Astrophotography Stacker doesn't seem to do anything even though it says it does.

[JeffGar2000]

So I am using a ZWO ASI071 MC Pro on a redcat51 and using an ASIAIR Plus.  I use Affinity Photo and stack 10, 25, 50, or 100 images, whatever I take.  The result looks the same as a single frame not just after stack but also after complete processing in affinity.  I select the series of images, click "Stack" and it says it did stack the correct number of images and the image displayed looks just as it did as a single frame.  It doesn't seem to do anything.  When I hit "Apply" it kicks me back to the main screen with the image looking the same as a single frame.   I go through and completely process and it looks the same as a single frame processed. 

Any idea what's up?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Dan C]

Hi @JeffGar2000,

Thanks for your post and I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble!

Can you please confirm for me;

• When stacking your images are you stacking these all as Light Frames, or do you have Dark/Bias/Flat/Calibration Frames applied as well?
• What Stacking Options & RAW options are you using when creating this stack?
• What is the format of files you are adding as your frames? (ie RAW, FITS, etc)

I'd like to request a copy of the image files you're staking so that I can investigate further here - can you please upload a group of around 25-50 images to the below link for me?

https://www.dropbox.com/request/QMHrWexAa3TI21BNeLb1

Once uploaded, please reply here to let me know. Many thanks in advance

[JeffGar2000]

I am upload FITS as light images.  I do have darks and I loaded those at first but when it became obvious that something was amiss I stopped loading darks.

Stacking Options:Background Calibration checked, Sigma, Threshhold=2, Clipping=4 however I have tried Calibration Unchecked, various Stacking Methods, threshholds and clipping

RAW Options: Inferred, Default, Daylight and subtract black level checked although I have tried various setting there as well.  

I spent several hours trying different image sets, Stacking and RAW options etc before I gave up.

I just dropped 21 images of the horsehead at that link.  Just saw you said 25-50.  Let me know if that is too few.  I didn't want to spam up all your storage space by reloading.

Thanks for looking at this.

Jeff

 

 

[Dan C]

Many thanks for providing those for me - that should be plenty for our team to investigate!

I've tested this using your files and I can confirm I'm seeing similar results when stacking, though I must admit that I'm not the forefront of technical knowledge here at Affinity for astrophotography and therefore I've requested further investigation by our team.

I will be sure to reply here ASAP with their findings and I thank you for your patience and understanding in the meantime 

[JeffGar2000]

Thank you.  I'm not crazy 🙂

[James Ritson]

Hi @JeffGar2000, I've tried stacking the FIT files and I'm seeing the expected result: it won't look dramatically different in terms of tonality, but zooming in reveals a much cleaner stacked result with higher SNR. Once you've stacked the images, if you click between one of the FIT files in the files list and Stacked Image 1 in the bottom right, are you able to see a difference in noise?

[JeffGar2000]

Thanks James.

I can't really tell.

Could you please tell me the settings you use for the stacking and RAW settings.

Thanks for looking at this.

 

 

 

[James Ritson]

Hey @JeffGar2000, I essentially just loaded in your FIT files into the file list and clicked Stack, that’s it. Toggling between the stacked result in the bottom right and the individual files, there is a clear difference in SNR (most obvious if you zoom in). I wouldn’t expect to see any other difference apart from the amount of noise…

[JeffGar2000]

OK thank you.  I will try to see the difference again.