SIRIL

[Galileo]

Processing has always ben the bain of my life till SIRIL came along, does that sound like you? I've always loved the practical part of imaging, setting up and capture then dreaded processing. I discovered it through Cuiv the lazy geek on youtube, very entertaining chap and well worth a look at. 

 

I've thrashed around previously trying to find the software to work for me, not really liking the sound of Pixinsight or Photoshop or the expense so a freebie is always worth a try eh?

 

My first effort with it resulted a finished Cocoon nebula within an hour of dowloading SIRIL. Some features really take the pain out of processing and I've had my fair share of that. It is simple to use and the scripts work very well indeed and basically you load your lights and calibration frames and set if off going. It's really quick as well and didn't tie my computer up. Photometric colour calibration is a doddle, background extraction works brilliantly and the userface is sooooo simple.

 

I'm guessing it doesn't have the features or level of customization of the other big softwares but this SIRIL is for me for sure. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.   

Edited September 10, 2021 by Galileo

[Sarum]

I'll second that, a fantastic piece of software offering a using range of processing tools.  I have been using it for calibration and stacking for some time now, and IMHO it does a far better job than APP.

 

Roy

[RPK_Astro]

Being a Mac user, I've ended up with Siril. I find it very unintuitive to use, especially when I first downloaded it before it had the major update about 12 months ago. It's somewhat easier to use now, especially if you can use the scripts to do the initial processing. 

 

It could do with better error messaging though. Just stopping and saying 'unable to process' is little help with troubleshooting. Had it said: 'unable to align stars' that would have given me a clue that there was possibly an issue with the subs.

 

If the script works, then it makes it a pretty straightforward process to get your images calibrated and stacked.