Look through this 12 best video editing software for Mac that will help you make Hollywood movies from your travel videos. Now you don’t have to spend many hours testing different Mac video editors, choose a good video editing software that will work without lags on your Mac. Jun 11, 2020. Feb 20, 2017. Professional software developers have been singing BBEdit’s praises for years, but you don’t need to spend a bundle to get on board. And its free Mac app is the best way to keep in touch. Sep 15, 2019.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
In this article, we have covered the most popular astrophotography stackers available on the market, both freeware and commercial.
And while Windows users have the more extensive choice, some notable stackers are available for Mac and even Linux users.
Making a mixtape or accumulating your favorite videos on a DVD on a Mac can be hectic if you don’t know what you are doing. To accomplish this task seamlessly, you can always use DVD burning apps for Mac. Although, it is hard to decide which software could solve the purpose.
In this post, we have listed some of the DVD burning software for Mac.
Why To Choose CD/ DVD Burner Software for Mac?
Everyone has different reasons when it comes to choosing software which could burn a DVD on Mac. Some want to keep their media collection safe while some want to keep a backup of their data as there is always a risk of theft, data loss. The basic reason for using software is to make copies to ensure the data is safe.
You might be thinking at this time when people love to watch movies, TV shows on online streaming services, DVD burning seems to be a bit old-fashioned. However, some of us still want to keep the collection as many of old classics or prevalent TV shows and movies are not yet available on online streaming service. This may also come handy if you want to keep your favorite shows and movies offline
How Does it Work?
The DVD burning software extracts ISO image of a DVD and copies it to your hard drive or allows you to burn a new DVD. The software makes it possible to choose what you want to copy.
Let’s check out some of the best software to burn CD/DVD on Mac.
Best DVD Burner For Mac In 2020
1. iSkysoft DVD Creator (Mac)
iSkysoft DVD Creator is a DVD burner for Mac which consists of all the great quality of software which helps to burn CD & DVD. You can easily burn a disc and copy your content. It enables you not only burn DVD but you can also create a slideshow of your favorite photos with music. The software has a user-friendly interface so anyone can use it. All you need to do is drag the videos and drop them into the software window. Now select edit videos or DVD menu, then click “Burn” to start the process. The process will get completed in no time as the software burns the disc with high speed. No quality loss of the content.
See Also:10 Best Data Recovery Software for Mac
2. Any DVD Cloner for Mac
Any DVD Cloner for Mac is one of the best DVD burning software for Mac as it helps to burn DVD to DVD, ISO image file, DVD folder. It enables you to eliminate all DVD copy protections including RC, CSS, RCE, APS, and UOP. It can make copies of your DVDs with high speed. With the help of the software, you can get movies from DVD to iPod, PSP, iPad, iPhone, Xbox360, and Android devices in different formats such as M4V, MP4, MKV formats.
3. Xilisoft DVD Copy for Mac
Xilisoft DVD Copy for Mac is another DVD burner for Mac which can make it extremely easy to copy and backup a DVD. You also get to choose what file or movie you want to copy at a destination. This software has a capability to duplicate DVDs on Mac OS with original video and audio quality. One of the easiest software to use with a clean interface. It is compatible with DVD-RAM, DVD+-R/RW, and almost all DVD burners and players.
4. DVD Cloner for Mac
One of the best DVD burner software, DVD Cloner for Mac makes it easy to copy DVD with quality. The software is capable of copying protection systems and accessing all the region codes. It gives freedom to copy DVDs no matter what encryptions it has, to various destinations such as ISO image file, blank DVD disc and more. It also provides you with different options while copying the file from the source such as movie-only copy, customized copy, movie complete copy and more. You can preview the movie title with an inbuilt DVD player to make sure that you have copied the correct content.
5. Leawo Bluray Copy for Mac
Leawo Bluray Copy for Mac is one of the best DVD/CD burners for mac which could be used to burn a DVD/CD. It helps you to backup DVD disc & Blu-ray and allows you to create a folder, ISO film disc with fast speed. The software can take 1:1 disc to disc backup of, DVD-9, BD25, DVD-5, and BD50 with original quality. The software can also copy 3D Blu-ray disc with 3D effect intact. With 1:1 Blu-ray disc copy mode, a 3D effect of a source file is not changed when copied to destination disc.
6. Filmora Video Editor
Yet another good DVD burning software for Mac is not only good for burning discs but also can edit videos with advanced tools such as Picture in Picture, audio mixer, split screen, screen recording and more. Import audio, videos, and photos of any format apply effects, make changes to the video with editing tools and then send the video to DVD. You will not face quality loss in videos, photos, and other content on burning DVD. It is compatible with MOV, FLV, MP4 and more.
7. Burn
Burn is an amazing DVD burner for Mac software which solves the purpose of burning DVDs and comes with advanced options too. It is considered as one of the best CD burner software for Mac as it burns audio-CD discs easily. All you need to do is drag and drop your audio files on Burns audio list. You can also change advanced settings such as file dates, file permissions and more. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about conversion, the software does that for you. You can also choose what quality and size of the content you want.
8. Disk Burner
One of the best CD burner software for Mac, Disk Burner makes it easy to store all your media and other content on CDs and DVDs. Moreover, it heeds attention to data security as well. The software is powerful and works fastly. To burn the disc, all you need to do is insert CD or DVD, select the folder and choose “Burn CD or DVD”
See Also: Best Free CD Recovery Software For Mac
9. Simply Burns
Simply Burns is one of the best DVD burning software for Mac which has a simpler interface. Simply Burns is an open source software. The software allows you to burn videos and photos to DVDs. 1:1 Copy mode helps to get the exact copy of the content. The Rip Disc mode enables you to grab the tracks from an Audio CD.
10. iTunes
iTunes is a default software for Mac which helps to organize, play and buy media files. Additionally, the native app acts as a DVD burner for Mac as well. You can burn DVDs and store your music files, movies, and other content. To do so, you need to create a playlist and drag and add content to the playlist. Then control-click the playlist and choose Burn Playlist to disc to initiate the process.
Best Software For Mac Computers
So, these are some of the best DVD burning software for Mac. Try the one that matches your requirements and let us know what worked for you in the comments section below. You can also subscribe to our Newsletter for the latest tech updates
Best Software For Mac
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