Which photo processing programme?

[speach]

Which photo processing programme do you use? I carn't seem to get on with Gimp, for my normal photos I use Photostudio but it seems not to cut the mustard with astro pics. Any advice would help me.

[Merlin66]

Have a look at the demo version of AstroArt V5 - it handles every camera for image acquisition and provides a very comprehensive collection of image processing features (as well as guiding and plate solving!)
A highly underrated piece of software for amateurs....
http://www.msb-astroart.com/

Bang per buck I don't think you can get better value.

[peter_4059]

Pixinsight for astro photos.

[SimmoW]

Ditto for PI, plus the cheaper Photoshop Elements for other Magic adjustments/layers, eg combining exposures of different length.

GIMP is very powerful, but I find its UI confusing!

[Geoff45]

PixInsight--The one stop shop.
Geoff

[speach]

Well checked them out and Pixinsight wins I'm not going to pay nearly $4000 for Photoshop.

[Merlin66]

Simon,
I'd be interested to hear your comments on AstroArtV5.

[uwahl]

Hi All

If you are interested in photoshop the full versions of photoshop and lightroom are available for $9.99 a month subscription. You need to subscribe for a year at a time but for about $120 a year its a cheap, legal way to have photoshop and get all the updates. I signed up about six months ago and have not regretted it.

See details at:-

https://creative.adobe.com/plans/photography?store_code=au

:)

[pluto]

I use Photoshop, Lightroom, and PixInsight.
I love Photoshop but if I were on a tighter budget and had to drop one it would be Photoshop. Lightroom takes care of all my normal photography needs as I don't do any complex retouching. PixInsight takes care of all my astro processing needs and having LR I can always do a few minor tweaks and export jpgs from that at the end.

[OzStarGazer]

I just found this:
http://www.techradar.com/au/news/software/applications/best-photoshop-alternatives-six-we-recommend-1128681/2#null

[Merlin66]

+1 from me for Paint Shop Pro.
I've used it for various tasks for almost ten years.....
Only real difference for us, is the lack of support for the add-ins that PS have....I have asked various developers if they would "translate" them for PSP, but they don't seem interested.

[OzStarGazer]

I like it too, and it also has some useful tools for AP, like chromatic aberration and purple fringe removal.
At any rate the price difference between PhotoShop and PaintShop is enormous.

[OzStarGazer]

I also like Bibble Pro.

[ZeroID]

PixBuilder Studio ( free).
Very good levels, RGB, curves and contrast control. Very easy to use.

[speach]

Well I've got the trial version of PI. Now I've got learn how to drive it, and that seems another question altogether. What little hair I have seems as if it's destined to fall out very quickly!

[sil]

PixInsight, Photoshop and similar are not the right tools for processing astrophotos but can help when it comes to prettyfying image for web or print after you've processed to signal with something like PI. Astrophotography apps have their own approaches to processing and you need to learn how and when to use its features. Anything you think you know from photoshop, gimp etc is pretty much useless.You'll understand whn in a year you decide to preprocess an astrophoto you are happy with today.

[RobF]

Simon you can't go wrong if you invest in some time to learn the basics of PI. It really is worth the investment of time and money. Definitely not the only option, but the number of loyal users is swelling for good reason.

Check out the following next time the weather is bad:
Harry's videos (http://www.harrysastroshed.com/pixinsight/pixinsight%20video%20html/Pixinsighthome.html)
Jim's PI cribsheet (http://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=6175.0)
Page of Useful PI links (http://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=3268.0)

And of course join the PI forums and start scouring there too.

Rob

[speach]

Thanks every one for their input

[Irish stargazer]

Ditto. This is good value. I wonder how long this deal will go for
I use LR and PS for everyday photography also so its a good deal.

[White Rabbit]

Here are some great tutorials for PI.
http://www.harrysastroshed.com/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL67AB2FC8F37C35B1


Sandy

[Geoff45]

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