Why does nobody stack images anymore?

I spent 3 hours last weekend trying to pull detail out of a single shot of M31 and got nowhere. Then I remembered a tutorial from 2018 about stacking just 20 frames in DSS. Tried it with my old Canon 60D and a 200mm lens. The difference was so big I felt dumb for not doing it sooner. Anyone else skip stacking because it seems like a hassle?

3 comments

3 Comments

noah_chen172mo ago

Stacking is basically like free SNR, so why wouldn't you do it? I get that it seems like a chore, but running 20-50 frames through DSS takes maybe ten minutes of actual effort. It's not that serious, just let the software do the heavy lifting and move on.

smith.ray2mo ago

Read somewhere that even 10 frames can make a noticeable difference in noise reduction.

leow901mo ago

Actually, even just stacking a few frames (like 2-3) can give you a small but real boost in SNR. The gains are logarithmic though, so the jump from 1 to 10 frames is actually way bigger than from 100 to 110. That first handful really does the heavy lifting in terms of noise reduction.