Quick start guide 4 - postprocessingStacking frames alone generally does not suffice for producing a satisfying result. Applying one or several filters or sharpening algorithms is a must to enhance the fine detail which is present in the image, but cannot be disinguished in the pure stack image. Therefore PEAAnuts provides some sharpening algorithms, which can be activated either alone or in combination to step in immediately after a stack has been accumulated. Acutally, 2 methods are available, a third one is in development.![]() The comparison above shows the stream preview (left), which shows mini stacks of a handful of frames each, a live stacking image without postprocessing (middle), and the same stack with a soft sharpening done with the LR deconvolution module. ![]() Like in old school postprocessing with recorded streams, the sensible range of sharpening amount varies with the data quality. In the actual example, finally a combination of LR deconvolution and unsharp masking was used, with the parameters shown in the 'Postproc. options' dialog on the right. Usually, some try and error iterations are needed to find the best solution. In a running initialized session, when the live stack data line appears green, clicking on the 'S' button halts the process, then sharpening parameters can be adjusted. Clicking the 'Apply imm.' button in the postprocessing options dialog immediately displays the new result. After agreeing on a set of parameters, clicking on '>' continues the stacking (with a new stack), and all subsequent stacks will then receive the new processing. As you may have noticed, in the actual example the exposure settings (gain a/o exposure) were a bit too low, the intensity graph reaches only ~50% of the saturation maximum, instead of the recommended ~70%. So finally, some brightness and gamma adjustment was done on the sharpend image with the image editor. Also, the display size was set to 150%. Consult the sections Live stacking, Post processing and Image editing for further details. |