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.
Hi,
I’m working on NGC-1333 and using a RASA 8 (f/2) with an ASI294MC Pro and Optolong L-Pro filter. I’m having a hard time with trying to bring out the dark nebulosity and dust and was wondering if there was someone that has any advice or workflow that can be shared? My integration was 60x60 sec, 60x120 sec, and 40x180 sec with 60 darks for each time, 60 flats/dark flats and gain was 200. I’m in Bortle 5 skies. Should be doing something with HSL selective color on a particular color(s) or range? If anyone has had any success with dark nebula processing and can share some photos and tips using APP that would be awesome. Clear Skies!
Eric,
Have you ever processed lights with different exposure times with darks with a single exposure time before? ASI cameras suffer quite a bit from amp glow and I have noticed that my ASI1600MM *needs* darks with exactly the same exposure time as the lights. That’s why I created a dark library with varying exposure times so I am prepared for an imaging session exactly the same as yours.
Wouter
Dark nebulae are difficult, it's something that APP might have a better tool for in the future. I notice some have more success really getting the dark stuff out using Photoshop. I unfortunately don't have much experience with that though.
Hi Wouter,
I have never tried using a single dark exposure time with lights at different times. I when working on this photo I did a multi session with dark frames that matched the times of each of my light image sessions. I have quite a good sized dark library 😊
What was also odd for me was that when I saved my preview after getting the image the way I wanted, the tiff and jpg files didn't look exactly like the preview. I had to adjust the image in Adobe Lightroom.
Hi Eric,
I too have Bortle 5 skies. I love APOD images showing smokey gray nebulae against dark deep space. I just don't think that Bortle 5 skies are dark enough. For me it shows itself as a region relatively devoid of stars but that's about it. One time I did have moderate success showing the nebula as a shade lighter than space but the required exposure was pretty extreme: 30 minutes luminance filter. In a single sub-frame I could see it but the downside was that deep space was 20,000 ADU. So what I figure is that the nebula is right at the level of sky brightness for Bortle 5 skies. You can increase your chances by imaging close to the zenith, an angle where the atmosphere is thinnest.
Oh yes, agreed, darker skies ofcourse. 🙂
