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Originally Posted by Startrek
What would you all suggest I use as a beginner for overall processing the final image ??
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PixInsight. Preprocessing your captured data should include flats and darks too and the process aligns (registers) the images against a target image and then stacks (integrates) ALL the data into one single file with a high bit depth per pixel. Ideally 64bit/pixel. I dont know what DSS produces but you want to be able to save the highest bit depth your software allows to a FITS or TIF format file. All this does is increase the signal to noise ratio in the image (its one image, not layers) and unless theres an option to stretch at the end of stacking its going to look just black basically.
So for processing your final image (levels adjustment usually as a start) you want something that will load this stacked file. I dont think photoshop loads FITS files (the standard in astro photography) plus i think it mostly only gives you 8bit resolution in levels/curves adjustments (256 steps) so it can be difficult to bring out the signal buried deep without bringing out too much noise as well. I do all my adjusting in PixInsight, its tools give you lots of granularity to stretch accurately with 64bit data, I assume contemporary packages do as well. Maybe others stretch roughly in DSS and save as 16bit tiff and process that in photoshop/gimp but you should get some options on how to work.
Some hindsight advice: Whatever software you use the integrated file created from preprocessing, Always save this file immediately as FITS with highest bit depth BEFORE you do anything at all to it, dont stretch or crop or anything. Work from a copy of this file and never this original file. As you try different software, follow different tutorials and learn you can always take a copy of this file and reprocess it in the future and see how your processing has improved. That file is the starting point for processing as alignment and integration processes rarely change/improve dramatically so save yourself the hours it can take preprocessing each time.