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Touchup Copy & new respect for Helicon Focus Developers

Posted: 18.09.2006 06:23
by TomMeeks
Now that I have a new camera and macro lens, I really wanted to understand exactly what Helicon Focus could do for me. I had already played with it a bit with another camera and simply let it do its thing automatically.

But, it wasn't until I started trying out the touchup 'copy' feature that I really came to appreciate the incredible level of effort that the developers of Helicon Focus have put into achieving truly amazing results.

The reason why the touchup feature points this out so nicely is that you have to really study the individual images you've fed Helicon Focus in order to use this feature. The reality that becomes apparent is that each image, focusing on a different plane, actually contains information (spread out and overlapping unfocused information) that could destroy the layers under it!

In the case of this image, I also learned that I had SKIPPED at least three planes of focus information by moving my focus rack too far between shots. There was nothing totally sharp, in some areas, for the software to use. Even so, it did its best. The developer(s) have really done a marvelous job.

To solve the 'missing focused area' issue, I'm going to be trying out the new Zigview S2, which will be able to send the image from the viewfinder to a large monitor. I will then use some type of washable pen or tape on the monitor to mark the edges where focus was lost so that I can be ASSURED that I am providing overlapping areas to Helicone Focus so that no critical imformation is lost.

The subject isn't very pretty. It's a long belated grasshopper (Just a shell of his former self!) that should pose one of the most difficult challenges for Helicone Focus. The areas that I completely missed getting in focus are in the near front leg just behind the largest joint, portions of the protruding antenna (in the face area) and where the far right leg joins the body.

The only processing I did outside of Helicon Focus were 'Levels' in Photoshop CS and smoothing the background and removing the 'halo' around the edges of the grasshopper in Ulead's Photoimpact.

Image

Posted: 21.11.2006 06:29
by Ariel
That's nice work you've done!