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.
Hello from Far North Queensland Australia. This is my 1st attempt at a Nebula and my second shoot ever. This is 42 x 60sec exposures stacked with flats, darks and bias frames. Shot with a self modified Canon 1300D DSLR through a 500mm refractor about 2hrs west of Cairns near Chillagoe. Have almost 3hrs of total exposure, but the last 42 frames, for some reason, the raw has changed from landscape to portrait. Dont seem to be able to get as good a result when all are stacked despite proofing them all. Am still feeling my way around APP but its the best ive tried to date and think its fantastic. I Am very happy with this image though i understand that technically its probably not as good as it should be. Any constructive criticism would be very much appreciated.
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I'm not jealous at all at that location! 😉
Thanks for sharing and great you were able to modify your camera yourself. I'd say this is very good for being the 2nd shot ever! I do think something is up with the stars, did you sharpen the image or some other post processing?
@vincent-mod
 Thanks Vincent. Have only used APP for processing and the sharpening tool within it. Think its slightly out of focus. Am still waiting for the Bahtinov mask i ordered a month and a half ago. I am lucky to have such a dark location only 2hrs away, although the wet season is approaching along with the heat and my opportunities over the next couple of months could be limited. Thanks again for the feedback and i guess ill have to wait till iv'e completed a few more shoots to see what's doing with the stars.
Looks to me like a bit over sharpened. This can cause stars in the nebula to have such a border around them. You can dial that back to see if that improves it a bit.
Good luck with the weather, you are however in the best location there is... being the Southern Hemisphere. 🙂 I was there for about a year (NZ) and it was absolutely stunning.
