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,
Query on light pollution removal tool (and star calibration and HSL for that matter).
My camera gives alternative BGGR and GRBG files in a single session (see my other posts). Thus, I always have two stacks for every project after sorting out frames.
I do a BGGR debayer (force CFA) stack, and then another for the GRBG. Â
I then need to integrate both together, which i do using 'supported' and adaptive airy disk'. Thsi wirks fine, but...
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Is it better the do light pollution removal, star calibration and HSL tool on each stack and then integrate them, or should I integrate both stacks and then correct the master overall stack? Are artefacts or noise introduced if processed stacks are stacked together using lpc?
(side note: technically, my flats and flat darks will have 50% BGGR and 50% GRBG, which I hope is not a problem when calibrating as a single master dark, master flat and master flat dark?, or are they greyscaled?)
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Thanks, Col
You can fully process the results, keeping them linear at all times and then combine, that's fine. It is technically better to do subs all at once, but when you have enough data per integration I usually don't see a difference to be honest. I don't think extra noise is injected using the LP tool and certainly no artefacts. I had good results with doing that first and then combining the result, after which I tend to do yet another LP on the combined result.
