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,
I played around creating master flats with APP and have the following questions:
1) When directly using the NEF-files to create a master flat, the MF turns out to be a greyscale image with an odd looking pixel pattern. Is that correct?
2) When converting the NEF files into TIFF and creating a master flat, the MF is a RGB image and displays as one would expect (vigneting, dust artefacts, etc.).
3) Why is the MF so different (greyscale vs. RGB) when using NEF or TIFF?
4) When using NEF, does APP account for the orientation/rotation of the frames? Does APP rotate the individual frames when they are originally orientated differently, before creating a master flat?
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Thanks!
Chris
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1) When directly using the NEF-files to create a master flat, the MF turns out to be a greyscale image with an odd looking pixel pattern. Is that correct?
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Yes. If you zoom in on a RAW (NEF for Nikon) image without RAW processing, you will see a the colour filter array (CFA) pattern. The RAW image is actually a greyscale image. Its the position of the pixels that determine whether the pixel is a red, green or blue pixel.
The master flat is an averaging of the RAWs, pixel-for-pixel.
2) When converting the NEF files into TIFF and creating a master flat, the MF is a RGB image and displays as one would expect (vigneting, dust artefacts, etc.).
3) Why is the MF so different (greyscale vs. RGB) when using NEF or TIFF?
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You are not supposed to convert the RAW because then 4 grey pixels representing R, G, G and B are blended into 4 colour pixels, each one containing R, G and B components. To calibrate your lights, you use the RAWs to create a master calibration frame that is applied to the light RAW, pixel-for-pixel grey level before colour conversion.
4) When using NEF, does APP account for the orientation/rotation of the frames? Does APP rotate the individual frames when they are originally orientated differently, before creating a master flat?
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Regardless of the orientation of the picture when taken - this is meta data in the RAW file, the RAW file image data will always be the same, so orientation is always relative to the physical sensor and so does not need to be considered in calibrating and stacking.
