Celestron Nightscape 8300 CCD Camera AstroFX Imaging Software Manual - Page 12

SATURATE Is the sixth tab from left (Figure 9) and enables you to enhance the color intensity of your images. The light from all but the brightest of our ancient targets is dim. Even with your sensitive Nightscape camera, many colors will be diluted, and therefore not make as bold an artistic statement as you might like. It is therefore, adaptive saturation that allows you to enhance the depth of color to your taste. Artistry aside, color has scientific value as well, (Figure 9 - SATURATE Screen) as it clearly delineates structure and different chemical compositions. Get to know the teal look of OIII (Oxygen 3), the pink-red of Ha (Hydrogen alpha), and the blues and golds of many galaxies. Studying this and the work of fine astro-imagers is beneficial for learning how to produce artful, yet tasteful color schemes. Saturation Adjustment is the tool to accomplish your goal. The Color Boost slider lets you choose the amount of saturation to a maximum of 2x. Taper feathers the color boost so that the transition between unsaturated and saturated areas looks natural. Just as with SMOOTH and SHARPEN, saturating can be easily accomplished by allowing AFX to automatically determine which brightness levels to enhance. Midtones and Highlights will be saturated, while background sky and dimmest areas will be left as is. Simply use the Auto settings for both the Lower limit of full boost and Upper limit of full boost at right. For more control, choose Mouse for either, or both levels. The pop-up balloons will instruct you on how to set them. Drag the green marker line to the location on the histogram where you wish saturation to begin. Saturation in brightness levels below the green line will not be boosted. Drag the red marker line to the area on the graph where you wish saturation to terminate. This may help in not oversaturating stars. All levels between the red and green marker lines will be saturated at the Saturation Adjustment slider setting. All levels above the red marker line will not be enhanced. Alternatively, you can double-click in the histogram to set the levels. Apply applies the filter. If you are not satisfied, simply click Undo to try again. 11 www.celestron.com