Helicon Focus
by
, 02-16-2010 at 05:02 PM (7291 Views)
I have been inspired by Gary Parr to try some composite images for extreme depth of field, impossible sharpness for a single shot. He uses Helicon Focus to stack multiple images into a composite single image making everything tack sharp. This is my first attempt. I was using an f stop of 2.8 aka wide open and next time I will try this again with more images and also try it at f5.6, f8, and f11 to see what gives me the best results.
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It is an amazing program and free for a month! And I thought Photoshop could do everything...nope!
The results are not perfect but amazing considering the corals were shot at f2.8 meaning only about 1/4 of an inch was in focus per shot. The pink monti plate is about 6" deep and almost as wide, to give some idea of how impossible it would be to capture everything in a single photo. The blue/purple chalice is about 4-5 inches deep as well. The green coral is only about 1-2 inches from front to back.
The 3d model viewer that comes with Helicon Focus is a great toy! It makes your stacked images into a 3d representation that you can move and view in real time. It looks almost real when viewed in 3d, amazing to see.