Open source high-end image-editing software is an unlikely concept when you think about it. For one thing, anyone who really needs an industrial strength image editing application for professional purposes can probably afford and will more often than not have the undisputed king-of-the-hill in bitmap graphics software, Adobe’s Photoshop CS, and most users – professional or amateur – will for that matter never test the limits of even Adobe’s much more affordable Photoshop Elements.
Alternatives to Photoshop CS
However, Photoshop CS is astronomically expensive at its list price of $649 (Elements 6.0 for Mac is more than a bit of a bargain at just $89.95). Then there’s Pixelmator, an aspirant Photoshop (at least Photoshop Elements) challenger that has a ton of power, a super attractive interface, and sells for an even more friendly $59.95.
Free Download PhotoScape X - Fun and Easy Photo Editor. PhotoScape X is an all-in-one photo editing software which provides photo-related features such as Photo Viewer, Editor, Cut Out, Batch, Collage, Combine, Create GIF, Color Picker, Screen Capture, RAW images and More. Best Photoshop Alternative.
What the above software apps enable you to do, is to polish images, increase the lighting, sharpen the saturation as well as a million other things for a perfect look. If you love perfection, these are the options to go for. They are the Best free photo editing software for Mac 2020.
We think the current best free macOS/Mac OS X WYSIWYG HTML Editor is SeaMonkey, part of the lovely free and open source Mozilla Project. First, it’s a completely free WYSIWYG editor and is part of a larger suite that includes its composer, an Internet browser, email & newsgroup client with an included web feed reader, HTML editor, IRC chat.
What the above software apps enable you to do, is to polish images, increase the lighting, sharpen the saturation as well as a million other things for a perfect look. If you love perfection, these are the options to go for. They are the Best free photo editing software for Mac 2020. The GIMP Is the image-editing standard for the Unix world, and because Mac OS X is Unix-based, you can run it on a Mac as well, but there is a major caveat, namely that the GIMP does not run in OS X’s Quartz/Aqua user interface layer, but rather in X Windows under X11, a program that enables X Windows applications to run under OS X.
And if you’re on a tight budget and really need advanced, full-featured image-editing capability, there is a robust and powerful freeware image editor alternative to Photoshop with the cumbersome moniker of GNU Image Manipulation Program (the GIMP, for short), an advanced open source bitmap imaging program available free for the downloading. Like Photoshop, the GIMP can be used to correct and retouch photographs, compose multiple images, and create artwork from scratch.
The GIMP: Freeware
The GIMP Is the image-editing standard for the Unix world, and because Mac OS X is Unix-based, you can run it on a Mac as well, but there is a major caveat, namely that the GIMP does not run in OS X’s Quartz/Aqua user interface layer, but rather in X Windows under X11, a program that enables X Windows applications to run under OS X.
X11 is an option that can be specified during an OS X install, and the a standalone X11 installer is also downloadable for free at:
The GIMP is also a free download, but a mighty big one – about 120 MB – and you can also download the GIMP HTML manual at:
X11 is addressed through a Unix command line, although you can configure the GIMP to be launchable without command line intercession after the initial setup, but that’s still a lot of hassle.
The GIMP’s graphical user interface is more Spartan (and Windows-ish) than OS X Aqua, and there are no Mac OS X menu bars. Rather, the program depends heavily on contextual menus. To print from the GIMP, you will need Gimp-Print and ESP Ghostscript software installed.
There is also a hacked version of the GIMP by Scott Moschella called GimpShop, in which Scott has renamed and reorganized GIMP’s tools, options, windows, and menus to closely resemble Adobe Photoshop’s menu structure and naming conventions. Many of the menu options and even whole menus were recreated to faithfully reproduce a Photoshop-like experience.
Here are the Photoshop and GimpShop Image menus side by side:
And the respective Tools Palettes.
It’s an improvement, and if you’re a Mac user, GimpShop is probably the most comfortable way to go, especially if you’re familiar with Photoshop. However, you’re still going to have to install X11, etc. GimpShop is supported by Mac OS X 10.3 and up.
For more information and/or to download GimpShop, visit http://www.plasticbugs.com/?page_id=294
The GIMP is by all accounts an able and deep-featured image editor, and the price is certainly right, but if its user-demands sound too geeky for your taste (they are for mine), it is still possible to get some of the GIMP’s power in a much more user-friendly wrapper in the form of an excellent freeware program called Seashore.
Seashore
Seashore is an interesting and capable Open Source bitmap graphics program in Cocoa for OS X by Mark Pazolli that for many users could be a viable free image editing application.
From my personal perspective, I’m a big fan of the venerable Color It! bitmap image editing program, which dates back to the early 90s and which I find fast, slick, and pleasant to use. Color It! is still available to consumers in it’s last Classic iteration, version 4.3, but recently has been released in a $59.95 OS X-native (Carbon) version (4.5). It looks and works pretty much like Color It! always has, and I still love it, although for the same price you really want to give totally contemporary Pixelmator a look.
One of my very favorite things about Color It! is that it starts up almost instantly, and I’m happy to report that Seashore, while not quite as quick to get up and running as Color It!, is no slouch in launching either, as opposed to Photoshop Elements 6.0, which I love dearly, but which takes forever to start. Pixelmator is somewhere in between.
I’ve been playing with Seashore off and on for a couple of years now, and I like it, but it’s no Photoshop – or even a Photoshop Elements or Color It. Most notably, although Seashore has a nice selection of basic painting tools and layers support, there are no automated photo image cleanup and optimization and enhancement tools. Even the (very cool and exceedingly useful) freeware image utility ToyViewer is more capable in terms of button-click image correction, although Seashore has basic tools to correct things like brightness, contrast, color hues, saturation, and values, and so forth.
Like MacPaint for OS X
Seashore arguably is what the wonderful old MacPaint program that shipped with the original Macs back in the 80s might be like updated for the OS X era. The Seashore interface is strongly reminiscent of MacPaint’s attractive, clean, quick, and user-friendly look and feel.
However, Seashore is a more powerful and capable program than MacPaint ever evolved to being, featuring gradients, textures, clone and smudge tools, and anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes. It supports multiple layers and alpha channel editing. It is based around the GIMP’s technology and uses the same native file format.
Seashore’s features include:
Full support for the GIMP’s native XCF file format
Read and write support for the TIFF, PNG, JPEG and JP2000 file formats
Read-only support for the BMP, PICT, PDF, XBM and GIF file formats
Layers with over 20 merging effects
Individual primary and alpha channel editing
Thorough transparency effects including semitransparent gradients
Arbitrary selection regions
Anti-aliased brush strokes
6 basic gradient effects with 16 variations
Tablet support
ColorSync support (including embedded profiles in TIFFs and CMYK previewing)
Plugin filters
Seashore is sleek-looking and a lot better-documented than many of today’s commercial software programs, with a thorough and detailed user’s manual in PDF format. It also integrates tightly with the Mac operating system and is thoroughly object-oriented. It is intended serve the basic image editing needs of most computer users, rather than to provide a replacement for Photoshop, which is more the GIMP’s (or GimpShop’s) role. However, parts of the GIMP are present in Seashore in everything from the code that drives the brush and gradient tools to the brush shapes and textures themselves.
Using Seashore
You can create a new image from scratch or from the pasteboard (previously known as the clipboard) by selecting “New from Pasteboard…” in the “File” menu.
Seashore works with two color modes – full color and grayscale. Images can be converted between the color modes using the “Mode” submenu of the “Image” menu.
Images can have an alpha channel that specifies what parts of the image are transparent. Seashore creates all new images with an opaque background – creating a new layer and then deleting the opaque background layer allows images with transparency. When saving, Seashore will automatically include or exclude the alpha channel of an image based upon its utility.
Seashore, like Photoshop, also supports layers, which are like images (or slides) piled one on top of another to form a grand image. Apart from drawing, layers can be manipulated in a range of ways, some of which involve using the layer buttons. All layers in Seashore have their own boundaries. You can reveal a layer’s boundaries using the “Show Boundaries” menu item in the “Window” menu and you can adjust a layer’s boundaries using the “Boundaries…” menu item in the “Layer” menu.
Each layer in Seashore has either two or four channels. In the case of a grayscale image, these are the grey and alpha channels, and in the case of a color image, they are red, green, blue, and alpha channels. Seashore typically works on all channels at once. For example, dragging the paintbrush across a layer adjusts both the layer’s primary and alpha channel together.
Seashore also allows you to edit the primary or alpha channels individually using the radio buttons under the “Channels” tab in the layers and channels panel.
Seashore’s Tools
The 14 tools available in Seashore can be accessed through the toolbox. You can reveal a tool’s options by double-clicking on its button in the toolbox. A number of tools also support textures, including the pencil, the paintbrush and the paintbucket. A number of tools also rely upon a brush shape to work, including the paintbrush, the eraser and the smudge tool.
Selections can be made using the selection tools, and also by using various operations in the “Edit” menu. Selections can be either anchored or floating. The selection tool can select using three possible shapes: a rectangle, an ellipse, and a rounded-rectangle. The ellipse and rounded-rectangle are anti-aliased, so when they are filled their edges appear smooth to the user.
The Lasso tool allows you to select an arbitrary shape. To do so, simply click at the point where you want the shape to begin, trace out the shape with the mouse button down, and release once complete.
The Color Selection tool selects all pixels on a single layer that surround a given pixel and are within a given tolerance range. This allows the user to select all nearby pixels of similar color. To use the tool simply click on the desired base pixel.
The Position tool allows you to adjust the position of a layer on the canvas; it also allows you to scale layers and floating selections – and to rotate floating selections.
The Zoom tool allows you to zoom in on any part of the canvas. To do this, simply point-and-click on the part of the canvas you wish to zoom in on. You can also zoom out by holding down the option key while you click.
The Pencil allows you to draw squares on the current layer. The squares can range in size from 1 to 21 pixels. The pencil deliberately does not use anti-aliasing, as it is intended for users who wish to edit a handful of pixels in a very precise manner.
The Paintbrush allows you to draw various brush strokes on the current layer. By default, Seashore comes with a range of brush shapes and, using Brushed, users can add their own. The Paintbrush uses anti-aliasing so as to create smooth flowing brush strokes.
The Paintbucket allows you to flood an area of similar color with a single color or texture. To determine what area of the layer to flood, the paint bucket relies on a tolerance range that works the same way as the color selection tool.
The Text tool allows you to place a line of text anywhere on the current layer. To place the text, simply click where you want the baseline of the text to go. Then type the text in the following dialog that you want written and press the “OK” button.
The Eraser allows you to erase pixels from the current layer. In the case of a layer with its alpha channel disabled, this means setting pixels to the background color.
The Color Sampling tool allows you to set the foreground color to that of a pixel or a group of pixels on the canvas. To achieve this, simply click on the position of the pixel or pixel group that you want to use for the foreground color.
The Gradient tool allows you to create a gradual shift from the foreground color to the background color. The area affected by the tool is constrained to the selected area of the active layer – or the whole layer if no area is selected.
The Smudge tool allows you to smudge part of the current layer using the current brush shape. To smudge part of the layer, simply click the point where you want the smudge to begin and drag to the point where you want the smudge to end.
The Crop tool allows you to adjust the boundaries of an image so that they match a particular rectangle. This rectangle is formed by a click-and-drag operation similar to what you would use to select items in the Finder. Once you have selected the desired rectangle, press the “Crop” button (from the tool’s options box) to finalize the change.
Seashore’s Effects
Blur (Blur) – Blurs the image by mixing colors from surrounding pixels. This is repeated a user-specified number of times.
Gaussian Blur (Blur) – Blurs the image using a Gaussian blur. This is faster than a standard blur applied multiple times and produces a similar result.
Brightness and Contrast (Color) – Adjusts the brightness and contrast of the image according to user input.
Grayscale (Color) – Turns part of a color image to grayscale using Apple’s ColorSync. Not available for grayscale images.
Invert (Color) – Inverts the primary channels of the image.
Posterize (Color) – Reduces the number of colors per channel to a user-specified amount.
Threshold (Color) – Makes the image black and white. The user-specified region of the histogram becomes white.
Sharpen (Enhance) – Sharpens the image according to a user-specified value.
Seashore and ColorSync
Seashore uses Apple’s ColorSync technology to allow you to transfer images between devices while ensuring that the colors appear similar.
When loading images, Seashore is aware of embedded ICC profiles in all TIFF and JPEG files. When saving images, Seashore embeds the main display’s profile in all TIFF files and in certain JPEG files, depending upon the selected options. Currently, Seashore does not embed ICC profiles in JPEG 2000, PNG, or XCF files.
To create a JPEG with an embedded profile, select “Export…” from the “File” menu then in the following save dialog press the “Options” button in the accessory view. A dialog should appear giving you the option to target the Web or print. If you elect to target print, the JPEG you save will be embedded with the ICC profile of your display. Conversely if you elect to target the Web, the JPEG you save will not be embedded with an ICC profile.
SVG and JPEG 2000 Support
The Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format is an image format that uses shapes as opposed pixels to describe images. SVG is fast emerging as an important image format industry, and there are already a number of SVG collections available online. Seashore supports the SVG format through a Java add-on based on the Apache Software Foundation’s Batik project. The add-on requires Java 1.4 or later to be installed on your computer. You can download it from http://seashore.sourceforge.net/The_Seashore_Project/About.html
The JPEG 2000 format is an image format that supersedes JPEG. Unlike its predecessor, JPEG 2000 supports alpha channels and lossless compression, as well as featuring better results at low compression values. As of Mac OS X 10.4, Seashore supports JPEG 2000 without the need for additional add-ons. Support for JPEG 2000 is still limited in many browsers, so use for this format is limited. JPEG 2000 is not supported on systems running Mac OS X 10.3 or earlier.
Seashore supports the GIMP’s XCF file format. It ignores but preserves the GIMP’s vector paths and ignores and destroys the GIMP’s selection channels. It also destroys the mask of a layer by composting it on to the alpha channel of that layer. Seashore may inadvertently interfere with other aspects of an XCF file, so make sure to keep a copy of important XCF files before editing them with Seashore.
Unfortunately, Seashore’s save options are pretty basic, and, for example, there is no option to save just the selected area of an open window.
The Information Panel
The information panel presents the user with information on the current cursor position, selection size, and pixel group color. Both the cursor position and selection size can be quoted in any of three measuring units: pixels, millimetres, and inches. To toggle between the units, press the numerical values in the information panel.
An Options palette with three tabbed panels lets you select image attributes, brush sizes and textures.
The image window can be displayed with or without rulers.
Seashore isn’t perfect by any means. Minor to middling annoyances include the inability to save just a selected area of an open window, and you can’t select-copy and drag a portion of an image using a keyboard modifier (i.e.: Option in Color It! or Command Option in Photoshop) while leaving the original selected area undisturbed. You have to copy and paste, which is a lot more cumbersome.
I’m also not enamored with Seashore’s feature of graying out all but the selected area of a document window.
Conclusion: Seashore is a basic (and free), more Mac-like “the GIMP lite” for the less-geekily-oriented, but it’s no Photoshop (or GIMP) replacement for photo correction or advanced image editing. Rating: 4 out of 5.
System requirements: Most features work on Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and later, with the exception of JPG 2000 support, for which Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is required.
Rating:
Short link: http://goo.gl/nbhHfc
searchword: seashorereview
Astrophotography is closer to science than art, and there is no such thing as “getting it right in camera.” This means you cannot simply point the camera at the sky and snap away.
In astrophotography you cannot avoid post processing your images, so stacking and editing your images serves three main purposes:
Reduce noise and deal with light gradients and vignetting.
Improve signal to noise ratio.
Reveal the faint details in the image.
Image stacking is the technique used to improve the signal to noise ratio, and it is the only noise reduction method that will boost the image details rather than smear them out.
Best Free Photo Editing Software For Mac Os Xp
In this article, we will discuss some of the most popular software available for astrophotography image stacking.
Note: Don’t miss the detailed video at the end of this article, It was created to help show you how to quickly start using some of the stacking software mentioned in this article. Click here to skip to our Image Stacking Demo Video.
What Does Stacking Photos Mean?
The concept behind image stacking is simple, but to appreciate how it works, there are a couple of things we have to consider:
A stack can be visualized as a pile of images all stacked one on top of the other;
Each digital image is formed by a set of pixels, all having a certain value: dark pixels will have a lower value than the bright ones;
In the simplest form of image stacking, the pixels values for all images in the stack are averaged to produce a single image.
What is the purpose of stacking photos?
The result is a single image with improved signal to noise ratio, i.e., with better details and lower (random) digital noise and better details.
The scheme below illustrates the concept.
If the considered digital noise affects the pixel values randomly across the stack, then the result of averaging the stack is that the random component of the noise to the pixel value is significantly reduced.
ISO noise and Luminance noise and Chrominancenoise are examples of digital noises that are random.
The image below shows a real-life example from stacking 30 images from my Sony RX10 bridge camera taken at ISO 6400. As you can see, the original images showed a greater deal of noise (grain) than the stacked one.
The More Images You Stack, The Better
The more images you stack, the cleaner the resulting images are, as shown in the comparison below.
While Image stacking creates a cleaner image, it often softens the image: digital sharpening techniques are then used to recover sharp looking details.
Finally, bear in mind that the progression of image quality is not linear.
If stacking 4 images improves the image quality of 50% respect what you got by stacking only 2 images, to improve a further 50% the image quality from stacking 50 images, you may need to stack 300 images or more.
Image Stacking And Movement
Best Photo Editing software, free download
If nothing moves between shots, like in the previous real life example, implementing image stacking is very simple: just group the images and average them to smooth out the noise.
With a moving subject, grouping and averaging the images will not only smooth out the noise, but also the subject itself.
This is the same principle for which long exposures of passing traffic and crowd result in a street image without cars nor people.
This effect is amplified with the number of images used, and the moving subject could simply disappear from the stacked image.
To resolve the issue, you have to align the images based on their content before stacking.
Due to image alignment, you may have to trim the edges of the stacked image to get rid of artifacts, but your target will not be lost.
Note that while in theory you can stack images of a static scene taken with the camera on a tripod, in reality, those images will probably differ at the pixel scale due to micro-movements. It is always beneficial to align the images before stacking.
How To Shoot For Exposure Stacking Your Images
Image stacking can be done with any camera and even camera phones and with images in both RAW and JPEG format.
Nonetheless, some things can be done to improve the final result:
Lock the focus, so that the camera will not hunt for it between images. This will also help to keep the focus consistent through the shooting sequence.
Keep the same settings, in particular shutter speed, aperture, and focal length: you don’t want to change the camera field of view during the sequence, nor the brightness of the images or the depth of field.
If you are shooting on a tripod, disable image stabilization. If you want to shoot handheld, do so only for short sequences at very high shutter speed.
Image Stacking In Astrophotography
Related:Astrophotography Software & Tools Resource List
As said previously, image stacking is a standard technique implemented in any astrophotography editing workflow for,
A star field from a fixed tripod.
A deep sky object from a tracking mount.
The Moon handheld.
A starry landscape from a fixed tripod or tracking mount.
Every astronomy image will benefit from image stacking.
List Of Photo Stacking Software For Astrophotography
Here is a list of software used in astrophotography for image stacking.
Adobe Photoshop
Complete Image Editor | Commercial – Subscription Plan Photography Bundle $9.99 / Month | Mac OS X, Windows
Pro
Versatile
Available for Mac and Windows
In bundle with Adobe Lightroom CC, Bridge, Camera Raw, and web space
Many action packs and plugins available for astrophotography
Cons
Subscription Plan only
Can’t be used to calibrate light frames
Stacking capabilities are somehow limited
If you are interested in photography, chances are you know Adobe Photoshop is the standard in the industry and does not need introductions.
With Adobe implementing a subscription plan for their applications, if you are using Lightroom CC for your everyday photography, your plan subscription will also include Photoshop CC and Bridge CC.
And for astrophotography, Photoshop is what you need. Lightroom cannot stack your images nor perform the histogram stretching, two crucial steps in the editing workflow for astrophotography.
In this article, we have already covered in detail how to stack astrophotography images with Photoshop.
Sequator
Deep Sky And Starry Landscape Stacker | Freeware | Windows
Pro
Free
Easy to use
Fast
Suitable for both Starry Landscapes and Deep Sky images
Can create Star Trails
Cons
Windows only
Limited set of options
Not suitable for Planetary astrophotography
Sequator is an easy-to-use and intuitive astrophotography software for stacking both starry landscape and deep-sky images. It can also be used to create star trails.
While not as advanced as other stackers, it nonetheless allows you to calibrate your light frames with dark and flat calibration frames. It also allows you to remove light pollution, reduce noise, and perform other simple tasks on the stacked image.
Starry Landscape Stacker
Starry Landscape Stacker | Commercial, $39.99 | Mac OS X
Pro
Fast
Easy to use
Cons
Mac Os X only
Does not read RAW files
If you are into starry landscapes and you are a Mac user, Starry Landscape Stacker is a must-have.
Easy to use, it allows you to stack and align the sky and the foreground independently by letting you easily mask the sky.
Unfortunately, the software lacks the support for RAW formats, thus forcing you to convert your RAW images in the more heavy TIFF format.
Aside from that, it works very fast and the final image is of good quality. You can also save the sky only, which is useful to further edit the shot in Photoshop or similar editors.
Starry Sky Stacker
Deep Sky Stacker | Commercial, $24.99 | Mac OS X
Pro
Fast
Easy to use
Cons
Mac Os X only
Does not read RAW files
Basic
Starry Sky Stacker is Starry Landscape Stacker brother and it has been created to stack deep sky astrophotography images.
As Starry Landscape Stacker, Starry Sky Stacker is very easy to use and intuitive, although very basic.
If you are a casual star shooter and a Mac user, this could be a good choice for you.
Deep Sky Stacker
Deep Sky Stacker | Freeware | Windows
Pro
Free
Easy to use
Fast
Full light frames calibration
Features Comet stack modes
Can Drizzle
Many advanced stack options and methods available
Cons
Windows only
Post-processing is quite limited
Not suitable for Starry Landscapes nor for Planetary astrophotography
Deep Sky Stacker, better known as DSS, is arguably one of the most widely used software to calibrate and stack astrophotography images.
With DSS, you can fully calibrate your images with Darks, Flats, Dark Flats, and Bias calibration frames for the best results possible. Light frames are analyzed and scored by quality so that you can decide which percentage of best images you can stack (Best 75% by default).
A very interesting feature is that with DSS, you can easily combine images taken during different imaging sessions, to produce images of higher quality.
Autostakkert!
Planetary Stacker | Freeware | Windows
Pro
Free
Easy to use
Suitable for Planetary, Lunar and Solar images
Stack full planetary disk and lunar surface close-ups
Cons
Interface a bit confused
It does not offer wavelet sharpening
Windows only
Autostakkert!, also known as AS!, is a very popular free software among the solar system astrophotographers. With AS! it is easy to stack both images showing the full Planetary (or Lunar or Solar) disc and images showing lunar surface close-ups.
Best Free Photo Editing Software For Mac Os X
The interface is a bit confusing, particularly in the beginning, but it is easy to navigate through the different steps for the stacking.
Unfortunately, AS! does not offer wavelet sharpening, which is a widely used technique in planetary and lunar astrophotography. For this, you can load your stacked image in Registax, another freeware software for Windows only that, sadly, is now “abandoned-ware.”
Lynkeos
Planetary Stacker | Freeware | Mac OS X
Pro
Free
Has deconvolution and wavelet sharpening
It is probably the only freeware planetary stacker for Mac OS X
Best Free Photo Editing Software For Mac Os X 10.8
Cons
Not very intuitive
Somewhat slower than Autostakkert!
Lynkeos is perhaps the only freeware planetary stacker software for Mac OS X, sparing you from turning to Windows for using Autostakkert!.
The interface is quite intuitive to navigate, but not when it comes to performing the different tasks.
On the other hand, it offers a deconvolution method and wavelet sharpening, a must-have for a planetary stacker. Definitely worth having a look at it if you are a Mac user.
SiriL
Deep Sky Astrophotography Editor | Freeware | Mac OS X, Windows, Linux
Pro
Free
Cross-Platform
Active development
Cons
A bit convoluted and not as intuitive as other stackers
SiriL is a freeware, cross-platform, astrophotography package that will let you calibrate, stack, and develop deep sky astrophotography images.
While not as easy and intuitive as Sequator or DSS, it offers a lot of options and produces good results. There is an active community, and it is under constant development.
Astro Pixel Processor
Deep Sky Astrophotography Editor | Commercial $60/Yr Renter License Or $150 Owner License | Mac OS X, Windows, Linux
Pro
Full-grown astrophotography package
Fairly easy to use
Mosaics are created with ease and are of great quality
Active and constant development
Cross-Platform
30-days Trial period
Affordable yearly subscription
Cons
Only for deep sky astrophotography
No Comet stacking mode
With Astro Pixel Processor (APP), you step in the realm of full-grown astrophotography packages, with many advanced options and methods to calibrate, stack, and post-process your deep-sky images.
Compared to PixInsight (PI), the software benchmark for the category, APP is cheaper and way easier to use, which makes it one of the best PI alternatives.
If you decide to buy it, you can choose between the renter’s license for $60/yr, to always get the latest version of APP, or the owner’s license for $150, but you will have to purchase the license again for major update releases.
PixInsight
Astrophotography Editor | Commercial – €230+VAT | Mac OS X, Windows, Linux
Pro
It has all you need for astrophotography
45 days trial period
A lot of tutorials and information available
Cons
Expensive and without subscription plan
Extremely steep learning curve
Long and convoluted process
Needs a powerful computer
When it comes to astrophotography, PixInsight is the software of reference against which all others are measured. It offers everything you may possibly need to produce pro graded images, and it is objectively the best software in the field.
But user experience can be frustrating, as the learning curve is very steep, the editing is long and convoluted, and your computer must be quite recent and powerful to make it run smoothly.
The €230 + VAT price tag is also quite steep: sure it is worth every penny, but this makes PI be even more the software of choice for professional and keen amateur astrophotographers.
A Comprehensive Demo About Image Stacking
In this video, I show you how easy it is to wet our feet with image stacking.
This is particularly true if you use Starry Landscape Stacker, Sequator, Deep Sky Stacker and Autostakkert!, as I showed in the video below.
Conclusion
Image stacking is one of the crucial steps in the astrophotography editing workflow.
You’ll need the appropriate stacker for each type of astrophotography: starry landscapes, star trails, or deep-sky and planetary images.
Best Free Photo Editor Software For Mac
In this article, we have covered the most popular astrophotography stackers available on the market, both freeware and commercial.
Best Free Photo Editing Software For Macbook Pro
And while Windows users have the more extensive choice, some notable stackers are available for Mac and even Linux users.