![]() ![]() I did this 10 years ago when I first started experimenting with focus stacking and actually was testing a focus stacking device made by a company in Dallas. My advice if you are interested in purchasing Helicon Focus is to pay for the lifetime license. Now let’s take a look at Helicon’s blending of the same images: With Helicon Focus, the entire foreground was blended seamlessly with no hint of softness. Let’s take a closer look at just the dark foreground area of rocks where Photoshop clearly struggled: Photoshop’s blend of the dark foreground rocks was very inconsistent. I purposely processed this image a bit brighter to reveal the irregularities of the darker foreground blends. ![]() Some rocks are sharp while other areas are soft. Notice the lack of consistent blend in the foreground. All 28 frames were opened as a stack, aligned, then blended – here is the result: Photoshop blended frame. Here is the same image composited in Photoshop. Moreover, the entire process in Helicon is faster than Photoshop’s two-step method of opening as a stack out of Lightroom, then aligning and blending in Photoshop. On the other hand, Helicon Focus delivered consistent result from any stack I threw its way. What I found out after a week of working on files is that Photoshop is good most of the time but struggles when there are a lot of dark tones (such as the foreground of this 28-layer stack). ![]() What I wanted access to were the RAWS so I could use either Photoshop CC 2022 or Helicon Focus to assemble the frames. In short, I don’t care that the camera does not do the composite as that would be a JPEG file. One of the features I have been asking our engineers for that was included in this camera was the ability to focus stack and have access to the RAW files. I love guiding this workshop and as a bonus this year I got to work with the new Sony a7RV. I have returned from a three week journey to Iceland co-leading two workshops with fellow Sony Artisan Gary Hart. Twenty-eight frames composited with Helicon Focus Captured with Sony a7RV + 100-400mm (shot at 300mm) in Focus Stack Mode. Focus Stacking :: Photoshop or Helicon Focus? Sunrise-lit Mountain Near Vik, Iceland. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |