Does Helicon Focus align images?

Optical microscopes + digital photography
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mlondon88
Posts: 1
Joined: 21.05.2023 23:34

Does Helicon Focus align images?

Post by mlondon88 »

Newbie here.

Will Helicon Focus auto-align images?

For example, I'm shooting with a Nikon Z8 in Focus Shift mode, which allows for a maximum of 300 shots at a time. However, if I'm shooting at the minimum shift distance of "1", 300 shots is not enough to get to the furthest point in my image. So I want to create a second group of images for the further distance, but in doing so, I might introduce small camera movement that will make the second group slightly out of alignment with the first group. If I import both groups together into Helicon Focus to create one stack, will the software automatically adjust for any misalignment?

Or for another more dramatic example, if I'm shooting a group of images handheld, will Helicon Focus be able to auto-align more dramatic shifts from shot to shot?

I see there are autoadjusment options in the preferences, but I can not find any information about how to use them on the website.

Thank you.
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Catherine
Posts: 1156
Joined: 29.04.2019 22:38

Re: Does Helicon Focus align images?

Post by Catherine »

Of course it will auto-align images. Every stack needs to be aligned, at the very least due to focus breathing.

The autoadjustment options are documented in the Help section of our website, or in the Helicon Focus menu - Help - Help (or just press F1 on the keyboard).
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Catherine
Posts: 1156
Joined: 29.04.2019 22:38

Re: Does Helicon Focus align images?

Post by Catherine »

There is the "copy parts of the image" brush, but it paints from the result image to the different spot of the result. There is no facility to paint from the source image but with offset. It is assumed that your images are aligned, since that's a requirement for successful focus stacking. If Helicon Focus failed to align the images the result isn't really usable.

Have you tried increasing the offset / rotation autoadjustment limits to their max values in the Helicon Focus settings?
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