Helicon Focus
A review by Craig Lamson
"As far as the eye can see" copyright Craig Lamson 2009
The promise of infinite focus
We have all had that oh-so-perfect image perfectly framed in our viewfinder. Carefully we check the light meter and select the proper exposure based on our desired depth of focus. With great anticipation we press the shutter release and capture the fleeing moment of time for posterity.
Once back at the computer we process our new masterpiece and open it up at 100% in Photoshop zooming in and scrolling around to admire all the wonderful detail. This joyous moment is often spoiled when we discover that our masterpiece suffers from areas of soft focus that spoil our desired result. With the standard method of stopping the lens down to f16, f22 or more to extend depth of focus, we again find disappointment at 100%. Lens diffraction has robbed the image of all the fine detail.
Depth of focus is controlled in a few different ways. Focal length of the lens, wider angle lenses giving more depth of focus. Camera to subject focusing distance, focusing on objects closer to the camera reduces depth of field in most instances. Selecting a smaller aperture, the smaller the f-stop the greater depth of focus. Using a tilt shift lens or a technical camera to change the plane of focus to increase depth of focus. Even with all of these creative options at our command, there are times when they are simply not enough to fulfill our creative vision.
Enter
Now, thanks to the good folks at Helicon Soft
http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconfocus.html
Their product, Helicon Focus, lets you extend the depth of
focus in your digital photographs by taking a number of “focus bracketed” images
of the same scene, and blending them to create the final, extreme depth of focus
image. I’m
a photographer…not a software wiz.
I don’t really know what’s happening “under the
hood” but it works and works very well. For this review I was supplied with a
copy of the most current version of Helicon Focus, V4.8.
Let’s check it out!
As easy as
Shooting the frames.
You need to plan ahead when you consider using this program for a photograph. A tripod and a remote shutter release, while not required, will yield the very best results. Likewise your choice of subject matter for extended depth of focus photography is important. Things that move in your scene like leaves, water, clouds and people can cause problems that are impossible or at least very difficult to repair in the final image. Helicon Focus does include a set of retouching tools to help repair minor problems. Remember this is just another tool in your creative toolkit, to be used when the situation requires it.
To create an extended depth of focus photograph using Helicon Focus you start by shooting “focus brackets”. These are nothing more than consecutive exposures of the same scene with the lens focused at different points within the scene. If you regularly do exposure bracketing you will easily understand the concept, only in this case it’s the focus that changes not the exposure. For those of you unsure of the concept it works like this:
Setup your camera on a tripod (for the best results) and carefully frame your image and select the proper exposure. Since we are using software to create the desired depth of field you can safely use the sharpest f-stop for your lens which is typically two stops down from wide open.
Focus your camera on the nearest point in the image you want in focus. Carefully check and set your exposure. I suggest you use your camera on the manual setting to eliminate any possibility of exposure shifts during the creation of your focus stack.
Shoot your first image using your remote shutter release and mirror lock up, if your camera has that function. Our goal here is precision and maximum image sharpness.
Being very careful to not move the camera, refocus to a point a bit deeper into the scene and make another exposure. Make sure the depth of focus for each image overlaps the prior image. You may need to use the stop down button on your camera body to see exactly the amount of depth of focus your lens is producing at a given f-stop.
Continue this process until you have changed the focus to include every area in your scene you want to be rendered in sharp focus. It takes a bit of trial and error to determine just how much you must change focus for each image. Don’t fret this step… the end results are worth the time spent in experimentation.
You now have your focus bracket frames. There may be as few as three or as many as 15 or more. The choice is yours and depends on the amount of DOF required and the f-stop of the lens you have chosen. I will suggest you play it safe and shoot more frames than you think you will need. You can disregard any frames you don’t need later when you run Helicon Focus.
Running
Here is where the magic happens. The software is surprisingly easy to use and produces stunning results with the default settings. Helicon Focus will also allow the power user to alter the output based on a number of settings. Rather than delve into custom settings lets just work our images using the preset defaults.
Your first decision is what to do with your focus stacked images. If you shoot in raw format (you do shoot raw don’t you?) you can choose to process your images in your favorite raw processor or let Helicon Focus do it for you. If you chose to let Helicon Focus process your raw files you can select the method in the preferences section of the program. I prefer Phase One Capture 4 to process my Canon 1DsMKIII files so I decided to make the conversions prior to running Helicon Focus.
Opening the program brings up a very simple and intuitive interface. On the left is the viewing window which displays your selected image. On top of this window are tabs that select the functions of the program. Selecting a tab shows the contents and actions in a smaller window on the right side.
When you click the files tab you select the browser to find
the files you want to process in Helicon Focus.
Once
in the proper directory simply place a checkmark in the box for each of the
files you want to include in your stack.
At this point you can simply press the
Getting creative
I’ve always been the type of guy who looks at something and asks, what else can I do with this? Helicon Focus is no different. Sure it is superb for creating extended depth of focus but can it produce extended and limited depth of focus at the same time? The answer is a resounding yes!
I’ve taken to shooting landscape and botanicals as a relaxing change from my normal photographic fare of advertising images. When shooting flower macros I’ve had a hard time achieving those creamy, out of focus backgrounds and a nice fully focused flower in the foreground. When you stop the lens down to assure a fully focused flower you destroy the creamy background.
The solution I found was to use the lens at widest f-stop to produce the creamy background blur and then focus bracketing with Helicon Focus processing to get that perfectly sharp flower. The results are unlike anything you can produce with conventional photography. And I’ve just scratched the surface of the creative applications for this product.
Helicon Focus Image compared to a single shot image
100% corner crops show the increased depth of focus obtained by using Helicon Focus
Nuts and bolts
Helicon Focus is a very deep program with options and settings to fill the needs of the novice and expert users alike. It supports a large number of raw and processed file formats for input and can work in 64 bit mode with multi processor support for faster processing. You can retouch your blended images to remove “ghosts” caused by subject movement, change the processing parameters, file output types, color space and bit depth, etc. You can also create 3d images and panoramas.
All in all this is a very complete software package. For a detailed look be sure to stop by the Helicon Focus website and read the articles and view the samples.
If you shoot products, studio or location macros, or simply
want the most detailed landscapes possible, check out Helicon Focus.
It has found a permanent place in my image
processing toolkit and I highly recommend it for yours
A look into the future
Helicon Soft Ltd. was kind enough to send over a beta version of its newest addition to the Helicon Focus family, Helicon Remote, for testing. Helicon Remote is a tethered shooters dream. It provides a computer interface for automatic focus adjustment and shooting of images for extended depth of field processing in Helicon Focus software.
Helicon Remote is still in Beta testing and will only be available for cameras that feature a live view function. Look for a detailed review of this great program when it is released.
About the author
Craig Lamson has been a professional advertising
photographer for nearly three decades.
His work can be found at:
www.craiglamson.com