So what is Startools

[Bottletopburly]

So what is Startools ,well for me it was a blessing ,being able to capture the objects in the night sky is exciting and rewarding hobby ,capturing those photons and seeing your subs come up on screen it`s mind blowing ,but it was the next stage that stumped me ,processing ,using DSS seemed simple enough but photoshop was like hitting a brick wall ,curves and levels stretching too complicated for me their had too be a better solution to this so much faffing about and also cost PS is`nt  cheap now it`s all online and subscription based ,then i stumbled on a lower cost solution at £40  Startools by ivo jager an australian astronomer /software engineer who thought the same idea processing doesnt have to be so complicated so he wrote Startools, ok first steps were a bit naff but once you actually get your head round it and how it works it is quite simple ,ok mastering is another thing as with anything ,but what i was  lacking  was good data to practice on so i joined the yahoo group https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/dslr_astro_image_processing/info who post challenges to download  to practice your processing on ,now startools became a bit clearer, good data does make processing easier ,there is a lot of info on the startools website that tells you what the modules do http://www.startools.org/modules  and a forum on startools http://forum.startools.org/   for more info when needed or ask ivo a question he will answer not always straight away as he has other work commitments but does and will get back to you ,there is also a few youtube videos ,here is a link to a video by ivo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqm4mB2TKN0 that he steamed online its long very long 2hrs (still havent seen it all) but will give you an idea what it can do ,Startools is also published on multi platforms, 

StarTools multi-platform processing engine and UI (User Interface) presently runs on Intel Windows 32-bit and 64-bit, Intel MacOSX 64-bit, Intel Linux 32-bit and 64-bit, and ARM Android 32-bit devices. The processing engine and UI are screen size and input device agnostic by design and keep on-machine dependencies to a minimum, in order to ensure maximum portability. Despite this, the full package which contains all Intel versions currently weighs in at a mere 3MB compressed.

Another and the best tutorial i have found so far is by  uk based Ecuador 

http://astro.ecuadors.net/processing-a-noisy-dslr-image-stack-with-startools/

 

Hope this info becomes useful and remember startools is free to try as long as you like fully everything works you just cant save your file unless you buy but that`s not bad, you can see if you like first, no pressure to buy no time limits use at your own pace .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tweedledee]

I could even be tempted after reading that. 

[Bottletopburly]

7 minutes ago, Tweedledee said:

I could even be tempted after reading that. 

Images i posted yesterday take about 20 mins pete longer if your tweaking with settings but an acceptable image in twenty mins does me fine 

[Smithysteve]

That is a good introduction for an alternative to PS. I looked into PS and thought a monthly payment was a bit to much of a

 commitment - I prefer to buy up front too. I also baulked at the number of options available when tweaking an image...!

 

I will have a look at your links Dave, ?

[stash]

There is (was) a free forever fully loaded version on Adobe site of PS2 full suite

[Bottletopburly]

9 minutes ago, stash said:

There is (was) a free forever fully loaded version on Adobe site of PS2 full suite

Yes I did,  have this though never use it now  can't remember if I still have it after reformatting after installing a SSD drive 

[stash]

1 minute ago, Bottletopburly said:

Yes I did,  have this though never use it now  can't remember if I still have it after reformatting after installing a SSD drive 

Link to write up is here http://www.redmondpie.com/download-adobe-photoshop-cs2-for-free-legally-while-you-still-can/ but I think it might have expired

[Daz Type-R]

On ‎12‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 10:09, Tweedledee said:

I could even be tempted after reading that. 

 

Pete !!!!   

 

Wash your mouth out.

 

 

[sloz1664]

Great write up David. I still use Startools and I'm very happy using it. Although I tend to us Pixinsight more and more. Although if things go wrong I still revert to Startools. It's such a great programme. When you first go through the processes, and, as you have rightly pointed out, taken around 20 mins to process an image - including waiting for the processes to complete. You think it's a bit gimmicky, because you have processed in such a short time, but that's the power of the software. As you  have so eloquently stated it's a lot, lot easier to understand than PS & Pixinsight.

 

Steve  

[Bottletopburly]

4 hours ago, sloz1664 said:

Great write up David. I still use Startools and I'm very happy using it. Although I tend to us Pixinsight more and more. Although if things go wrong I still revert to Startools. It's such a great programme. When you first go through the processes, and, as you have rightly pointed out, taken around 20 mins to process an image - including waiting for the processes to complete. You think it's a bit gimmicky, because you have processed in such a short time, but that's the power of the software. As you  have so eloquently stated it's a lot, lot easier to understand than PS & Pixinsight.

 

Steve  

Yes steve i know PS and pixinsight are very good programs but i haven`t got the time or patience ,god the mrs would go mad if i sat on the pc for the amount of time needed to process in PS

[Tweedledee]

8 hours ago, Daz Type-R said:

 

Pete !!!!   

 

Wash your mouth out.

 

 

Did I really post that?