Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote

[wcfn100]

If you haven't looked at Helicon Focus in a while, it's up to version 5.1.

The first thing you'll notice is the new price, $200.  With that new price however you get some extra software, namely Helicon Remote.  Helicon Remote will control your camera and automates the picture taking process.

I used a Nikon D90 with a 60mm macro lens.  I picked the closest point I wanted in focus and then the furthest and the software did the rest including taking the pictures.  There were 44 images made overall.  Those images were ported over to Helicon Focus and all I had to do is run them.  Not all cameras are supported, so check the list.



As some will notice there is no more watermark, but the trial is only 30 days.  Doing  a photo like this, I don't think I could have gotten it the first (or second) try.  My experience tells me I would have created some halo artifacts to be dealt with.  The shot above is my first attempt.

I can't wait to try it on something with actual lighting, or heaven forbid, scenery.


Jason

[bbussey]

Sweet!  I have a D70s, which isn't supported unfortunately, but I might still do the upgrade to take advantage of the other enhancements.  If I was doing a lot of macro photography, I would update the camera body to a D90.

[AlkemScaleModels]

..............
As some will notice there is no more watermark, but the trial is only 30 days.  Doing  a photo like this, I don't think I could have gotten it the first (or second) try.  My experience tells me I would have created some halo artifacts to be dealt with.  The shot above is my first attempt.

I can't wait to try it on something with actual lighting, or heaven forbid, scenery.


Jason

Jason,

Try it on a scene where there is a solitary object in the foreground (like a telephone pole) and then gap of a couple feet to the backdrop or other object in the background that you also want to be sharp. That is the situation that usually causes halos. I am not sure that automated control can help in that situation.

[lashedup]

The halos primarily are dependent on the number of photos you stack up and how much of a parallax difference you get from front shots to rear shots. The parallax issue can be controlled or mitigated a bit depending on the lens you are using. A fixed lens closer to 60mm has fewer issues than a wide-angle or wide-angle zoom.

[tom mann]

great results!

[wcfn100]

Jason,

Try it on a scene where there is a solitary object in the foreground (like a telephone pole) and then gap of a couple feet to the backdrop or other object in the background that you also want to be sharp. That is the situation that usually causes halos. I am not sure that automated control can help in that situation.

In a macro setting you can get halos on a single subject.

Your scenario with the telephone pole is a great example to talk about halos, how they happen.  In my experience, the halos are caused by two factors, the shift of position in the frame and relative brightness of foreground objects between exposures.  As you move your focal point back, the telephone pole will shift position in the frame.  What also happens is the auto exposure on the camera will will change the brightness of the pole.  With those two events, halos can appear.

What the software does for you is makes it easy to set the camera to manual exposure (nikon only) and will set many more exposures (which could help with foreground object).  I never would have taken 44 images for the car above.  I really doubt it's necessary.  But in your scenario, it may help eliminate the halos.  The software also locks the mirror between shot which is nice.

I will try to set something up later today to see what I get.


Jason

[GaryHinshaw]

That is a great shot.

How is file management handled with those 44 exposures?  Is there an option to automatically delete intermediate products so you don't have to deal with a fire hose full of data?

Thanks,
Gary

[wazzou]

Jason -

I have the same camera body.  What 60mm lens are you using specifically?

[wcfn100]

How is file management handled with those 44 exposures?  Is there an option to automatically delete intermediate products so you don't have to deal with a fire hose full of data?

Helicon Remote sets up a temp folder which gets deleted.  All that's left is a folder of your images in sequence.  The software then asks if you want to put those images into Helicon Focus and will load them if you want.

I did some experimenting and indeed got the halo effect when trying to cover a close object with a distant background.  These were shot at 24mm.


The first shot had the subject too close but it does show the difference between focus (gun butt) and halo (head and right arm).



The second have the subject back further but the halo around the head and shoulders is present.



The next two show about the breakover point for when the halo starts.





This last one a shot at f22 (the previous were f5.6).  Much of the halo is gone, but still fairly present where the right arm meets the carpet.



The is still more to look at but regardless of anything else, Helicon Remote cut what would have taken a few hours into about 50 min.

Ultimately there are limitations.  In this case I could run two batches (to the end of the table and then beyond) and take care of the rest in Photoshop.

Jason

[wcfn100]

I have the same camera body.  What 60mm lens are you using specifically?

Nikon AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED


Jason

[up1950s]

This stuff is amazing . I can see where a photo can be more helpful because in real life we have to re-focus to the various distance , now the whole shebang is clear . The younger generation will have some awesome 3/4 shots to download as this technology grows .

[bicknell]

I just love this stuff, people are doing so many cool things.  I firmly suspect a few years from now panoramic stitch and stacking technology like this will be in mainstream tools like iPhoto.

The people who need to get on the stick though are manufacturers.  With all the web based selling pictures matter more than ever.  They should be making awesome helicon focus style shots and putting them on the web in super high resolution so you can see before you reserve or buy.

[lashedup]

I have the same camera body.  What 60mm lens are you using specifically?

Nikon AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED


Jason

Did you use the 60mm specifically in the shots you took above (PlayMobil guy)? You mentioned taking those at 24mm, so I just wanted to clarify.

The 60mm will handle the halo's better as there will be far less parallax (shifting of planes from the front of the shot to the rear) than with a wide angle lens. The wide angle lens (particularly wide-angle zooms) can also suffer from barrel distortion, light fall-off and vignetting all potentially contributing to halo and other issues, but those would more likely show up at the corners. As you discovered, stopping it down to F22 or higher will also help halo issues quite a bit. However stopping it down too much can also make light falloff more pronounced and can degrade the image somewhat. At the narrow focus bands that Helicon is operating at, this is likely not going to be much of an issue.

You could go to a higher focal length macro like the Nikkor 85mm, which compresses the image a bit and has even less parallax issues. However you'll have to position yourself farther from the subject adding other complications.

Helicon is a great tool though and working through these issues is mild compared to the results when it works well.



- jamie

[wcfn100]

Did you use the 60mm specifically in the shots you took above (PlayMobil guy)? You mentioned taking those at 24mm, so I just wanted to clarify.

No, I'm not that good.  After I posted I wondered if I should have said something about the different lens.  I guess I shouldn't wonder with this group.;D  I just used the default 18-55mm that comes with the basic setup.

You could go to a higher focal length macro like the Nikkor 85mm, which compresses the image a bit and has even less parallax issues. However you'll have to position yourself farther from the subject adding other complications.

I rented a 105mm macro a couple years ago, and as you said, the longer focal length can do some wierd things.



The halo issue has several culprits.  Bernie's example is a perfect one as it is easily repeatable.  Like any software, you have to learn the limitations (after pushing them) and work within.  It's really no big deal to shoot the foreground and background in separate stacks and combine them in PS. It's just knowing ahead of time that can same some headache and time.


Jason

[DKS]

While lenses in the 50-60mm range work better in these applications, as noted they can create the effect of using a long telephoto in real life. Most macro lenses tend to create similar effects. The example below was taken with a 50mm lens using Helicon to combine 13 images. The range covered in the view is from two inches (coal trestle, lower right) to two feet (rock face in background). Note, however, that the bridge girders appear parallel. The telephoto effect is not necessarily bad, but it's not desirable under all circumstances, and I think this example is best characterized as "flat" (not to mention "boring").



In the second example, I carefully composed the scene to take advantage of the telephoto effect; I also deliberately allowed the focus to fall off in the distance to keep the image from looking too cluttered, to give it more depth, to add a little drama, and to maintain attention on the foreground. Only four images were taken, and there were suprisingly few halo artifacts.



A lower angle can help improve matters, but this can be really difficult to achieve, especially in small scales. This example is more dramatic, but suffers from acute halo artifacts, in spite of the fact that it's a 19-image stack.



Wide-angle lenses provide more realistic views, but as noted they're a challenge to use. Ideally what one needs is a macro wide-angle lens. I have a 20mm wide-angle lens, and my thought was to make it a "poor-man's macro" using an extension tube. But the shortest tube I can get (12mm) pushes the lens out way too far, severly limiting the focal range. So, I'm working on making my own ~6mm extension tube.

Meanwhile, I think my Canon 40D is Helicon Remote compatible--it has "live view" mode--so I will definitely have to give this a try.