Dennis do you normally leave your auto white balance checked?
Man those are beautiful raw images Dennis, especially the second screen dump using the gradient setting. I'd be happy to get that out as a final result.
How do you guys do your collimation, Dennis and Rob? And how often do you adjust it? The reason I ask is that I discovered last night that collimation is a big part of the problems I've been having. (I'll start a thread later on it with examples). It's not easy doing an accurate star test or even a defocus collimation in the conditions that have been around lately.
Dennis do you normally leave your auto white balance checked?
>snip
How do you guys do your collimation, Dennis and Rob? And how often do you adjust it? The reason I ask is that I discovered last night that collimation is a big part of the problems I've been having. (I'll start a thread later on it with examples). It's not easy doing an accurate star test or even a defocus collimation in the conditions that have been around lately.
Hi Paul
Yes - I usually leave auto white balance on. Again, don't know why, it must have been the default?
I fitted a set of Scopestuff's equivalent of Bob's Knobs. Have a look at post:
About every 4 to 6 weeks, I then eyeball a star, above 50 deg, mag 3 or 4, at approx x250 mag to check inside and outside of focus. I try to find a star near Jupiter if I am imaging Jupiter.
Other experts I was going to ask you and Robert to run a class or two out at Qld Astro this year Dennis
Hey Robert
Here is an opportunity to fleece Paul and get a new accessory. Let's collaborate and say we'll give a talk on how we process our images, but at a cost of $500, plus travel, accommodation and living expenses. Make sure that he doesn't know we are price fixing behind his back, and that we are not experts!
Paul, Dennis leaving white balance at auto isn't a problem for him because his tracking is dead accurate.
It's only going to be a problem for him left at auto, if he gets some thin or thick clouds that might change the levels coming in.
Interesting, the number of frames that gradient and compress produce as a 95% output. Would be interesting to look at the frame numbers, to see if they correspond. Especially after doing an "optimise", and then say, choose the top 100 frames to stack. Are they the same frames in both methods?
Here is an opportunity to fleece Paul and get a new accessory. Let's collaborate and say we'll give a talk on how we process our images, but at a cost of $500, plus travel, accommodation and living expenses. Make sure that he doesn't know we are price fixing behind his back, and that we are not experts!
Here is the comparison list. Screen capture from Registax Stacklist panel, then OCR via OmniPage then copy/paste Table into MS Word...they made me work for it..
whoa... turn you back on a thread for a day and it runs rampant
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis
Hey Robert
Here is an opportunity to fleece Paul and get a new accessory. Let's collaborate and say we'll give a talk on how we process our images, but at a cost of $500, plus travel, accommodation and living expenses. Make sure that he doesn't know we are price fixing behind his back, and that we are not experts!
Cheers
Dennis
what was Registax again?
BTS I didn't even know there was a quality estimator choice (and I'm spilling the beans here on non-expert status Dennis?). I use Gradient.
On collimation Paul, I try and tweak mine before every session using a 1-3 mag star near to what I'm going to image (but higher to zenith to improve seeing). I start with 18mm and the 2.5 powermate and usually end up on 10mm plus 2.5 powermate if the seeing is average or better.
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I was going to ask you and Robert to run a class or two out at Qld Astro this year Dennis 
I might copy them an put them into a chart myself, but at first glance there doesn't appear to be any sort of correlation
