Need advice on preparing RAW DSLR images in Siril for use in AstroImageJ

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Sun, 10/08/2023 - 01:54

Hello,

Some background: I've been learning AstroImageJ and like its capabilities. I've already produced some convincing light curves using light frames taken with my Nikon D7500 through an 80 mm refractor. I'm familiar with calibration frames and stacking. And I'm quite familiar with Siril for astrophotography. It appears that AstroImageJ works best with files that are already in the FITS format. So I'd like to use Siril to convert my .NEF files to .FITS. The workflow I've developed is to use Siril to convert all my light, bias, dark and flat frames from .NEF to .FITs using Siril, making sure to convert them as 16-bit unsigned integer files, not 32-bit floating point. Next step is to extract the green channel from each converted image, then bring those files into AstroImage for calibration, stacking and doing aperture photometry.

Question: is this a good workflow?

Thanks so much in advance!

Wayne Buck

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Hi Wayne,

I use ASTAP with…

Hi Wayne,

I use ASTAP with a Nikon camera and it basically does all those steps in one package, so it sounds like that should work fine.

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Thanks, Darren. But I was…
Thanks, Darren. But I was hoping to tap into Siril and/or AstroImageJ expertise. I've tried a number of other programs, and I'll eventually learn all them to some degree, but Siril and AstroImageJ have so many capabilities that span my multiple interests that I'm going to stick with them -- unless of course someone throws down a red flag and says they can't produce acceptable results for AAVSO photometry.
Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
No problem! I really enjoy…

No problem! I really enjoy it's quick conversion of NEF or RAW file to FITS, and the relatively easy green channel separation. Using the files in Astro Image J is quick and easy after too if you want or any other program for a result cross-check.

Photometry with the ASTAP program - YouTube

Here's a video by Han the author. This is a slightly older version, but 95% of it still applies.

I tried AIP4WIN, but just cannot get it to run consistent, and that's a shame, but not entirely unexpected for an older software package.

 

 

Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Darren, I had very similar…
Darren, I had very similar issues with AIP4WIN. I watched Han's video and a couple of others, and I was impressed by ASTAP's seeming ability to automatically match up calibration frames based on sensor temp, exposure and filter. I'll definitely look into it. Thanks! Wayne