Integrating Images of different duration?

[JamieInCLT]

Hi all-

I am just getting started (both with PI and astrophoto in general), so please forgive the total newbie question ...

When working with several images of different duration (10s, 20s, 30s), should I integrate them all at once, or integrate the 10s together, and the 30s together, and combine the integrated (maybe via the HDRComposition)?  Assuming multiple of each duration...

I assume that the StarAlignment is all done together, so they are all registered (is this even right though?).

I know that I need to get more data- I am mostly passing the time using a dslr @ prime on my CPC until my CCD gets here...

Thanks,

-jamie

[pfile]

because PI can weight images in a stack by SNR, you can integrate images of different duration together. however, if your target is such that longer exposures have blown-out areas (M42 for example) then the right thing to do is separate stacks of the different exposure lengths followed by HDRComposition.