Archive 2022 · Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when.....

agrumpyoldsod
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when.....

Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when the lens you are using has significant focus breathing across the nearest to furthest focus point in a stack.

I tried using layers in PS and it did not work either.

The following was a render of a 40 shot stack of a subject at 433mm shot with an X2D-100C and 120/3.5 Macro lens, shot tethered and all focus shifts performed remotely (so there should not have been any movement) and I wasted far to long trying to fix the issues. I will shoot again from further away to see if I can reduce the issue.

All raw images are imported in to phocus where precisely the same adjustments/settings and lens correction algorithm is applied to all images.

F/9.0 1/160th ISO 64 -- lit by strobe

Hasselblad X2D 100C XCD 120 lens 120mm f/9.0 1/160s 64 ISO

f/8.0 1/160th ISO 64

Hasselblad X2D 100C XCD 120 lens 120mm f/8.0 1/160s 64 ISO

Sep 25, 2022 at 05:46 PM

Peter Figen
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when.....

Did you go into Helicon preferences and up the percentage of resizing that Helicon will do to match images? I think the default is something like 5 percent and the max is 30 percent. If that doesn't help then you can try Zerene Stacker. I use both and, generally, when one has issues the other is better but there is always some manual clean up no matter what.

Sep 25, 2022 at 07:38 PM

agrumpyoldsod
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when.....

Peter Figen wrote:
Did you go into Helicon preferences and up the percentage of resizing that Helicon will do to match images? I think the default is something like 5 percent and the max is 30 percent. If that doesn't help then you can try Zerene Stacker. I use both and, generally, when one has issues the other is better but there is always some manual clean up no matter what.

Hi -- nope and will do. I just reshot the set and these seems to work ok.

Clearly the settings in preferences make the difference. See below.

2% on lateral and rotation and 0% on resize

5% on lateral and rotation and 0% on resize

5% on lateral and rotation and 5% on resize - the clean image.

Sep 26, 2022 at 07:31 AM

agrumpyoldsod
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when.....

QUESTION ANSWERED - I will not follow from here

Sep 26, 2022 at 07:32 AM

Peter Figen
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when.....

agrumpyoldsod wrote:
QUESTION ANSWERED - I will not follow from here

The question was only partially answered so I hope you're still tuning in. There is one more crucial setting in the Helicon preferences - the setting for the type of interpolation used, and since I was not at a computer that had Helicon on it last night, I couldn't double-check that until this morning. You want to set that setting to Lanczos 8, the slowest and best interpolation algorithm choice in that drop down menu. That will also make a huge difference in some types of artifacting but will slow down the process, but who really cares if the results are better.

Sep 26, 2022 at 12:50 PM

agrumpyoldsod
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Can you folk recommend a better tool than Helicon-focus when.....

Yes still listening and I had selected L8 — using a Mac studio ultra nothing takes long.

The initial output from my tethered stacking can be seen HERE

Thanks

Sep 26, 2022 at 01:52 PM


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