Real photographs · Failed quality check

This result failed.
Fine branches were lost.

This output is not acceptable. In a five-frame sequence processed at 3476 × 5208 pixels, fine tree branches are blurred or erased. The manual sky mask includes these branches; sky alignment and averaging then destroy detail. This is retained as a failed regression case, and its promotion is paused.

Inspect the failure at actual pixels.

The earlier claim that the manual mask preserved the canopy was incorrect. Start with region ③: branches visible in the reference lose detail in the output. Reduced grain in region ① does not pass the whole-image quality check. The original matching crops are preserved at the same coordinates and display brightness.

This real-photo result fails the quality check: fine branches are blurred or erased. The numbered comparison needs JavaScript and the image files; direct failure evidence is linked below.

Open the reference overview · Open the actual stacked overview · Read the case record

Earlier five-frame teaching case: 641 × 960 prepared JPEGs, with its own output and limits.

Photos: Filippo Dall’Aglio (@flick87), shared by Massimo Bill (@billznn). Original source and RAW files · CC BY-SA 4.0. Nightscape Stacker developed the RAWs, stacked and cropped these derivatives under the same license. The photographers have not endorsed this product.

Why this result failed.

Foreground detail — failed: fine branches mistakenly included in the sky mask are aligned and averaged as sky. The output blurs or erases them. They were not protected by keeping the unmasked foreground from a reference frame.
Sky noise: grain is reduced locally, but this does not compensate for lost branches or make the output acceptable.
Stars: look for doubling, stretching and broader profiles. A smoother sky does not by itself establish sharper stars.
Regression requirement: rerun from the original sequence after correcting the mask and processing safeguards. A replacement example must pass branch-detail, star-shape, corner and export checks before it can be promoted.

This sequence does not contain a prominent Milky Way core. It is retained as a failed nightscape regression case, with no claim of acceptable output, recovered faint Galactic detail or superiority to other tools. These are our own tests; the source photographers are not claimed as endorsing the product.

The cropped previews are 8-bit sRGB display files derived consistently from the developed reference and actual output. A 16-bit TIFF export does not add information missing from an input. Keep the actual source files and processing record when reproducing the comparison.

Read crop coordinates, observations and download links · View the earlier reduced teaching case

This case is not a quality recommendation.

Promotion of this example is paused. The browser beta remains free, but this result must not be used as proof that complex tree boundaries are handled correctly. Keep your originals and inspect any test output at actual pixels before relying on it.

Inspect the mask and project record · Read the processing report

Questions about a result? Contact contactjensennow@gmail.com with the browser, file format and processing report. You do not need to send your original photos in the first message.