Test of Helicon remote for stacking

[DanK]

I have been testing Helicon Remote as a way of controlling changes in focus for stacked images. First, the last images I obtained:



and a crop of the anthers:



I thought this was a pretty good test because it would be reasonably apparent if the program was using steps that are too large, leaving out-of-focus areas. I did this with a Canon 5D3 and a Canon 100mm f/2.8 L macro, no tubes, f/8, fairly close to MWD.

I started with the default steps calculated by the program (correction factor=1). Clear gaps. I then reshot the stack with a correction factor of .8, which narrows the dept of each step and in this case increased the number of steps from 8 to 11. It didn't quite work; many areas that had been OOF in the original were in focus in this attempt, but one area went out of focus. I shot again with a correction factor of .7. This appears to be not quite a small enough step. If you blow up the crop (you might not be able to do this enough from this site), it looks like there are three small areas still not quite in focus.

I'm out of time but will try smaller correction factors and see how they work. I have to say that if I can get the software to work consistently, it will be a big help: no more guessing about changes in focus, and you can just start it and read while it chugs away.

I have found what appears to be a bug in the program, but I won't post that until they have a chance to respond to my inquiry about it.

[Stagecoach]

Looking good Dan, but at this resolution difficult to judge well.

I too have just been experimenting with Helicon Remote and my initial conclusion was that it was superior to the 'ControlMyNikon' program I had been using. Initial tests were with a 0.3mm hypodermic needle as subject to set my correction factor but have since had major computer problems and all has been shelved until I'm fully sorted again.

[FrankMi]

Looking good Dan, but at this resolution difficult to judge well.

I too have just been experimenting with Helicon Remote and my initial conclusion was that it was superior to the 'ControlMyNikon' program I had been using. Initial tests were with a 0.3mm hypodermic needle as subject to set my correction factor but have since had major computer problems and all has been shelved until I'm fully sorted again.

I played with it a bit as well and will be doing more in the near future. In my test I setup to shoot from about 10 inches to infinity to see what it would do. I didn't think the test all the way through and as a result, didn't notice how many shots were involved. It was also outdoors just a few inches above the ground in a grassy area.

I went back in the house and when I returned, the wind had picked up, the sun's shadows changed much more significantly than I would have anticipated, and I had a stack of 751 images! Needless to say, with the changes in wind driven motion and lighting conditions, the stack was useless as a whole. But I did see great results across smaller numbers of frames and it certainly proved that it could handle large stacks with a dramatic DoF!

[DanK]

I just tried a correction factor of .6--seems to work well, at least with this test shot. I'll post the shots below.

The bottom line, if my experience is any indication, is that the software does what it says, but you have to be prepared to spend some time testing to figure out the right setting for your equipment, rather than relying on defaults.

BTW, I did the stacking for these in Zerene PMax. I opted for that because it is the best I know for preserving fine detail, so it seemed like the best test of the stack intervals.

[ashcroft]

Have you seen this, Dan, on the Helicon website? http://www.heliconsoft.com/focus/hel...conRemote.html About 1/3 down there's a section on finding the correct factor for your lens. I tried 0.6 and it didn't seem to make much difference, but I need to try some more stacks.

[ashcroft]

... also, have you seen their forum for tech issues? I raised a question yesterday about heat. http://www.heliconsoft.com/forum/vie...=12&t=8343&e=0

[DanK]

Have you seen this, Dan, on the Helicon website? http://www.heliconsoft.com/focus/hel...conRemote.html About 1/3 down there's a section on finding the correct factor for your lens. I tried 0.6 and it didn't seem to make much difference, but I need to try some more stacks.

Rob,

Thanks. Yes, I started with their test, and it seemed fine to me at the default of 1, but it turned out not to be. I think the issue may be that I used a piece of denim, much like the one on their website, and that didn't have enough fine detail to show the problems. Pollen grains have a lot more fine detail.

Their tech support wrote explaining that one other quirk I found was a matter of camera settings, and they told me how to deal with it.

All in all, I think it is worth it for me because I do a great deal of stacking of images I take with a tripod. I'll stick with Zerene for the stacking itself.

Dan