PI Tutorials from Warren Keller and Rogelio Bernal Andreo

[marekc]

If it's okay with Juan, I'm going to give the Warren/RBA tutorials an enthusiastic endorsement, because one of them really helped me out of a jam recently.

I shot some unbinned LRGB data on M33 back in the autumn, and I spent months trying to get the linear image deconvolved. I have had decent results with Deconvolution before, but I couldn't get either the Luminance image, nor the RGB image, to deconvolve. I kept getting subtle ringing, no matter what I did.

(In the end, I realized the futility of unbinned LRGB, and just went with the RGB data. But the problem still remained - I kept getting this ringing!)

After watching the IP4AP video(s?) about Deconvolution, I got a much better result! There is some straightforward advice on how to determine the PSF, and it made all the difference in the world. I don't want to say more, since giving away this information would feel a bit like pirating music, and I want RBA and Warren to be rewarded for their hard work. I'll say this, though: After beating my head against Deconvolution for so many months, it was well worth the money to get past that point!

The image in question is my most recent M33 image:

http://photonshotnoise.blogspot.com/2013/02/2012s-m33-at-last.html

Thanks for the useful advice, guys! It helped me a lot!

- Marek

[h0ughy]

I just bought the DVD and it arrived a few days ago.  After over 12 months of rain and cloud i have had no imaging done but i am sure to put this to good use.  its great to se the positive results from the tutorials - it shows promise for some one as thick as me!

[DHG1960]

I have had a look at the IP4AP webpage and underdstood it quite differently.  It states quite clearly that part 1 consists of 22 vids totaling about 2,5 hours, it is not downloadable and costs 60$. There is also DVD for 70$.  The link to part 2 also states quite clearly that this costs another 40$ and consists currently of 7 parts totaling 30 minutes and that more will follow free of charge.  Just what and how much in part 2 will follow is not mentioned -  or if there will be parts 3,4,5 ...
I did have a look at the free demo vids, they do appear to be of good quality and clear to understand but from these and the listed topics I would suggest they are for absolute beginners.  I personaly am relatively new to PI but have imaging experiance and find them simply to basic.  I am also not keen on the idea of not being able to download them.  I think the series from Harry are an excelant start for beginers to intermediates and also free of charge.

Dave

[phcjpp]

I have both series 1 and 2 subscriptions and recently bought the DVD (at a discount of course). The authors were perfectly happy for me to have the DVD ripped into iTunes so i could make it 'portable' for when I travel which was a refreshing change of attitude!

The authors clearly wanted to cover everything from the ground up so they do of course have some basic stuff in there. What I really like about the videos is that they make a real effort to tell you what settings work. That is, they get you going and allow you to produce good images very quickly without pain. I really like this as with literally billions of combinations of settings in PI you could get lost for ever.

I give the series a big thumbs up. When used in combination with Harry's videos, the PI official 2 part LRGB tutorial and the Drake Visual workflows you are onto a winner.

Cheers
Chris

[Warhen]

Hello gents, I'd not followed this thread until now and wanted to thank you, particularly Marek and Chris for their kind comments. And Marek, thank you so very much for the blog mention! We do indeed work very hard on the tutorials and I'm so pleased to see they are having positive results. I join everyone in applauding Harry's efforts. He's been very supportive and was also helpful to us early on. 

Dave, just to clarify- that is correct, as I produce a series, it is in 'rolling release'. You buy in for a significantly discounted price, in exchange for patience while we write/edit/produce. There are now 15 chapters in Part-2 done! When that completes, we'll go to DVD as well. As to your question, I'm not certain when that will be. We all realize at this point how rich/dense the program is and that it is being added to consistently, so it's difficult to say 'let's call it a day'. As an example, I would not have been able to cover the brand new TGVDenoise.

My current feeling is to again go to ~20+ chapters at ~2.5h+ as it's digestible and lends itself well to a DVD. If that's the scenario, Part-3 would begin with advanced techniques- mosaicking, advanced wavelets, Narrowband, etc. While we would again charge a low, rolling release price for it, we would accommodate subscribers to Part-2 by granting access to 3 at an even lower cost (perhaps even nominal though don't quote me yet) than new subscribers.

As you point out, the DVD is convenient for offline viewing, and the inability to save streams can be an inconvenience. Bear in mind though, that our streams now allow the tuts to be viewed on nonFlash pads/tablets via HTML5, so that's something to consider, and as Chris said, we are always ready to work with our client family to get you what you need at an affordable price.

One thing I'd vehemently defend is the importance of Part-1 having started at the very beginning. As some of you know, I was a documentarian of Photoshop beforehand and took the same 'Square-1' approach. There are many intermediate, even advanced processors who missed the most basic tricks and shortcuts. I feel it's essential to cover the workspace thoroughly, and this is never a waste of time, even for professionals.

Thanks again to you all for your support. It is much appreciated.