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.
I have an Edge HD8 at f10 and an ASI294MM with filters and wheel imaging in a bortle 4/5 area. I mostly image from NE to S as this area has little to no light pollution to contend with and so I tend to expose from 2-30 minutes depending on filter so that I can pull out the faintest details possible for my setup. I tend to blow out the core of several stars with this method and end up with nicely colored edges and white centers. I plan on capturing short exposure data to retain the dynamic range and would like to know the best workflow to integrate the short and long exposure data together.
Hi Jonathan @minroadkill,
The best way then would be to use the star shape for weights 😉
6) Integrate, disable automatic integration, set it to average and choose the star shape for weights.
The data with shorter exposures should have smaller and better stars and those frames will have more weight then when compared to equal weights. In that way, the resulting integration will have better stars and less saturated colors. Best would be to simply experiment with different weights to see what happens and what in the end pleases you most 😉
Mabula
