Orion STARSHOOT 52085 User Manual

Page 16

recommended Processing Sequence

What is the best order to apply the processing functions in? Here is a recom-
mended sequence:
1. Calibrate (Dark Subtract and Flat Field calibrate)
2. Convert Raw to Color
3. Combine
4. Filter
5. Color Balance
6. Stretch
Once you have the combined image, you are free to continue processing the
image as desired, or export it to a program like Photo shop. Be sure to Save
a copy of the combined image; otherwise you might have to go back to the
beginning and stack individual images again!

note on File Format

When saving images (using Save or Save As in the File menu), you have a
choice of file formats. The default produces .fit files, but .tif, .jpg, .png, and
.bmp file formats can also be selected. Having a choice of output file formats
is useful, especially if images will be exported to other software programs for
additional image processing (like Adobe Photoshop, for instance).
If you save to a file format other than .fit, you will need to check the Auto
Stretch box, or otherwise Stretch the image to change the Output Range
(in the Stretch command window) to match the Size Format (in the Save As
window). Otherwise, the Output Range will likely exceed the Size Format,
and the saved image will be ruined (will turn all white).
For example, say the Output Range is set to create image brightness values in
16-bit format, while the Size Format of a specific file format (.jpg, for example)
may only support 8-bits. Since the 16-bit format sees 65535 brightness levels,
and the 8-bit format can only support 255 levels, all of the levels above 255
in the 16-bit image (i.e. the vast majority of the 16-bit brightness levels) will
be saved at the maximum 8-bit value of 255. So the saved .jpg will have very
little brightness information from levels 1 to 254 and almost all the brightness
information at level 255. Thus a white image results.
If you plan to do all image processing within MaxIm DL Essentials Edition
(or the optional full version of MaxIm DL), saving images in the FITS (.fit) File
Format using the IEEE Float Size Format is recommended. This ensures that
all saved data will be kept intact. If another Size Format is utilized, there may
be some loss of data, especially when saving combined images.

Batch Process

Batch Process can be used to
process multiple images simul-
taneously using the various com-
mands available in MaxIm DL
Essentials Edition. It is especially
useful when calibrating and con-
verting each raw image to color.
Select Batch Process from the
Process menu (Figure 22).
Procedure for basic batch pro-
cessing:
1. Select the image file you

want to process from your
computer using the Select
Files button. Use CTRL-click
to select individual files, and
SHIFT-click to select a range
of files. You can see the path
for the selected files by turning on the Show Path check box. Or you can
select images already open in MaxIm DL Essentials Edition by clicking
the Select Images button. The window that pops-up will indicate all the
images currently open.

2. Select the processing task you want done in the Processing Commands

box. Choose up to 6 processing commands which will be executed in
sequence.

3. Use the same recommended processing order for batch processing as you

would normally do manually. You should 1. Calibrate, 2. Convert Raw To
Color, etc.

You can remove selected images and files from the Batch Process list by
selecting them with the mouse and clicking the Remove button.
4. Select the location for the saved files using the Path button, or click Write

Output to Source Folder to cause the files to be saved back into the
folder from which they were loaded. (This option cannot be used when an
image has never been saved, for example, one freshly acquired from the
camera.) In the event that saving a file will cause it to overwrite an existing
file, you can select skip save, overwrite it, or move to subfolder. You
can specify the subfolder name in the adjacent field. Use Size Format
to select between 16-Bit Integer and 32-Bit IEEE Float formats for the
processed images. To keep all processed image data intact (especially for
stacked images), we recommend using the 32-Bit IEEE Float format. If
you need to open the resultant files in another program, however, you may
need to use the 16-Bit Integer format.

Figure 22.

The Batch Process window

allows you to select all the images you wish
to process without actually opening each
file and consuming system memory. This
feature is especially helpful when processing
numerous planetary or deep space images.
Choose up to 6 processing commands.