Deep sky stacker question

[Guest Si2504]

How do i stack different exposure light frames in DSS? I want to use different exposures on a particular object to bring out detail in different areas without under/over exposing the rest. Is this what the 'batch stacking' option is for?

 

Thanks

[red dwalf]

I've not tried the batch stacking method but what I do is load all yhe frames into dss, then choose a reasonable one with a good score and right click on it and use it for the reference frame,choose which ones you want to stack first by ticking them,make sure the reference frame is unticked unless you want to stack it, and stack and save as normal, then do the same again for the other images.

To get a score on the images select register frames but make sure the stack after registering box is unticked.

[+Graham]

On 15/02/2016 at 11:55, Si2504 said:

How do i stack different exposure light frames in DSS? I want to use different exposures on a particular object to bring out detail in different areas without under/over exposing the rest. Is this what the 'batch stacking' option is for?

 

Thanks

 

 

Bear in mind as I am working from memory from a distant past but it goes something like this.

Sort your different length subs along with their darks and place them into different folders so you can locate them easily.

Open DSS and select one set of subs.

Put just the lights into dss as per normal as if you were going to do just those.

Register the lights.

Un check all but one of the lights in the list.

On the top of the box containing the list you will see a tab.

click on the tab and another set up list will appear.

Load the same set of lights along with the darks into this new list.

Click on the next tab and another set up list will appear ect ect for all your different length subs.

When you have loaded all the subs  and their darks open up the very first list you did and un check the single sub.

Now when you run DSS all the different length subs will get processed using their individual darks.

 

Confused 

It is a bit hard to explain on here I will see if I can find the tutorial on it for you.

[Guest]

I've found that DSS usually rejects frames of different exposures. I use Microsoft ICE for that but it doesn't do dark frame subtraction. In fact, I can't see how DSS can match up the darks with the corresponding light frames.

[Guest Si2504]

That is what was confusing me. Most of the guides i had seen say that the subs must be of the same exposure, iso etc etc. And i just wandered how other people that stack different exposures do it.

[Perkil8r]

More often than not with layer masking in Photoshop for different sub exposure lengths to bring out different details. Never tried it in DSS, wouldn't want to to be honest.

[red dwalf]

Mike's right, or at least thats the way I do it, load all the subs in dss, stack all the ones that are the same exposure length, don't forget to make one a reference frame, then save all the stacked, different length exposures and open them in photoshop, do some magic on them with levels and curves and then you can combine them with layer masks.

[Guest Si2504]

Got it. I understand now, thanks people:)

[Guest]

I'm using a "cheat" method for some shots. The last 2 months, it has been clear when the Moon is near Jupiter. I aim my DSLR at both of them. I take one very short exposure to get lunar detail, usually 1/4000 second but would be longer if the Moon wasn't near full. I take a long exposure about a second to capture Jupiter's moons. The third set is about 1/20 to 1/50 second and catches both the Moon and Jupiter. I stack the set of exposures of Jupiter's moons in DSS and the others in Microsoft ICE.

 

I use the last set of frames as a base and copy and paste the short lunar exposure over the Moon and do the same for Jupiter showing moons.

 

Further things I will try if this happens on a Friday or Saturday are:

 

Take a set of full disc frames of the Moon through my Mak.

 

Do a webcam shoot of Jupiter and overlay it on top of the "white disc".