ICAPS - another Linux preprocessing package

[rcheshire]

Following on from rawprepro here is an end-to-end package based on the original script. It is a work in progress...

Download here (http://synergous.com/flatpress/index.php/2016/06/19/icaps-independent-channel-astronomical-pre-processing-and-stacking)

[rcheshire]

Fixes and improvements, hopefully, to ICAPS. (http://synergous.com/flatpress/index.php/2016/06/19/icaps-independent-channel-astronomical-pre-processing-and-stacking/)

[rcheshire]

The latest version of iCAPS - a few posts up v0.0.7.7 - is hopefully the last. Using iCAPS generated more ideas and these are reflected in this release.

Developing iCAPS has been a lot of fun but it's getting time consuming as the possibilities widen. The goal of producing an end-to-end preprocessing script for use with DSLR RAW data using the tools available to Linux distributions has been achieved - until I think of something else to add or modify.

DCRAW ImageMagick Panotools and the Yad interface form the basic system. Optionally, Hugin or Macrofusion provide graphical interfaces for alignment and stacking. The user gets a second crack at alignment and stacking if the system align and stack fails - without the need to start all over again. Hugin provides Panorama and HDR stitching, if required, among a host of other capabilities.

The HFOV entry takes advantage of Panotools lens capabilities - rectilinear is the default lens setting.

System align and stack is a command line version of the default Hugin graphical process, accurate and reliable - RANSAC iterations 200 by default. Options include, linearmatch (quick alignment) multirow and all pairs (slow and precise) alignment, mean median and exposure fusion stacking.

iCAPS lets the user create a project log file which can be used over and again or the user can choose to use the last log file to repeat a test run or simply create a new file.

There are as many options as seemed useful or were found to be necessary. Flat normalisation is the default, but this can be problematic with some image sets so no normalisation of flats is an option.

Anyway, if you feel inclined and have a look at iCAPS, try a small set of images, say 3 of each bias dark, flat and lights. Output is 16bit uncompressed tiff - StarTools compliant. L R G B channels are created if desired along with a lightness mask, the L* channel of the LAB colorspace.

Memory and processor threads are managed by ImageMagick resources - currently iCAPS default uses a maximum of ~40% of system memory and all but 1 processor core. These settings can be changed in the iCAPS script under ImageMagick resources, if you know what you are doing?

There is a manual and how to use Hugin video. iCAPS (http://synergous.com/flatpress/index.php/2016/06/19/icaps-independent-channel-astronomical-pre-processing-and-stacking/)

EDIT: I forgot to mention the blink utility - animation of image previews - which lets the user reject without deleting any dodgy frames prior to committing to processing. I run a small test set of 3 frames to get an idea of the image set output and decide on the options likely to produce the best results with the full set.

[oleg_astro]

I can add this software to "Ubuntu Astronomy".

[rcheshire]

Thanks oleg_astro. That would be great, but not just now. I am working on a winsorizing routine. Hope to have it finished in a week or so.

[rcheshire]

I noticed that the install and remove scripts were still using zenity - my humble apologies for this oversight... now Yad'ised.

In this version - all installation and remove authorisation including package installation from within iCAPS has been overhauled. This version will prompt if kdesudo or gksu is not installed; kdesudo or gksu which contains gksudo must first be installed via the distribution package manager.

If you don't want to do any of this, install all the package requirements prior to running iCAPS and ignore the sudo advice when iCAPS is launched from the iCAPS source folder.

I found it easier to use one of the sudo interfaces than pkexec. That is, unless the user has special requirements and is happy to set up all the bits and bobs for themselves. I understand this will be fixed in the near future and pkexec should be much easier to use.

EDIT: project log file can now be found in the project directory - a bit easier than looking for .files

[rcheshire]

Bug fix.

Video (http://www.synergous.com/flatpress/fp-content/attachs/icaps_demo.m4v)
Plays in browser

[rcheshire]

Latest... mainly cosmetic fixes.

Video (http://www.synergous.com/flatpress/fp-content/attachs/icaps_demo.m4v)