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DeepSkyStacker Changelog

What's new in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.5

Jan 9, 2024
  • Write Intermediate TIFF format files with COMPRESSION_NONE. Final output files will still be compressed.
  • Remove any .stackinfo.txt files that already exist when re-registering images.
  • This prevents incorrect registration of images when changing stacking settings and de-Bayer settings.
  • Change Raw/FITS DDP settings so that the Bayer transformation (Bilinear/AHD/Drizzle/SuperPixel) on the two tabs “mirror one another”.
  • That’s to say if you change those settings on the FITS tab, then the RAW tab is also changed and vice-versa.
  • There are no longer separate settings for the Bayer transformation for RAW and FITS (which has caused problems in the past).
  • Bug fix: Revert change to create masters as float - it caused incompatibility problems.

New in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.4 (Nov 12, 2023)

  • Upgrade CFITSIO library to 4.2.0
  • Always create a trace file in the DeepSkyStacker sub-folder of the user's Documents folder. The file will be called e.g.
  • DSSTrace_yyyy-mm-ddThh-hh-ssZ.log where the timestamp is GMT (UTC) time.
  • The trace file will be deleted on normal application exit, but retained in the event of an exception.
  • An option is provided to keep the file.
  • Add both Main Group and Group 1 at startup.
  • Initial code changes for Qt 6.5.1 Dark/Light Theme support
  • Add an option to turn off beeps on completion of registering/stacking.
  • Toolbar display improved (no square boxes round active/hovered buttons).
  • Upgrade libtiff to 4.5.0
  • Add code to handle TIFF tags TIFFTAG_CFAREPEATPATTERNDIM and TIFFTAG_CFAPATTERN when processing TIFF files in CFA format. These tags are defined in the TIFF/EP standard.
  • Add code to handle EXIF tag EXIFTAG_CFAPATTERN which is defined in the EXIF standard.
  • This allows automatic detection of the CFA pattern needed to decode the file.
  • The only files that DSS writes as TIFF in CFA format are some of the master files.
  • All other TIFF output files will remain RGB.
  • Change compression of TIFF format master files to use PKZIP Deflate instead of no compression.
  • Change default compression for saving images to PKZIP Deflate (was NONE).
  • Convert DeepSkyStackerLive to Qt.
  • Use floating point instead of 16-bit fixed point for master files. Old master files will still work.
  • Prevent undocked sidebar and image list windows from being closed (never to be seen again).
  • Suppress warning message "ZIPEncode: Encoder error: buffer error." when writing TIFF files.
  • Remove Microsoft CGI+ dependency for loading jpeg and png images.
  • FITS output files didn't contain the number of images in the stack. Save this using FITS keyword NCOMBINE, also report the number of images when loading FITS images.
  • Bug fix: Correct code for reading floating point FITS files (the value was incorrectly normalised - e.g.: 256.0 was read back as 259.996).
  • Bug fix: Value of FITS SOFTWARE keyword in output file truncated after first character.
  • Bug fix: Unable to stack images with no stars when using Alignment set to "No Alignment".
  • Improve handling for FITS DATE-OBS keyword. DATE-OBS in the output file will now be set to the value of DATE-OBS from the first input file or, failing that, the creation timestamp or last modification timestamp of the file whichever is earlier.
  • Processing/Save picture to file... did not preserve FITS keywords when the final autosave file was written as a FITS file.
  • Bug fix: Delete key to delete images from the list didn't update the information lines.
  • Bug fix: Clear list didn't reset the status bar message.
  • Work around for Qt bug (QTBUG-46620) with restoring application position and size when re-opening the application after it was closed when maximised.
  • Mouse wheel zooming worked the opposite way from most other applications, now changed to be compatible.
  • Extend exposure time edit control to 4 decimal places instead of 3.
  • Check lights when loaded using either "Open picture files" or using Drag/Drop.
  • Correct Intermediate Files tab of Stacking parameters. "Create a calibrated file ..." and "Create a registered/calibrated file ..." were inadvertently switched when porting the code for version 5.
  • Bug fix: Saving the intermediate calibrated image in de-Bayered format resulted in a corrupt file.
  • The comet position interpolation code has been re-written by Martin Toeltsch (thank you Martin). Now you need only to:
  • o Mark the position of the centre of the comet in 2 light frames with a large temporal distance (ideally the first and the last light frame in chronological order).
  • o Marking the comet centre in additional light frames can potentially improve the results.
  • Change some of the colours used when the Windows Dark Theme is in use so that they are easier to read.
  • Revert change made for number 26 - QTimeEdit doesn't work right with 4 decimals.
  • Bug fix: Magnifying glass over image area was still displayed when mouse was moved directly to another window.
  • Bug fix: Selecting/Deselecting "Create a calibrated file for each light frame" should also Enable/Disable "Save a debayered image..."
  • Bug fix: Unable to cancel Registering or Stacking because the ProgressDlg was disabled (it had the wrong parent).
  • Bug fix: Save/Restore of docked window sizes (Explorer Bar, Picture List) wasn't working.
  • Update zlib to 1.3 (from 1.2.11).
  • Bug fix: Switching away from Settings/Output tab and then switching back reset the values to status quo ante.
  • Bug fix: Output file name when using file list name as the output name was incorrectly set to (e.g.) Batch1.tif when using a file list with a name Batch1.xxx.dssfilelist
  • Clear image list at end of batch stacking.
  • Upgrade CFITSIO library to 4.3.0
  • Bug fix: If a recommended setting is clicked to activate it the revised recommendations are appended to the browser when it should be cleared before they are displayed.
  • Bug fix: DSS-CL: If an output file is named specifically with the /O: parameter, this output file is always used. If it is omitted, it will generate a unique output file instead.
  • Bug fix: DSS-CL: If the compression level for a TIFF file is set via the /OCx parameter, this is now honoured.
  • Bug fix: When registering a set of images with different exposure times, the progress dialogue restarted counting at 1 and the progress bar was reset to 0 for each different exposure. The estimated time for completion got completely confused, and the progress bar reached 100% a number of times.
  • Bug fix: Prevent TIFF code issuing TIFFSetField: D:/dss.tif: Unknown pseudo-tag 65557, by only setting TIFFTAG_ZIPQUALITY if compression is set to COMPRESSION_DEFLATE.
  • Change the minimum update interval for the progress dialog to 0.1s (was 1s).
  • Bug fix: Units on the Processing pane's Luminance tab were displayed incorrectly as Å° instead of °.
  • Bug fix: Deadlock in DSSLive when stacking FITS files because CFITSReader::Read() didn't issue an End2() call to match the Start2() call.
  • Bug fix: Null pointer passed to XYSeries::append() by ChartTab.cpp. Some code tidyups as well.
  • Add "How To" information to the help for the image editor built into DeepSkyStacker. This includes a short screen capture movie.
  • Resolve problem of clipped controls on processing page when the native language is set to Japanese.

New in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.3 (Apr 3, 2023)

  • This is a bug fix release for problems reported against 5.1.0, 5.1.1 and 5.1.2:
  • Possible bug fix - DeepSkyStacker terminated at startup when running on ARM version of Windows 11 in x64 emulation mode. Unable to test.
  • Bug fix - A corrupt info.txt file caused an infinite loop.
  • Diagnostic added - Report processor architecture and processor type in trace file and to stderr at startup.
  • Bug fix - Stacked FITS images in SuperPixel mode were displayed only in the top left corner.
  • Bug fix - Resolve occasional odd problems when using edit stars mode.
  • Bug fix - DeepSkyStackerCL was only displaying the help text regardless of command line input.
  • Enhancement - Reinstate Image Properties as a Qt based dialogue to allow changing e.g. exposure for multiple images at once
  • Bug fix - Fields in the image list and the group tabs were not updated when switching to another language.
  • Bug fix - remove all "Set Black Point to Zero" recommendations from "Recommended Settings"
  • Bug fix - Invalid input in RAW/DDP settings for scale factors caused an assertion failure
  • Bug fix - correct handling of file types (TIFF/FITS) in DeepSkyStackerCL for intermediate and final files
  • Bug fix - correct handling of Stacking Mode (Standard/Mosaic/Intersection/Custom)
  • Bug fix - unable to select a custom rectangle immediately after opening image file
  • Bug fix - fileids in filelist files were being incorrectly written as ANSI not UTF8
  • Bug fix - the selection for a custom rectangle was not always visible
  • Enhancement - reduce the minimum size for the image list to be two rows
  • Bug fix - correct problems with drag drop of a directory.
  • Enhancement - if Custom Rectangle mode is read from a filelist or settings file, switch to Intersection mode.
  • Bug fix - correct handling of reference frame in filelist.
  • Bug Fix - FITS/DDP choice of Camera was not being handled correctly.
  • Bug fix - ensure that reference frame is used a) when checked, and b) when not checked
  • Bug fix - Register settings set a value of 0 for the luminance threshold when it was initially set to 20.

New in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.2 (Mar 27, 2023)

  • Bug fix - correct handling of file types (TIFF/FITS) in DeepSkyStackerCL for intermediate and final files
  • Bug fix - correct handling of Stacking Mode (Standard/Mosaic/Intersection/Custom)
  • Bug fix - unable to select a custom rectangle immediately after opening image file
  • Bug fix - fileids in filelist files were being incorrectly written as ANSI not UTF8
  • Bug fix - the selection for a custom rectangle was not always visible
  • Enhancement - reduce the minium size for the image list to be two rows

New in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.1 (Mar 20, 2023)

  • Possible bug fix - DeepSkyStacker terminated at startup when running on ARM version of Windows 11 in x64 emulation mode. Unable to test.
  • Bug fix - A corrupt info.txt file caused an infinite loop.
  • Diagnostic added - Report processor architecture and processor type in trace file and to stderr at startup.
  • Bug fix - Stacked FITS images in SuperPixel mode were displayed only in the top left corner.
  • Bug fix - Resolve occasional odd problems when using edit stars mode.
  • Bug fix - DeepSkyStackerCL was only displaying the help text regardless of command line input.
  • Enhancement - Reinstate Image Properties as a Qt based dialogue to allow changing e.g. exposure for multiple images at once
  • Bug fix - Fields in the image list and the group tabs were not updated when switching to another language.
  • Bug fix - remove all "Set Black Point to Zero" recommendations from "Recommended Settings"
  • Bug fix - Invalid input in RAW/DDP settings for scale factors caused an assertion failure

New in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.0 (Mar 4, 2023)

  • The bulk of the code for the "Stacking" panel has been converted to Qt. This includes a completely reworked image display.
  • The image list can now be undocked from the bottom of the Stacking panel so that it operates as a separate window. The "Explorer" bar (left panel) can also be undocked.
  • It is now possible to rename all groups with the exception of the initial group (Main Group).
  • Some fields in the image list (Type, ISO/Gain, and Exposure) can be double-clicked to change the values.
  • A large number of internal changes have been made with the intent of facilitating future enhancements and/or to improve processing.
  • SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data - also known as Advanced Vector Extensions or AVX) support for decoding raw images and for registration and stacking of RGGB images. It can deliver dramatic reductions in processing times, but it depends on your processor and clock speed, so don't assume it will be faster. As an example, Martin Toeltsch (who wrote the code) reports times to process 10 Nikon NEF files (on his computer):
  • Without SIMD 52s
  • Using SIMD 8s
  • This also works for GBRG images so Canon CR2 files will benefit from this work as well.
  • Some further tuning of the OpenMP (multi-processor support) has been done.
  • The "Stacking" panel image display now caches the last twenty images displayed, so you can use it as a "blink comparator"
  • The configured settings that are stored in the Windows registry are not compatible with earlier releases which stored them in the registry hive:
  • HKCUSoftwareDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker
  • so now the settings are held in a separate registry hive:
  • HKCUSoftwareDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5
  • The "Processing" panel is still running MFC code but has minor changes to allow it to work as a child of a Qt window.
  • The location for storing DeepSkyStacker settings files has changed from %ProgramData%DeepSkyStacker (typically C:ProgramDataDeepSkyStacker) to %AppData%DeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5 (typically C:Users<username>AppDataRoamingDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5). You may wish to copy any old settings files to the new location.
  • A file association is now created during installation so that .dssfilelist files will be opened by DeepSkyStacker.
  • Add code to capture non C++ exceptions (e.g. SIGINT, SIGILL, SIGFPE, SIGSEGV, and SIGTERM) and write a debugging backtrace to stderr and to the trace file if active.
  • Change message for incompatible images to report the reason.
  • Registering and stacking now overlap processing with reading the images. For n images where time to load each image is L and time to process each image is P, the total time will now typically be nL + P (when L > P) or L + nP. Typically, the time to load the images will predominate on faster systems or those that use real disk drives.
  • Remove manual setting of "Set Black Point to Zero", this is now determined automatically.
  • Enable the Comet tab in Stacking Settings when it is invoked from Register Settings and Comet data is available.
  • Change LibRaw supported camera list so that "Olympus OM-1" is recognised as well as "OM Digital Solutions OM-1"
  • Update Libraw to 0.21.1

New in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.0 Beta 2 (Jan 12, 2023)

  • The bulk of the code for the "Stacking" panel has been converted to Qt. This includes a completely reworked image display.
  • The image list can now be undocked from the bottom of the Stacking panel so that it operates as a separate window. The "Explorer" bar (left panel) can also be undocked.
  • It is now possible to rename all groups with the exception of the initial group (Main Group).
  • Some fields in the image list (Type, ISO/Gain, and Exposure) can the double-clicked to change the values.
  • A large number of internal changes have been made with the intent of facilitating future enhancements and/or to improve processing.
  • SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data - also known as Advanced Vector Extensions or AVX) support for decoding raw images and for registration and stacking of RGGB images. It can deliver dramatic reductions in processing times, but it depends on your processor and clock speed, so don't assume it will be faster. As an example, Martin Toeltsch (who wrote the code) reports times to process 10 Nikon NEF files (on his computer):
  • Without SIMD 52s
  • Using SIMD 8s
  • This also works for GBRG images so Canon CR2 files will benefit from this work as well.
  • Some further tuning of the OpenMP (multi-processor support) has been done.
  • The "Stacking" panel image display now caches the last twenty images displayed, so you can use it as a "blink comparator"
  • The configured settings that are stored in the Windows registry are not compatible with earlier releases which stored them in the registry hive:
  • HKCUSoftwareDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker
  • so now the settings are held in a separate registry hive:
  • HKCUSoftwareDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5
  • The "Processing" panel is still running MFC code but has minor changes to allow it to work as a child of a Qt window.
  • The location for storing DeepSkyStacker settings files has changed from %ProgramData%DeepSkyStacker (typically C:ProgramDataDeepSkyStacker) to %AppData%DeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5 (typically C:Users<username>AppDataRoamingDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5). You may wish to copy any old settings files to the new location.
  • A file association is now created during installation so that .dssfilelist files will be opened by DeepSkyStacker.
  • Update Libraw to 0.20.2
  • Fix a problem where the image list wasn't always hidden when switching to the Processing panel.
  • Reduce the depth of the rows in the image list so it takes less space.
  • Change to AVX checking code to resolve a problem with SIGILL on older CPUs.
  • Add code to capture non C++ exceptions (e.g. SIGINT, SIGILL, SIGFPE, SIGSEGV, and SIGTERM) and write a debugging backtrace to stderr and to the trace file if active.
  • Update Libraw to 0.21.0
  • Bug fix for Comet/Star editing mode being forgotten when switching between images.
  • Don't remove files from image list if user says not to erase them. Ensure image list information is updated.
  • Fix for incorrect output when Comet Stacking with SIMD (it just did a normal stack).
  • Fix for some issues with the progress dialog. More to come.

New in DeepSkyStacker 5.1.0 Beta 1 (Dec 4, 2022)

  • Here are the main changes that were made for DeepSkyStacker 5.1.0:
  • The bulk of the code for the "Stacking" panel has been converted to Qt. This includes a completely reworked image display.
  • The image list can now be undocked from the bottom of the stacking panel so that it operates as separate windows. The "Explorer" bar (left panel) can also be undocked.
  • It is now possible to rename all groups with the exception of the initial group (Main Group).
  • Some fields in the image list (Type, ISO/Gain, and Exposure) can the double-clicked to change the values.
  • A large number of internal changes have been made with the intent of facilitating future enhancements and/or to improve processing.
  • SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data - also known as Advanced Vector Extensions or AVX) support for decoding raw images and for registration and stacking of RGGB images. It delivers dramatic reductions in processing times. As an example, Martin Toeltsch (who wrote the code) reports times to process 10 Nikon NEF files (on his computer):
  • Without SIMD 52s
  • Using SIMD 8s
  • This also works for GBRG images so Canon CR2 files will benefit from this work as well.
  • Some further tuning of the OpenMP (multi-processor support) has been done.
  • The "Stacking" panel image display now caches the last ten images displayed, so you can use it as a "blink comparator"
  • The configured settings that are stored in the Windows registry are not compatible with earlier releases which stored them in the registry hive:
  • HKCUSoftwareDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker
  • so now the settings are held in a separate registry hive:
  • HKCUSoftwareDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5
  • The "Processing" panel is still running MFC code but has minor changes to allow it to work as a child of a Qt window.
  • The location for storing DeepSkyStacker settings files has changed from %ProgramData%DeepSkyStacker (typically C:ProgramDataDeepSkyStacker) to %AppData%DeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5 (typically C:Users<username>AppDataRoamingDeepSkyStackerDeepSkyStacker5). You may wish to copy any old settings files to the new location.
  • A file association is now created during installation so that .dssfilelist files will be opened by DeepSkyStacker.

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.6 (May 6, 2021)

  • Fix for oversaturated pixels wrapping to black (centre of stars or galaxies are black).
  • Fix De-bloom procesing code to prevent assertion failures in GetPixel() code.
  • Upgrade LibRaw to snapshot 202101 (new camera support).
  • Fix to prevent crash when processing FITS file that is not monochrome but has BAYERPAT keyword in the header that isn't NONE (force CFAType to none).
  • Fix TIFF code handling of accented characters in file path (fix in 4.2.5 was incomplete).
  • Add code to check that it is possible to write files to the output directory and terminate processing with an error message if not.
  • Fix copy to clipboard of "Picture List".

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.6 Beta 2 (Apr 13, 2021)

  • Fix copy to clipboard of "Picture List".

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.6 Beta 1 (Apr 9, 2021)

  • Here are the main changes since DeepSkyStacker 4.2.5:
  • Fix for oversaturated pixels wrapping to black (centre of stars or galaxies are black).
  • Fix De-bloom procesing code to prevent assertion failures in GetPixel() code.
  • Upgrade LibRaw to snapshot 202101 (new camera support).
  • Fix to prevent crash when processing FITS file that is not monochrome but has BAYERPAT keyword in the header that isn't NONE (force CFAType to none).
  • Fix TIFF code handling of accented characters in file path (fix in 4.2.5 was incomplete).
  • Add code to check that it is possible to write files to the output directory and terminate processing with an error message if not.

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.5 (Aug 22, 2020)

  • Remove use of predictive compression for TIFF files. Use of this revealed a long standing bug in Photoshop which was able to read the files created by DSS, but then wrote corrupt TIFF files.
  • Correct a problem where DSS failed to read files whose path contained accented characters.
  • Fix for a problem where DSS incorrectly reported master calibration frames from earlier releases as being incompatible when a user specified CFA pattern was used for FITS files.
  • Fix a bug introduced in 4.2.3 which causes the code to crash when moving the sliders on the processing page.
  • Apply a development fix to the LibRaw code which was looping forever attempting to open corrupt CR3 files.

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.4 Beta 4 (May 1, 2020)

  • Fix to display Exposure, f-Stop, and ISO setting from EXIF tags in TIFF files.
  • Update libtiff to 4.1.0
  • Automatic detection of CFA matrix based upon FITS keywords such as BAYERPAT, COLORTYP, and MOSAIC (for Meade DSI colour cameras). The FITS File tab of the Raw/FITS DDP Settings dialogue has changed. If you de-select the tick box for: "Monochrome 16 bit FITS Files are RAW files created by a DSLR or a color CCD camera", then automatic detection will be used. You can override this by selecting this option and manually selecting the CFA pattern to be used. All the other settings on that tab are now always available for modification.
  • The exposure time is now correctly displayed for FITS files with the exposure time in microseconds (keyword EXPOINUS).
  • Display a warning message saying that DeepSkyStacker won't de-Bayer 8-bit FITS images.
  • Change code to read TIFF files in strips instead of by scanline. This can reduce the time to read the image by as much as a factor of 3.
  • Refactor the code to decode the TIFF file we just read and also use OpenMP. Time to decode the image reduced by about 4-5 times.
  • Refactor the code that writes TIFF files and use OpenMP to speed it up. Also write the output file in strips rather than scanlines. Substantial performance increase.
  • Refactor the code that reads FITS files to make it easier to understand and also use OpenMP. Only a marginal performance benefit.
  • Major bug fix - calibration frames were either not applied or incorrectly applied when using Super-Pixel mode.
  • Change DeepSkyStackerLive so that the choice of using the Dark Theme is controlled by the user settings.
  • Display the FITS FILTER name in the picture list control, for information only at present.
  • Change the text used in the language selection ComboBox to always use Latin characters. This is a work around a problem with DLGINIT processing and Unicode characters.

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.4 Beta 2 (Feb 16, 2020)

  • Fix to display Exposure, f-Stop, and ISO setting from EXIF tags in TIFF files.
  • Update libtiff to 4.1.0
  • Automatic detection of CFA matrix based upon FITS keywords such as BAYERPAT, COLORTYP, and MOSAIC (for Meade DSI colour cameras). The FITS File tab of the Raw/FITS DDP Settings dialogue has changed. If you de-select the tick box for: "Monochrome 16 bit FITS Files are RAW files created by a DSLR or a color CCD camera", then automatic detection will be used. You can override this by selecting this option and manually selecting the CFA pattern to be used. All the other settings on that tab are now always available for modification.
  • The exposure time is now correctly displayed for FITS files with the exposure time in microseconds (keyword EXPOINUS).
  • Display a warning message saying that DeepSkyStacker won't de-Bayer 8-bit FITS images.
  • Change code to read TIFF files in strips instead of by scanline. This can reduce the time to read the image by as much as a factor of 3.
  • Refactor the code to decode the TIFF file we just read and also use OpenMP. Time to decode the image reduced by about 4-5 times.
  • Refactor the code that writes TIFF files and use OpenMP to speed it up. Also write the output file in strips rather than scanlines. Substantial performance increase.
  • Refactor the code that reads FITS files to make it easier to understand and also use OpenMP. Only a marginal performance benefit.

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.3 (Jan 2, 2020)

  • The main changes in this release are
  • The 32 bit version will now run on Windows XP SP3. It is likely that the next release of DeepSkyStacker will not do so.
  • The stacking settings dialog width has been increased to reduce or eliminate the need to scroll the tabs.
  • Add .rw2 to list of RAW file extensions.
  • Change the colour scheme for DeepSkyStacker Live to make it more "night vision" friendly.
  • Recognise and use GAIN values in FITS file from CMOS/CCD cameras in a manner similar to how ISO is handled for matching darks, lights etc.. Please note this is not the same as EGAIN (e-/ADU). It refers to the camera's scaling of EGAIN.
  • Update help files. My thanks to Estela Nuñez, Giovanni Benintende, Günter Heberger, José Mozart Fusco, Luc Coiffier, ?????? ???????? (Mickle Timofeyev), and Premysl Lukavský for their immense help with all the translation work needed for this release. Dutch help is deferred until the next release.
  • Issue #83 Provide the option to perform NO White Balance processing at all (requested by Ivo Jager for StarTools).
  • Fix for issue #42 - the stacking method "Average" wasn't always reported in the recap html file.
  • Common control library 6 now used so some cosmetic changes such as filled progress bars.
  • Make the progress dialogs non-modal so that DeepSkyStacker can be minimised while processing.
  • Update the DeepSkyStacker taskbar icon with a progress bar that matches the main progress bar.
  • Saving of final TIFF file is now faster, and a number of other performance enhancements have been made.
  • Ctrl-A will select all images in the file list (not the same as "Check All").
  • Del key will delete an image from the file list so you don't need right click and select "Remove from list"
  • Bug fix - if you change the type of an image from the file list "Properties" dialogue, the icon was changed, but the text wasn't.
  • Bug fix - Settings were handled incorrectly in 4.2.3 Beta 1

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.2 (Sep 2, 2019)

  • Changes to star registration code to detect larger stars than before. Star radius of up to 50 pixels is now valid (it was 20 pixels). This was needed to accomodate higher resolution sensors.
  • Allow larger star sizes to the specified in the Star Mask creation dialogue. Star diameter of up to 100 pixels is now allowed. This was needed to accomodate higher resolution sensors.
  • OpenMP speedup of Star Mask image reading code.
  • Huge speedup of final image display by using much larger rectangles and OpenMP speedup of the bitmap extraction code.
  • Speed up star registration by updating progress indicator once every 25 iterations instead of each iteration.
  • Computing Final Picture using Kappa-Sigma Clip processing is now about 50 times faster!
  • Computing Final Picture using Auto Adaptive Weighted Average is now about 43 times faster!
  • Auto-Adaptive Weighted Average now re-written completely. It should no longer produce whited out images or other strange results. Thanks to Michael A. Covington and Simon C. Smith for their immense help in locating references and getting this working. Thanks are also due to Dr. Peter B. Stetson who very kindly provided a web link to his original lecture notes, emailed a PDF copy of his original paper, and provided helpful guidance.
  • Update LibRaw to 0.19.3.
  • Reverted Entropy calculation code in CEntropyInfo::InitSquareEntropies() to NOT compute in parallel - some called code wasn't thread safe.
  • Entropy Weighted Average complete stack of 50 lights is now about 20 times faster on my laptop, down from 4hrs 22min to 12min 55 sec.
  • Bug fix - changing "Set the black point to 0" or "Use Camera White Balance" after an image was loaded didn't change the rendering.
  • When loading raw files, check that the camera is listed in the LibRaw supported camera list. Issue a warning if not.
  • User request to change the file open dialog to default to all supported image types including raw files.
  • Three times performance improvement in star registration.
  • As requested by Ray Butler, use relative paths in saved file lists while continuing to accept older file lists using absolute paths.
  • Miscellaneous other performance tweaks.
  • Display lens aperture information in the image lists for DeepSkyStacker and DeepSkyStackerLive.
  • Don't check for LibRaw camera support if processing DNG file.

New in DeepSkyStacker 4.2.1 (Jul 27, 2019)

  • The main changes from 4.2.0 are:
  • Fixed a memory leak in the new code that uses LibRaw.
  • Further performance enhancements to Median-Kappa-Sigma processing (20% faster than 4.2.0).
  • Welcome to DeepSkyStacker 4.2.0
  • The main change in this release is to use LibRaw version 19.2 instead of dcraw to capture images from RAW image files.
  • This should provide support for many recent cameras which wasn't possible using dcraw.
  • The raw data post-processing code has had some extra performance squeezed out if it by Vitali Pelenjow who took
  • my initial attempt at using OpenMP to parallelise the code and made it perform as it should (new in 4.2.0 Beta 4).
  • The resulting images should be very much the same (if not 100% identical) to the results obtained using DeepSkyStacker 4.1.1.
  • There is one thing that is incompatible with DeepSkyStacker 4.1.1:
  • The "Use Auto White Balance" white balance button has been disabled.
  • You can either accept the default which is "Daylight White Balance", or select "Use Camera White Balance". If you select the latter, and camera was set to "Auto White Balance" when the images were taken, then the camera calculated "Auto White Balance" co-efficients will be used. We don't recommend the use of Auto WB as each frame gets its own unique white balance which can prevent calibration frames such as flats and darks from working correctly.
  • We've also fixed a number of problems and made some other enhancements since 4.1.1
  • Support for images from cameras that use the Fujitsu X-Trans sensor (new in 4.2.0 Beta 2).
  • The image is converted to a 3 colour RGB image and interpolated using Frank Markesteijn's algorithm using LibRaw::Process().
  • Please note that the interpolation is quite slow (about 40 seconds per image on my Core i7 laptop).
  • The image is then imported as if it were a Foveon colour image.
  • BSD 3 clause license file added.
  • A fix was made to correct crashes caused by a thread-unsafe assignment in the smart pointer code.
  • The "Stop" button on the progress dialogs should now actually work!
  • The space key can now be used to check/uncheck images in the picture list.
  • The user's default browser will be used instead of IE to open URLs.
  • Miscellaneous code cleanups and performance improvements including Median-Kappa-Sigma processing.
  • Assets 4
  • DSS-4.2.1-Setup32.exe
  • 16.3 MB
  • DSS-4.2.1-Setup64.exe
  • 16.9 MB
  • Source code (zip)
  • Source code (tar.gz)

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Romanian version
  • Russian version
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.98 rev 1.431:
  • Add support for
  • Casio Z60, Z75, EX-Z850
  • Kodak Z980,
  • Pentax K-7
  • Canon A470, G11, EOS 7D
  • Nikon D3000,
  • Panasonic FZ35/FZ38
  • Sony DSLR-A850
  • Bug Fixes:
  • The dark factor used to optionally scale dark frames was incorrectly used. Fixed
  • Ampglow was sometimes incorrectly considered as a group of hot pixels. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.3.0 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Portuguese/Brazilian version
  • Improved deblooming of large bloomed stars.
  • Improved CYMG debayering
  • Add 16 generic CYMG bayer patterns (FITS DDP tab)
  • Add support for 4 channels TIFF files (the transparency channel is ignored).
  • Add No Alignment option (images are stacked as is, without rotation/translation)
  • Add Intersection mode to create a final image which is the intersection of all the frames (hence removing the black borders)
  • Add 4 corners mode to easily check the corners of an image (also available in DeepSkyStacker Live)
  • The final image output file format is now the same as the one used for intermediate files (either TIFF or FITS)
  • FITS file extension is propagated to intermediate files and final image file name when FITS output is selected (.fts, .fit or .fits)
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.95 rev 1.425:
  • Add support for
  • Canon PowerShot G10, SX1, SX110, and EOS 500D/Rebel T1i/Kiss X3
  • Firmware 1.0.7 in the Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • sRAW1 and sRAW2 modes of the Canon EOS 50D and 5D Mark II
  • Kodak Z1015
  • Leaf AFi 7
  • Motorola PIXL
  • Olympus E-30
  • Panasonic FX150, G1 and DMC-GH1
  • Pentax K2000/K-m
  • Hasselblad V96C
  • Samsung S85, S850
  • Phase One P45+
  • Casio EX-S20
  • Agfa DC-833m
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Description html file was not created when using Batch Stacking. Fixed.
  • Nikon Coolpix 5000 NEF files were incorrectly decoded using an RGB Bayer pattern instead of a CYMG one (other DSLRs using CYMG Bayer pattern might have been in the same case). Fixed.
  • Background calibration mode was not written in the html description file. Fixed.
  • DSS Live: Bit depth was incorrectly shown as 16 bits in the file list regardless of the true bit depth (It was not modifying the process though). Fixed.
  • DSS Live: Link to copy current image to clipboard was not available in the Stacked Image tab. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.2.2 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Traditional Chinese version
  • Add the option to select the output name and folder
  • Add the option to create an HTML file containing the description (and list of light frames used)
  • The Batch Stacking dialog can be resized
  • Master files are no longer added to the list when dropped with other files
  • DeepSkyStacker Live:
  • The starting point for the graphs is now 1 instead of 0
  • When multiple files are detected, they are added in date/time ascending order
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.88 rev 1.405:
  • Add support for
  • Olympus E-420 and E-520,
  • Sony A300 and A900,
  • Kodak C603,
  • Nikon D700, D90 and P6000,
  • Canon EOS 1000D, EOS 50D and PowerShot SD300,
  • Panasonics LX3 and FZ28.
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Random crashes when decoding FITS files in DSS Live and DSS because cfitsio is not thread-safe. Fixed.
  • Some calibrated images were not debayered when saved during the registering process (they are correctly debayered in the stacking process). Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.2.1 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • It is now possible to drag&drop folders in DeepSkyStacker. All the files in the folder will be added to the list (as long as they are of a supported type).
  • Recommended settings and Recap Steps dialogs can now be resized
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.84 rev 1.400:
  • Add support for Canon EOS 450D, Nikon D60, and Fuji S100FS.
  • Bug Fixes:
  • AHD debayering on RAW images was creating grayscale images. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.2.0 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • German version
  • Dutch version
  • The Settings (RAW/FITS, registering, stacking) are now saved in and loaded from the file lists.
  • A side effect is that the Batch Stacking and Command Line version are now using the settings saved in the file lists (when available) instead of the global settings.
  • It is possible to save/load settings from setting files and reset all the parameters to the default values.
  • Add a Recommended Settings dialog to help users select most commonly used settings depending on the files currently loaded.
  • The recommended settings cover most frequently asked questions and some will be added in the future based on user experience and suggestions.
  • Add a Debloom option
  • Add a Sky Background column to the list containing the value of the Sky Background (percentage) for registered light frames.
  • Add an option to apply a median filter to reduce the noise before star detection (registration process)
  • Add an option to save debayered calibrated intermediate files (by default they are not debayered)
  • Add an option to FITS settings to force the use of 16 bit unsigned values even if the FITS file contains signed values. (that is the case of some FITS files created by Maxim)
  • Add the possibility to resize the image list
  • DeepSkyStacker Live:
  • The DeepSkyStacker Live settings are no longer shared with DeepSkyStacker.
  • They still must be edited from within DeepSkyStacker but they can be saved separately.
  • Add the Sky Background column, plot in the Graphics tab and warning if the Sky Background is greater than a user value.
  • Add copy image to clipboard for both Last Image and Stacked Image
  • DeepSkyStacker Command Line:
  • Add an option to save the output file in FITS format.
  • Integration of CFITSIO 3.06 (FITS files management).
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.83 rev 1.399:
  • Add support for Sony DSLR-A200 and DSLR-A350 and PowerShots A720 and S5 IS., Apple QuickTake 200, Fuji IS-1, Pentax K20D, Nokia N95, and Canon PowerShots A460, A530, and A650.
  • Bug Fixes:
  • The images were not registered when No Background Calibration was selected. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.1.1 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Catalan version
  • Add Options to control the background calibration behavior (RGB and Per Channel)
  • The position of the DeepSkyStacker and DeepSkyStacker Live windows are now restored at startup to the last used position.
  • DeepSkyStacker Live:
  • Add the possibility to process only some type of files (RAW, FITS, TIFF or others).
  • Add the possibility to process the files already in the monitored folder
  • Add the possibility to move non stackable images to a subfolder
  • Bug Fixes:
  • The Dark Optimization option was behaving incorrectly when no hot pixels were detected. Fixed.
  • Pressing the Enter key was closing the application. Fixed.
  • Crash of command line version of DeepSkyStacker. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.1.0 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Introducing DeepSkyStacker Live
  • Modification of the RGB background calibration behavior to create brighter images, easier to post-process.
  • Slight modification of the Star Freeze option of the Comet Stacking algorithm to improve color images processing.
  • Added a cross hair in the zoomed preview to more easily pinpoint the comet center
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Calibrated images created from DSI-C/DSI-Pro 32 bit FITS files were not correct. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.0.6 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Add an option to align RGB Channels on the final image
  • The Date/Time column in the file list is now filled with the date/time of the image when available in the EXIF or FITS DATE-OBS keyword and the date/time of the file creation if not.
  • Change in Comet Stacking: from now on it is possible to only set the comet center in the first and last frames (sorted by date/time) and in the reference light frame. For each light frame in the time span the comet center is computed automatically.
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.81 rev 1.397:
  • Add support for Hasselblad H3D and Panasonic DMC-L10.
  • Bug Fixes:
  • 32 bit FITS images were not demosaiced in the preview. Fixed
  • Crash when no dark frames and at least two dark flat frames were used. Fixed.
  • 32 bit rational grayscale FITS files were incorrectly created as color files. Fixed.
  • Offsets were not correctly computed with only exactly 8 stars available. Fixed.
  • Crash when using mosaic mode and one of the light frames can not be stacked and is alone to have a very different exposure time. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.0.5 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Bug Fixes:
  • RGB Background calibration was creating green only images. Fixed

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.0.4 (Feb 11, 2015)

  • Improved 16 bit preview with easier and more accurate use of black, white and gray point settings
  • Add the possibility to save the calibrated light frames during the registering process
  • Add an option to calibrate the background separately for each channel
  • Add an option to multiply the master dark by a constant factor before subtracting it from each light frame
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.79 rev 1.394:
  • Add support for the Olympus E-3.
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Batch Stacking (and command line version) were crashing when the light frames were not registered before. Fixed.

New in DeepSkyStacker 3.0 (Sep 24, 2007)

  • Full Spanish version including help file. (to use the Spanish Help file you must download the Spanish Installer or the Spanish Help File).
  • Full Czech version
  • Add Comet stacking with two options including a "star freeze" effect.
  • Add stars and comet manual editing of the light frames
  • Add cosmetic options to detect and clean remaining hot and cold pixels after the calibration
  • Add a Batch feature to stack multiple file lists.
  • Add direct access to open directly most recently used
  • The existing stacking information (transformation between a reference frame and all the other light frames) are now automatically used again as long as the registering info is not changed. This feature is fully transparent for the user. It only means faster stacking when the offsets have already been computed or another stack with the same reference frame and light frames has been previously created.
  • The existing master files created automatically are now also automatically used again without the need to add them explicitly to the list as long as the settings (combining method and parameters) and the list of files used to create them are not modified. This feature is fully transparent for the user. It only means faster stacking since the already created masters are automatically used again instead of being created.
  • Much improved custom rectangle creation and edition
  • User FITS keywords in light frames FITS files are copied to intermediate files (calibrated and registered) saved as FITS files.
  • When an Autosave.tif file already exists, the automatic saved file is named AutosaveXXX.tif (XXX being the first number for which a file does not exist)
  • The dark optimization algorithm has been fully rewritten.
  • The saved File Lists now contain the information about the reference light frame when needed.
  • Add the possibility to use dark flats
  • New dssfilelist extension. Double clicking on such a file from the explorer is starting a new instance of DeepSkyStacker with the file list loaded.
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.77 rev 1.392
  • Add support for the Canon 40D, the Nikon D40X and Hasselblad CFV, Kodak EasyShare C330
  • When a combining method was modified from the Register Settings dialog it was not updated for the current stacking process. Fixed
  • The exposure time was not correctly decoded for some FITS files (milliseconds instead of seconds). Fixed
  • When the list was refreshed and sorted again, the current selection was incorrect. Fixed.
  • When the folder name was containing () or [], FITS files could not be created. Fixed.
  • When files were dropped the application was not brought to top. Fixed.
  • A crash might happened when the reference frame was not checked. Fixed

New in DeepSkyStacker 2.6.0 (Feb 26, 2007)

  • Optimization of almost all long processes leading to a division by roughly 2 of the total process time.
  • Add automatic detection and use of multiprocessors, hyperthreaded processor and multi-core processors (duo, quad) for most of the lengthy processes. The added performance gain may vary between 15% on hyperthreaded processors to more than 50% on quad core processors.
  • Improved JPEG and PNG decoding speed (like 10 times faster) and add a progress bar for these files.
  • High quality AHD interpolation is now taking place after the calibration process. If you have selected this option before you need to recreate your master images (bias/offset, dark and flat).
  • High quality AHD interpolation is now available for FITS files created from DSLRs.
  • VNG interpolation and Interpolate RGB as 4 colors options are removed.
  • Add an option to set the black point to 0 for RAW images.
  • Add an option to save a calibrated (but not registered) image for each light frame during the stacking process.
  • (Note : the command line options have changed to reflect this new option).
  • Add EXIF decoding of JPEG and PNG files to retrieve ISO speed, exposure time and camera model when available.
  • Add Drag & Drop support. It is now possible to drop files in DeepSkyStacker to add them to the list.
  • Add Help which contains some pages from the website (Manuals, Technical Details, FAQ).

New in DeepSkyStacker 2.5.3 (Nov 6, 2006)

  • Introduction of the command line version of DeepSkyStacker
  • Introduction of File Groups to simplify the multiple nights on the same object file
  • management.
  • Add the option to create the registered and calibrated light frames files (darks,
  • flats, offsets applied, transformation applied).

New in DeepSkyStacker 2.5.1 (Oct 4, 2006)

  • Add the possibility to change the star detection threshold used by the registering process
  • Default preview mode in processing tab is now Log(Sqrt()).
  • Integration of DCRAW release 8.39 rev 1.350:
  • Fixed problems with the Panasonic DMC-FZ50 and DMC-LX2
  • Added color matrices from Adobe DNG Converter 3.5
  • Debayerization for the Nikon D50, D70, D70s and D80 was wrong. Fixed.
  • A crash may sometimes occur during the master flat creation. Fixed.