I am trying to use Helicon Focus to stack macro shots, but I'm not getting very good results. Is there a trick that I'm missing? Here is the result of a shot of a spider taken with a Canon 40D, 100mm 2.8 macro lens. The sequence consists of 16 frames.
Is this because of subject movement, or is this typical even for stationary shots? Should I just dump all 16 frames into Photoshop and use masks to create the stacked arachnid masterpiece?
Try adjusting the rotation % param, and/or loosen up on the allowable vertical and horizontal deviation.
If everything fails, just stack with fewer shots, eliminate shots that "deviate" from the rest. From this angle it doesn't look like you need 16 shots anyways.
Your spider obviously moved when you were shooting, That'll never result in a good stack, artifact galore. I agree, take out the ones out of alignment or better yet, shoot when it's not windy (important for orb weavers since their webs are very susceptible to wind) and the subject is not moving.
And try CZP/CZM. Some stacks just work better in different software.... (I'm not saying CZP is /better/ just it might work better on some stacks - and it's free so you might as well have it in the arsenal!)
(Although I think in this case some subject movement may render this unstackable, but try what the others suggested!)
