Description
Fusion – The Adobe Photoshop CC plug-in to merge images
Buy Fusion from the new website.
Official page here.
Buy now “Fusion”, the only panel that allows you in Adobe Photoshop CC to stack the Milky Way and deep sky, merge of images to simulate the silk effect and Startrail.
Principali caratteristiche del Panel
This plug-in has advanced features to merge images for any kind of photography and drastically reduce CPU time and activity by taking advantage of the Adobe Photoshop CC Core.
In Fusion we find five main sections with their dedicated functions:
– The “SILK” or silk effect section can also be obtained without the aid of ND filters. In fact with Fusion you can add dozens of clicks to get the same effect;
– The “STARTRAIL” section adds up to hundreds of images to obtain beautiful linear startrails and with particular effects on the stars;
– The “SKY STACK” section allows you to add images of the Milky Way and the deep sky very quickly. You can insert light frames, dark, bias and flat;
– The “SKY HDR” section is one of the most advanced features of Fusion and blends up to 3 different exposures in one to achieve a dynamic range at night without equal;
– The “TOOLS” section with advanced functions dedicated to the management of brightness masks and color masks, now also integrates the advanced selection of real-time masks and commands for resizing images;
The SILK Panel
Load Files: This button allows you to select the files to be merged to obtain the silk effect.
Generic Alignment: This switch activates the automatic alignment of the levels, the one accessible to all in the section Edit> Automatic level alignment, and automatically finds the alignment method. [Tip: when using this alignment method, possibly also activate the lens correction for a better result].
Tripod Alignment: This switch does the exact same thing as the generic alignment switch, but as an alignment method it uses ” Reposition ” instead of ” Automatic ”.
Lens Correction: This function allows you to open files by applying the distortion and vignetting correction available within the Camera Raw plug-in.
Chromatic Aberration: With this function we can also activate the removal of chromatic aberrations, also available in the Camera Raw plug-in.
Merge: Clicking this button starts the merge, and at the end of it a message will appear that will show the time taken for the merging process of the shots.
The STARTRAIL Panel
Load Files: This button allows you to select the files to be merged to obtain the startrail effect.
Generic Alignment: This switch activates the automatic alignment of the levels, the one accessible to all in the section Edit> Automatic level alignment, and automatically finds the alignment method. [Tip: when using this alignment method, possibly also activate the lens correction for a better result]
Comet Star Effect: This switch allows you to activate the fusion with the falling star effect.
Lens Correction: This function allows you to open files by applying the distortion and vignetting correction available within the Camera Raw plugin.
Chromatic Aberration: With this function we can also activate the removal of chromatic aberrations, also available in the Camera Raw plugin.
Rotation Direction: This switch allows you to activate the fusion with the shooting star effect.
Merge: Clicking this button starts the merge, and at the end of it a message will appear that will show the time taken for the merging process of the shots.
The SKY STACK and SKY HDR Panel
LIGHT: This button allows you to select the light files to be merged.
DARK: This button allows you to select the dark files to be merged.
BIAS: This button allows you to select the bias files to be merged.
FLAT: This button allows you to select the flat files to be merged.
It is possible to select or not the files, except for the lights that must always be selected.
ALIGNMENT: With this switch you can activate the alignment of the levels, and it is the one available on Photoshop in File> Automate> Photomerge. Its accuracy is good but approximate. If the photos are not aligned correctly, they are discarded.
DUAL PASS ALIGNMENT: With this switch it is possible to activate the second alignment step. Activating this function, in fact, the photos will be aligned in an approximate way through the automatic alignment of Photoshop, to then be aligned to the maximum precision in a second step (with the maximum tolerance set in the slider “Alignment Precision”). This alignment algorithm is proprietary and is not present in any other Photoshop function.
ALIGNMENT PRECISION: With this slider you can change the accuracy of the alignment. The recommended value is 3 pixels, as an ideal compromise between precision and alignment speed. The lower the pixel value, the greater the accuracy but also the time required for alignment.
MAX ALIGN RADIUS: With this slider you can change the maximum radius in which you can align two images. If the set value is for example 15 pixels, the maximum possible alignment distance will be 15 pixels.
If the photos are not aligned correctly, they are discarded.
AREA WIDTH: With this slider you can change the width of the selection area. This command must be used keeping in mind that the greater the size of the area, the greater the calculation time necessary for each iteration of the Dual Pass Alignment, but in favor of precision.
For a normal 24MPX photo, the recommended approximate size is 150 / 250px, but if possible it is always better to prefer a larger area than necessary rather than too small.
LENS CORRECTION: This function allows you to open files by applying the distortion and vignetting correction available within the Camera Raw plugin.
CHROMATIC ABERRATION: With this function we can also activate the removal of chromatic aberrations, also available in the Camera Raw plugin.
ALIGNMENT HELPER: In some cases it may happen that the alignment of Photoshop fails to correctly process the alignment of the images due to particular lighting conditions. With this switch it is possible to favor alignment by performing 7 maximum attempts by varying some parameters. In this way, if without the help of the Alignment Helper a good part of the photos were discarded at the end of the elaboration, it is possible to repeat the fusion activating this function, allowing with good probability also to align the images that had otherwise been discarded.
THRESHOLD: This slider allows to act on the threshold parameter of the Dual Pass Alignment alignment. If you don’t know its impact in depth, it’s always best to keep it at 128. It’s an advanced command that allows the user to set the threshold to extract stars from the sky. For underexposed photos it may be necessary to bring this value to the left, while for overexposed photos to the right.
It should be used sparingly, with the ultimate aim of making the alignment stars more evident. To set the optimal value, simply click the “Place” button under the “Alignment Zone”, click on the selection with the right mouse button and select “Deselect” (or for the more experienced click the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + D for the Windows users or Command + D for Mac users), then go to Image> Adjustments> Threshold, and move the slider so that you see the stars in a defined way, but avoiding artifacts such as stars that should be round that become deformed white spots etc. Perfection would be a big star that can be made as round as possible. Then find the best value for you, keep it in mind, and after clicking Cancel (or possibly OK, it is not influential), you can set that value correctly on the “Threshold” slider.
If you have not previously selected the alignment area you will have to click the “Place” button again and then when you have finished, click on “Confirm”, or if you have previously selected the area, you can trivially close the document.
PLACE: This button allows you to take the first photo.
The positioning of the alignment must be done with a very precise criterion, that is to say it must be centered on the largest possible star. In addition to the dual pass alignment area, it can be used to find the most appropriate threshold value.
CONFIRM: At the end of the positioning, it will be enough to click this button.
START: With this key it is possible to start the stacking process.
RESET: This button has the function of setting the values of the sliders to the default values.
With the purchase of Astro Panel you will find in the package the user manual with the detailed description of the functions and the installation guide.
The user manual is always updated, so every time you can download it from the download area of the site.
Fusion is compatible with Adobe Photoshop from CC 2015 and above!!!
Check your Photoshop version from the Help menu -> About Photoshop CC.
For any clarification please write to the contact form on the website and we will reply as soon as possible.
