I had long settled on using NINA, APP and Startools for my imaging tools but found I was forever finding limitations and jealously watching the big boys use PI, with DBE, pixelmath, etc, etc, which I didn't want to buy and am probably too senile to learn to use proficiently anyway. I tried to support Startools as my main processing tool, but found the eternal jumping from APP to Startools and external sharpening tools a tad wearisome.
To cut a long story short, it's still NINA for imaging, it just keeps getting better.
Siril,
https://tinyl.io/9UXC, for advanced image processing, has been around for some years but I considered it a bit awkward to use, but has now come out with v1.2, which is far easier to use and does the functions of both APP and PI (well, mostly) and is FREE! It has DBE, GHS, Pixelmath, scripts, stacking, Starnet++ removal and replacement, etc, etc, Highly recommended for those on a budget.
And for a bit of free icing on the cake, GraXpert, a FREE gradient exterminator tool, has just released an AI-based version, which is basically plug and play. Here's the company's video which gives all the download info as well:
https://ytube.io/3kYw. I'll put a simple before and after pic below of an uncalibrated M84 image taken with a 294mc, admittedly in bortle 2.
The second external FREE plug and play tool is AstroSharp, great for tweaking up those blurry images:
https://tinyl.io/9UXR, now incorporates an AI-based noise reduction feature as well.
All these tools have numerous tutorials on Youtube. Google is your friend. Hope these tidbits may be of benefit to some.
Cheers,
