Hello all,
The latest version of the PixInsight Standard core application, 1.0.1.223 Beta 3, is now available for download:
http://pleiades-astrophoto.com/download/STD/index.html Build 223 is another important step forward with the complete color management system that will be available in the final release.
This version is entirely based on our customized version of Qt 4.2.0 and PCL 1.0.1.81 (first release version of the PixInsight Class Library).
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New Color Management SystemNow PixInsight Standard is a fully color-managed application with advanced support of ICC profile transforms. Color management functionality is basically the same that we offered with the LE version, but the new implementation is a complete rewrite, much more efficient and accurate.
The new color management processes include the following:
ICCProfileTransform (ColorManagement category)
This process allows you to convert an image from its current ICC profile (or from the default profile, if it doesn't have a profile explicitly assigned) to the color space defined by another ICC profile. This process modifies pixel values to perform a transformation between two color spaces.
Take into account that ICC color profile transforms are performed with 16-bit accuracy. This is a good reason to apply profile conversions either at the very beginning or at the very end of the processing workflow, but not in the middle.
A typical use of ICCProfileTransform is when you have to prepare images for web deployment. You usually want to work into a wide gamut color space, such as Adobe RGB (1998), Apple RGB, or, even better, Beta RGB. However, web browsers are not color-managed applications (with a few exceptions), so they will simply ignore embedded ICC profiles and will always assume that pixel data are expressed in the sRGB standard color space. So if you have used a wide-gamut space in your workflow, it is absolutely necessary to transform your images to the sRGB space before deploying them to a web server. Otherwise, the people will not see your images as you intended them to be seen...
AssignICCProfile (ColorManagement category)
Contrarily to the previous process, this one never modifies pixel data. It simply assigns an ICC color profile to an image, but does not apply a color conversion. This is useful when you (or the creator of an image) have not embedded the correct profile for some reason. It is a pretty good idea to always embed the correct ICC profiles in your JPEG, TIFF and JPEG2000 images. PixInsight can also embed ICC profiles in FITS files, but don't expect other applications out there to be aware of this ;-)
ColorManagementSetup (Global category)
This is a global process that will let you configure the color management subsystem of PixInsight. It will allow you to select default ICC profiles for RGB and grayscale images, the colorimetric intent used to render images on the screen, policies that will be applied for mismatching and missing profiles, and so on. This is a standard color management setup utility, with similar functionality to other (serious) color-managed applications.
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New Divide process by Carlos MilovicThe
Divide! command-line application was developed by Carlos Milovic on 2005. It is an advanced tool for flat-fielding images obtained on nonlinear media, such as film. Yes, you've heard correctly: film. Film still exists, and also thousands of digitized film images, so this is not a trivial question at all. Now Divide is available as a process of the standard PixelMath category.
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Feel free to write on PixInsight Forum to let us know your suggestions, opinions, complaints, criticisms, and of course bug discoveries.
Enjoy it!
The Pleiades Software Development Team
