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 Guys,
I am a DSLR user and sometimes i dont take dark frames but dither after couple of frames. Till now i have never faced any problem in DSS. I am not sure if APP allows stacking without Dark frames or not. Anyone can help me out?Â
It allows for not using any calibration frame, but I'd highly recommend using darks as it will help your data. You don't have to create them every session, just one or twice a year depending a bit on outside temperatures. If you don't want to use them, you can also create a very noisy (long exposure) dark and create a Bad Pixel Map from that, a BPM can be used for a very long time with all your data.
@vincent-mod thanks for the reply. I usually try to take atleast 15 or 20 darks depending how long my subs are and how much temp fluctuations occurs throughout the night. But sometimes i feel lazy to take.🤣
One more question, everytime A BPM is created. How to use it? When to use it? Can it be used with any future stacks no matter what was the exposure time; ISO etc?
Can i make a BPM with a 10min dark and flats at particular ISO (lets say ISO 800), and use it later with any other stackings?
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TIA
Yes a BPM can be used with whatever data you have. You can take your worst darks and create a BPM with that, save it somewhere and re-use it every time. I would once in a while have a good check to see how well it still performs on the pixel level, but you can usually use it for a year or more (depending on your sensor's characteristics over time). I do tend to still use darks together with it, but if you have no amp-glow you can use just a BPM.
@vincent-mod it means! By making a Good Bad Pixel map, i can use BPM, Master Bias And Flats, together with light, right?
