CCD Inspector

peter_4059 (Peter) · #1 12-10-2010, 08:20 PM

I'm interested to know how many people have purchased a license for CCD inspector and if so do you continue to use it?

I've had a go using it with the free trial period and it seems the results depend a lot on the star field being analysed and there is quite a variation in the results between frames of the same field.

This is not meant in any way to be criticism of the software however I do believe the interpretation of the results will depend a lot on the experience of the user.

Any thoughts?

gbeal · #2 12-10-2010, 08:44 PM

Same as I found Peter, I tried it but never really got off the ground with it.
Others I have seen though have enjoyed it.
Gary.

Hagar (Doug) · #3 12-10-2010, 09:15 PM

Hi Peter, I have had similar results with the program but have found the out of focus collimation to be a real winner with the GSO RC scopes.
The results in the starfield tests seem to be very inconsistant requiring perfect focus everytime and a few settings made to ensure correct function.
I tend to use it for adjusting a field flattener and as a general guide only for most if not all it's other functions.
Maybe I am doing something wrong but the manual doesn't seem to help much.

Moon (James) · #4 12-10-2010, 09:40 PM

If you are using CCDStack, then it's worth it just for the so called CCDIS plugin.
I really like the flat frame analysis tool too.

Don't skimp on da software...

James

peter_4059 (Peter) · #5 12-10-2010, 09:51 PM

Thanks for the feedback Gary, Doug and James. I don't have CCD stack as I've found DSS does what I need so far. I have tried the flat field analyser though...

multiweb (Marc) · #6 12-10-2010, 11:25 PM

If you have CCDStack, CCDIS will do star pattern matching for you. I use it all the time to pick the best subs in a stack prior to register and also to tweak the optics of my scopes. If you image the same starfield consistently the measurements become meaningful from one imaging session to the other, so yes it does work.

g__day (Matthew) · #7 13-10-2010, 08:30 AM

I use it every now and then - maybe twice a year. If I travelled around with the ota would probably buy it. Instead I just download a new version to a new login account and use it for a day or two - then forget it for a long, long time!

Nice software - too over priced - wished there was a say $10 pay for use cost model!

marki · #8 13-10-2010, 09:48 PM

Peter CCDinspector is a good tool but you must meet certain criteria to get the most out of it. If you chuck in a coloured jpeg with poor guiding the results are going to vary wildly. I have found it best to only analyse untouched subs (fits generally) when my guiding and focus has been very good and thus have achieved consistent results. I have also used it to collimate my LX200R and the results were outstanding as was plainly evident when viewing Jupiter. Yes the program can give rubbish results but usually after you stick an image in which has had lots of processing and exihibits poor guiding. As for CCDstack, its worth it's weight in gold especially if you get Adam Block's tutorials.

Mark

Hagar (Doug) · #9 14-10-2010, 07:31 AM

Peter, I am another great believer in CCDStack and the CCDIS plug in. I use it all the time. I have both pieces of software and also bought the CCDIS plugin before I bought CCDInspector. If I had to choose a piece of software to buy it would certainly be the CCDStack and forget CCDInspector but you will need to also purchase the plugin separately.
Adam Block has a set of tutorials for the use of CCDStack which open up a lot of the tools contained which you would otherwise not know about. His explanations and all 9 hours worth of tutorials are well worth purchasing. Overall CCDStack makes DSStacker seem very ordinary.

peter_4059 (Peter) · #10 14-10-2010, 07:31 PM

Thanks for the comments - seems like a lot of support for CCDstack however together with the CCDIS plugin US$380 seems like a lot to spend on something to stack the frames. In what way is it better than DSS?

Peter

multiweb (Marc) · #11 14-10-2010, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter_4059

Thanks for the comments - seems like a lot of support for CCDstack however together with the CCDIS plugin US$380 seems like a lot to spend on something to stack the frames. In what way is it better than DSS?

Peter

Oooh yeah! No comparison IMHO

peter_4059 (Peter) · #12 14-10-2010, 07:50 PM

Just watched the tutorial - lots of manual steps to register, combine etc. Does it have the magic "do the business" button?

multiweb (Marc) · #13 14-10-2010, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter_4059

Just watched the tutorial - lots of manual steps to register, combine etc. Does it have the magic "do the business" button?

It doesn't but it teaches you about all the required steps: calibration, registration, normalization, data rejection and stacking. DSS has the magic button but doesn't give you as much control.

marki · #14 14-10-2010, 08:41 PM

It does a whole lot more than just stack images. My favourite is the missing values function which you use to fix burnt out cores. No stuffing around in PS for ages, a few clicks, set the white and black points and save a scaled image and you are done. Magic stuff it is totally seamless. Also love the CCDIS registration, gets it dead right just about every time.

Mark