Hi Brent,
Strictly speaking, you should apply deconvolution separately to each exposure master image because they will have different PSFs. But, having all of them the same optical system and similar acquisition conditions, they have probably also very similar PSFs, so it could work to apply a deconvolution process to the composed image I have never tried this, but I would be interested in looking at your results.
On the other hand, applying deconvolution to both images can be difficult because the noise levels can be different in each image. So that's what I would do:
- If you apply deconvolution to the composed image, I would mask the saturated stars in the larger exposure, just to avoid bringing out artifacts in the stars that come from the blending process.
- It can be possible to apply two different deconvolution processes to the composed image. You need to check the right option in HDRComposition to output the composition masks. With these masks, you can target any process exclusively to the long or the short exposure areas. This way, you can apply a deconvolution process to the shorter exposure with increased noise control.
- I always apply denoising after the composition process. You can use the composition masks as well, in order to denoise only the shorter or the longer exposure. That way, you can leave both exposures with a similar noise level.
Good luck.
Best regards,
Vicent.
