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WBPP Workflow

craig smith
in PixInsight
I am sure it is a challenge to keep up with the changes to Pixinsight and WBPP... especially with the recent significant changes.  I surely enjoy and appreciate your efforts.

Whenever you roll out a video update on WBPP in particular, it seems like you tend to dump in all of your raw files and generally don't reuse Master Bias and Dark files.  Does this reflect your typical way of working? Or, in practice, would you use (and ultimately archive, I suppose) Master calibration frames with a particular data set?

I was just wondering if the use of all the raw calibration files is because you are showing WBPP's capabilities or if that is actually what you generally tend to do for some reason?

Thanks and regards,
Craig

Comments

  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    Hi Craig,

    I keep all raw data- and usually rework from the raws. If I have processed one data set that I know to be good - I would not mind reusing the generated master files to save some time on processing another data set taking at nearly the same time- but I always keep the raw calibration data.

    Time and again users will use BAD MASTERS. And then... users will complain it is the software that is at fault- where it is the master calibration files that are bad. Without the original raw files there is no way to recover and no way to diagnose the issue.

    (Master) Darks go stale (in certain ways, depends on the sensor) over a period of time as the sensor changes its electronic signature and hot pixels. This period of optimal usability based on my criteria can be on the order of weeks to months. Flats that characterize the optical system certainly change on short time scales.

    So... masters do not persist. They are useful when you are calibrating (a lot of) contemporaneous data. 

    So my practice of using the raw calibration files always guarantees I am using the latest logic of the software, I am using the contemporaneous calibration data, and I can identify issues by looking at the data. The overhead on creating master darks and biases is very small. Flats have a larger overhead- but as I mention, these change more often and are more strongly coupled to the light frame data- so I accept this. 

    -the Blockhead
  • craig smith
    Okay, thanks.  I understand your reasoning and it makes sense.

    Craig
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