Author Topic: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote  (Read 12832 times)

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DKS

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #15 on: September 14, 2010, 03:48:39 PM »
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A few random lessons learned at Lee's.

1. Spend more time testing things (if possible). I tried the software with the camera exactly once before going down to Lee's (that was the day before, after just having installed the software). It worked fine at home, but at Lee's, the lens wasn't focusing under remote control. There are a bazillion settings on both the camera and the software that have to agree before it all works (most of the defaults in the software were correct). It was faster to just manually focus the camera than to figure out what it wasn't happy about, so I did all of the focusing by hand. That said, even though auto-focusing was SOL, Helicon Remote still offered the advantages of being able to control all other aspects of the camera, including a manual shutter release, plus see a live view of what the camera was seeing. The value of all of this cannot be overstated, particularly when the camera is nearly inaccessible, as it was in this case:



Helicon Remote also stored all of the images locally on the hard drive, instead of on the camera card, so it was one click to load the stack into Helicon Focus and process it. At the end of the day, losing auto-focus wasn't even a real issue.

2. Take more images than you think you need. Ordinarily I take about a dozen or so. In the first series I shot, the main subject was soft because it landed in between two shots. The combination of a wide-angle lens (20mm), a large-ish aperture (f/8) and a long field of view (from a few inches to a few feet) meant I needed a pile of images--two or three dozen. Disk space is too cheap these days to worry about how much space you use.

3. Shoot between f/8 and f/11. There's often a temptation to stop down for greater depth of field so you don't have to shoot as much. But smaller apertures lead to greater diffraction, which reduces sharpness. (http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/diffraction.html) And besides, Helicon Focus is all about compensating for shallow depth of field; it was originally created for micro-photography, where the DOF is about as deep as paper. You only need to shoot more pictures to make up for the larger aperture.

More thoughts as they occur to me.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2010, 04:49:21 PM by David K. Smith »

DKS

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #16 on: September 14, 2010, 06:29:07 PM »
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I was asked off-board about the "tripod" that can be glimpsed in this shot Lee posted--



That's a DIY thingy I built just for the shoot to hold the camera on its side down close to the ground. It cost just a few bucks and took just a few minutes to make. It consists of one 5-inch angle bracket and two 6-inch flat brackets, bolted together with 10-24 flat-head screws and nuts, plus four rubber feet. I also applied a piece of self-stick felt pad to the bracket to help hold the camera secure, since it would otherwise come loose too easily.



The camera is mounted to the "tripod" with a DIY knob-bolt assembly. I found a knob with a 1/4-20 threaded insert (camera tripod mounts are universally 1/4-20), so I cut a piece of 1/4-20 bolt to thread into it to make an attachment knob.



It's pretty versatile, since you can swivel the feet around as needed. Presumably one could also add another L-bracket to hold the camera horizontally, essentially making a "low boy" tripod.



Everything to make one can be found at Lowes, or most any big box outlet or good hardware store.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2010, 07:56:43 PM by David K. Smith »

bicknell

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #17 on: September 14, 2010, 08:55:48 PM »
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Awesome job.

GaryHinshaw

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #18 on: September 14, 2010, 10:56:27 PM »
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Awesome job.

Ditto.  Can't wait to see the cover shot!

Chris333

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #19 on: September 15, 2010, 12:49:55 AM »
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So why not a story about the story?

wm3798

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #20 on: September 15, 2010, 08:02:38 AM »
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...it's complicated. ;D
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Ian MacMillan

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #21 on: September 15, 2010, 11:06:48 AM »
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...it's complicated. ;D

And better left for Playboy
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Sokramiketes

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #22 on: September 15, 2010, 11:27:07 AM »
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If the auto-focus is working, a bean bag works great as a slimline tripod too when you can set the camera and control everything remotely.  Though admittedly not as fancy or showy as the DKS tripod, it does help contour to scenery, and can be soft enough not to damage some scenery materials.  DKS's solutions are always elegant.  It reminds me of the woodworkers who put more effort into a fancy jig than in the final product produced via the contraptions.   :)

DKS

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #23 on: September 15, 2010, 11:35:29 AM »
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If the auto-focus is working, a bean bag works great as a slimline tripod too when you can set the camera and control everything remotely.  Though admittedly not as fancy or showy as the DKS tripod, it does help contour to scenery, and can be soft enough not to damage some scenery materials.  DKS's solutions are always elegant.  It reminds me of the woodworkers who put more effort into a fancy jig than in the final product produced via the contraptions.   :)

Thanks for the kind words... almost makes it sound like the tripod is better than the image, though...

The only problem with a beanbag is when the camera is on its side, such as this case. The cable emerges from the side of the camera on which it would otherwise be resting. Might be able to flip the camera over, but the viewfinder would then be pushing into the tunnel.

Ed Kapuscinski

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #24 on: September 15, 2010, 11:57:04 AM »
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I really like the tripod. I think I might end up making one myself.

I never realized the mountings were all 1/4-20.

Ian MacMillan

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #25 on: September 15, 2010, 12:39:42 PM »
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I never realized the mountings were all 1/4-20.

Really? I thought that was a geek thing we were all required to know.
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delamaize

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #26 on: September 15, 2010, 12:58:23 PM »
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Damn, the Nikon D40 is on the No-Go list
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wcfn100

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #27 on: September 15, 2010, 01:01:52 PM »
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Damn, the Nikon D40 is on the No-Go list

Yeah, the camera has to have a 'Live View' to use the remote function.


Jason

DKS

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #28 on: September 15, 2010, 01:54:59 PM »
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The list is not comprehensive. Mine isn't listed, but it has live view, so it works. Just need to check the camera features.

bbussey

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Re: Helicon Focus 5.1 w/ Helicon Remote
« Reply #29 on: September 15, 2010, 03:00:45 PM »
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Damn, the Nikon D40 is on the No-Go list

Has to be at least a D90 in the Nikon series.  I'm in the same boat with a D70s, but at least a D90 body takes the same lenses.
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