nora10•2mo ago

Question about those 'smart' telescope subscriptions

I spent $200 on a year of one for my new scope, but the auto-stacking and processing just makes everything look like a plastic video game. Has anyone found a better way to learn manual processing without going broke?

3 comments

3 Comments

fisher.diana2mo ago

Yeah, the auto-stacking can give everything that weird fake look. I started with Siril, it's free and their tutorials taught me the basics of manual stretching and color balance.

the_sarah2mo ago

Totally agree about the fake look, it's like every nebula ends up looking like the same plastic toy. The manual process feels slow at first, but you start seeing the real data, the actual dust clouds and faint details the auto stuff just smears into smooth paste. It stops being about making a pretty picture and more about showing what's actually out there, which is way cooler to me. That time you spend learning isn't wasted, it's the difference between having a filter slapped on and actually understanding what you're looking at.

jesse_barnes372mo ago

Man that subscription sounds like a total waste. It's just space pictures, does it really matter if they look a bit fake? Free software is fine but learning all that manual stuff seems like a huge time sink for what you get.