Hello,
I do a lot of timelpase photography and use Adobe software in my post workflow. I would like to master the process of using black images to reduce the digital noise of astral timelapses taken at 3200iso. I work in a RAW workflow then output to DPX image sequesnce.
Here is a link to forum topic and the excerpt from the opening statement. I am just wondering if there is a way to do this with Ae in the RAW workflow or something similar. Instead of using other software. Maybe a Ps batch process?
http://forum.timescapes.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4423
Stacking enables you to get images that look like they came from the hubble space scope. It is hands down flat out the absolute best tool for astrophotography and makes the difference between "thats pretty cool" to "That is freaking amazing!!!"A stacking program basically will take multiple images and overlay them, it will get an average value for each pixel through some algorythm i dont understand, and it will drop the noise level through the floor and pull out detail you cannot see on a single frame no matter how much post processing you do. NOTHING BEATS STACKING PERIOD!!!!Basic sstacking tutorial, you need as many lights as you can get and at least a dozen darks.Lights = A "Light" frame is a single image of a starfield.Darks = A "Dark" is an image of the back of your lens cap done at the same settings.Example. When i get out to my favorite shooting location i will set up my tracker, get the polar alignment done, then i will aim the camera to the target i am trying to shoot then start gathering my "lights" which is basically the same image taken as many times as you can, i try to go for 30-40 light frames, this is where HIGH ISO rocks, because you dont have to worry about noise, the stacking program will get rid of the noise for you. So for this example sake i start shooting 15 second exposures at Orions belt at f/2.8 ISO 3200.After i get 40-50 of these i will then put the lens cap, and do the same shots just shooting images of the back of the lens cap, these are the darks, they HAVE to be done after the lights, immediatly if possible, with the same shutter speed, same iso, same everything, dont change a thing just put the lens cap on. It has to be the same ambient temp as well. The stacker program uses these "Darks" to build a sensor profile to map out where the sensor is misbehaving, THIS is what the Stacking program uses to take that noise level and drop it through the floor. It is amazing how well it works, and in the process of eliminating the noise it understands what IS suppose to be there, so you will start getting nebulae, galaxies, and stars that you did not see on your "light" frames.I use DSS (Deep Sky Stacker), it is free. Just google it. There is another program called registax (also free)that i havent figured out but others have great results with. Also Nebulosity is a pay-program but apparently it kicks ***. There are plenty of Youtube tutorials on how to use any of these, as well as youtube tutorials on how to do the post processing.