The basic differences between the functions magmax and magt are:
| magt | magmax | |
| Supported bands | R, I | U, B , V, R, I, J, H, K (short) |
| Time evolution support | YES | NO |
| Stretch factor support | YES | NO |
| Supported z range | R: 0.2 - 0.998 | z > 0 |
| I: 0.2 - 0.998 | Filter has to match redshifted spectrum, spectrum is from | |
| (1+z) * 2500 Å to (1+z) * 10000 Å |
For more informations on the filters used by magmax, see section 2.4 below.
Basically it is better to use magt than magmax (at the present version) because it takes several effects into account which are not taken into account by magmax. The accuracy of magmax can easily be updated in the future by just plugging in a better spectrum (see section 2.6 below). After this update, magmax is probably the more accurate function.
Conclusion: Before the update, use magt whenever possible, otherwise use magmax. After update: Use magmax whenever possible, otherwise use magt.