Quality Issues Photoshop against Helicon Focus
Posted: 16.10.2020 23:26
I have a stack of eighteen images taken manually, focusing from back to front, using a EF 100mm f/2.8L Canon lens mounted on a Canon 5D Mklll.
These were processed together in ACR 12.4 then Stacked in Photoshop 2020 (12.2.4) to produce an acceptable final image. There were a couple of minor issues in the final image but these were easily rectified ans the final image was acceptable, being sharp throught.
I had heard of Helicon Focus and its reputation so I though it would be an improvement on the Photoshop result. I processed the CR2 files in Focus and when finished opened both the PC version and the Focus version in Photoshop to draw a comparison.
I was disappointed to find area around the edge of the image out of focus, sections within the body of the image were not sharp and the image lacked the overall cripsness of the Phopotoshop version. Overall the Focus version was just not as good as the Photoshop equivalent.
Ok, I thought, maybe working from CR2 files was not the best approach as the .xmp files might not be used. I reprocessed the 18 images again in ACR and saved them as TIF files. I then repeated the exercise to produce a final image. If anything the result was worse.
At this point I'm running the 30 day trial with a view to purchasing the two components sold by Helicon. However I'm begining to question if this is a wise move in view of the results I'm getting. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a setting that I should be looking at?
Before I spend £150 on a licence, I need to be assured that this program offers a better quality result than the embedded feature I already have in Photoshop. I have heard such good things about this software - am I to be disappointed. Your suggestions as to what may be wrong would be appreciated.
Ken Ness ARPS
These were processed together in ACR 12.4 then Stacked in Photoshop 2020 (12.2.4) to produce an acceptable final image. There were a couple of minor issues in the final image but these were easily rectified ans the final image was acceptable, being sharp throught.
I had heard of Helicon Focus and its reputation so I though it would be an improvement on the Photoshop result. I processed the CR2 files in Focus and when finished opened both the PC version and the Focus version in Photoshop to draw a comparison.
I was disappointed to find area around the edge of the image out of focus, sections within the body of the image were not sharp and the image lacked the overall cripsness of the Phopotoshop version. Overall the Focus version was just not as good as the Photoshop equivalent.
Ok, I thought, maybe working from CR2 files was not the best approach as the .xmp files might not be used. I reprocessed the 18 images again in ACR and saved them as TIF files. I then repeated the exercise to produce a final image. If anything the result was worse.
At this point I'm running the 30 day trial with a view to purchasing the two components sold by Helicon. However I'm begining to question if this is a wise move in view of the results I'm getting. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a setting that I should be looking at?
Before I spend £150 on a licence, I need to be assured that this program offers a better quality result than the embedded feature I already have in Photoshop. I have heard such good things about this software - am I to be disappointed. Your suggestions as to what may be wrong would be appreciated.
Ken Ness ARPS