Evaluation of Popular Photometry Analysis Softwares Using DSLR Camera

The Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera combined with a small aperture telescope is an efficient equipment for an astronomy-related lab exercise. This paper compares the different photometry softwares to provide insights on using the GUI-based photometry tool to the conventional command-line based photometry tool. The magnitude of the same point source measured within the aperture is consistent regardless of the software used although the background estimation, partial pixel treatment, and error estimation are slightly different. In a crowded field image where the aperture photometry is less reliable, the aperture photometry with varying aperture size is useful to see the qualitative trend for the magnitude. Due to the variation in ISO settings and the color dependence on the RGB Bayer system, an initial uncertainty of ~0.15mag is expected to be embedded in the magnitude derived from the DSLR images.