're also much bigger (I thought primarily due to the amount of data that was being saved in the fits header compared to the exif header).  Wasn't aware that libraw or some other tool (ie:  dcraw …) was being invoked to save in format other than RAW.

In any event, like I said earlier, just curious if he's considering adding this feature in the future.

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Xisf has not been mentioned before. If PI can process CR2 files then I see no advantage to BYE doing that conversion.

Over the years a couple of requests have been for BYE/BYN to provide the ability to convert the CR2 to FITS files but when queried about how that would be helpful the folks who asked the question failed to respond.

Personally, one of the first things that I do after imaging is to convert the image to color FITS image. Metadata in the RAW image is not copied into the debayered image by either program that I use. So I see that having all that metadata in the RAW image it has only limited to no value to me. Just my 2 cents.

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1 hour ago, astroman133 said:

Xisf has not been mentioned before. If PI can process CR2 files then I see no advantage to BYE doing that conversion.

Over the years a couple of requests have been for BYE/BYN to provide the ability to convert the CR2 to FITS files but when queried about how that would be helpful the folks who asked the question failed to respond.

Personally, one of the first things that I do after imaging is to convert the image to color FITS image. Metadata in the RAW image is not copied into the debayered image by either program that I use. So I see that having all that metadata in the RAW image it has only limited to no value to me. Just my 2 cents.

As you say PI doesn't have any problem working with cr2 files, however, as i said previously, they must first be decoded with libraw (previously dcraw).  PI doesn't have to do this with images that are already in other formats such as fits or xisf.  This decoding with libraw takes some extra time, if the image was already in fits it wouldn't have to be done and would speed things up a bit.  That's my primary reason to ask if saving in fits (or xisf) was being considered.  Also, the additional astronomical header data (that i described earlier too) that's recorded would be useful too.

That's how it would be helpful to me.  Either way, whether it's being considered or not, no biggie.  It's just a question.

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