2026-10-09 APP 2.0.0-beta48 has been released !
This is mainly a bug fix release for the reported bugs in beta47. In addition it has a significant User Interface performance improvement noticable when you need to process 1000s of images in APP.
2026-10-03 APP 2.0.0-beta47 has been released !
This is a very big release... many code optimizations/rewrites, many parts of APP are much faster and more precise, especially star analysis and registration are much faster ! Big mosaics will go much faster 🙂
And we introduce a new preview filter, which includes the new Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch and a General Levels Stretch, this has been long over due. The old preview filter (the panel on the right side to stretch and preview your data) has not been updated for a couple of years and it is a critical part of any APP session.
Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch or ADSS is a much more intuitive stretch algorithm. It is also color preserving (which is a great new addition in itself ! ) which means that the highlights are no longer bleached, color is maintained from the linear data while stretching. You can simply stretch your data using the sky background level and signal width sliders which work much easier and more intuitive. You no longer need to fiddle with the old complicated sliders with zoom buttons. All the zoom buttons for the sliders are made redundant. And you can enter slider values in the slider value fields yourself. I will make a youtube video in the coming days to explain and fully introduce ADSS. Once the video is ready, it will be highlighted on the forum.
RGB Combine upgrade !. The RGB Combine Tool has been rewritten mostly. The tool is faster and easier to use and most importantly, the Luminance slider to inject a luminance channel or channels into the RGB composite is now working correctly. It no longer bleaches the RGB colors. Combined with the new ADSS preview, you will get much better and easier great composites with great color! I will also explain this in a new youtube video.
Shot this mosaic with my new 85mm setup. 6 panel mosaic with an 85mm Sigma Art 85mm at F.2.8. ASI 2600 MC camera. Each panel was 8x2min exposures.Â
Most of the editing was trying to remove light pollution. 95% edited in APP. Had to drop to Photoshop to do some targeted colour adjustments as APP kept maxing out the memory on my M3 MacBook Pro.
Constructive criticism's welcomed. Trying to improve my editing.
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Chris
Nice mosaic. I really like the Veils at the bottom.
My only suggestion would be something I have been meaning to try out, but haven't got around to yet.
If you integrate each panel using a Bayer Drizzle with a droplet size of 1 to 1.5 and a scale of 0.5 then I don't think you would lose any noticable detail but you would end up with a smaller image that would need a lot less memory. It would also improve the undersampling (not that that is a big problem with your image).
The downside is that you will need a lot more exposures. I have had good results with the Sigma Art lens at F2. That would mean you could reduce exposure times to 60s, possibly even 30s, and get a lot more subs without using a lot more time. This might even help make light pollution a bit easier to manage. You would need to dither of course.
JC
Thanks for the suggestions!
Also can I ask what calibration frames you use? I'm not currently using any. From my research I think I just need bad pixels and flats and dark flats?
I always use a masterdark and masterflat, but typically I make them from a set of darks, flats and darkflats and then reuse them for months at a time. I should probably also reuse my BPM, but for some unknown reason I don't bother.
Calibration frames are easy to make and always improve your image.
JC
@cbphoto, very nice mosaic, I am also a big fan of mosaics, though very time consuming to produce them, CS
