I just completed my first decent digital image stack. The results are interesting. I took some care in aligning the images with Picture Window. It was better if the alignment stars were in the center 50% of the frame. I saved several composite images using all of the different options available. I then opened Photoshop and processed each image in the same way. I set the levels in each channel, did an "apply image screen", and reset the image levels.
I then compared these dual negative images with each other to pick the best one. The best image - the one combined in "Filter" mode - was then compared with my best effort at processing just one negative. I am really amazed at how much more sharp and contrasty the stacked image is. The small star images are much clearer in the stack although I don't think that any additional stars showed up.
It took some care to get the registration right. I centered on four large stars and then zoomed in on each. This allowed me to choose smaller and smaller stars - which made the registration better and better.
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Orion Single Negative Clip 1 | |
Orion Single Negative Clip 2 |
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Orion2 Stack Clip1 | |
Orion2 Stack Clip2 |