Helicon Soft Forum

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working with Helicon Remote for automated focus stacking and I’m trying to fine-tune it for more consistent and repeatable results in macro photography workflows.

In particular, I’m running into issues with focus step accuracy and stack consistency. Even when I set fixed step sizes, the actual captured sequence sometimes feels slightly uneven, which later causes problems during stacking (missing focus areas or unnecessary overlaps). I’m not sure if this is due to camera-lens communication limits or something within Helicon Remote’s stepping algorithm.

Another concern is repeatability across multiple sessions. When I reuse the same settings (step size, number of shots, near/far points), the output can still vary slightly depending on the subject or shooting conditions. I’m wondering if there’s a recommended way to calibrate or standardize the setup so that each stack behaves more predictablyGeometry Dash

I’d also like to understand how Helicon Remote determines the optimal number of shots between near and far points. Is it purely linear stepping, or does it adapt based on focus distance or lens characteristics? If it’s fixed, what’s the best practice for avoiding gaps in depth coverage without overshooting and creating unnecessarily large stacks?

Overall, my goal is to build a reliable workflow where I can trust the capture stage before moving into stacking. Any insights on improving precision, consistency, or recommended settings for macro work would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi,

I assume you're using the camera's lens for focusing, not a macro rail. The software sends the specified focus increment to the camera, the rest is between the camera and the lens. Some lenses might be more consistent than others, and overall the lens is not a precision mechanism and it's not designed for repeatable movement. If it's a Sony or Canon camera you can go to the Helicon Remote preferences - Sony/Canon and increase the "Pause between focusing steps" value to something like 200-300 ms, but it's unlikely this is the problem.

You should calibrate the DOF calculator for each of your lense+camera body combination, then and only then will the results of the automatic calculation be correct. Aim for 30% overlap between adjacent images. Here's the calibration guide: https://www.heliconsoft.com/HeliconRemo ... ION_FACTOR

After calibration the calculator will take care of adjusting for aperture and focal length changes (within some limits on the latter one, don't count on it with macro shots, better recalibrate if you change the focal length). But it cannot account for changes in magnification, distance to the subject etc., that requires recalibration, or just un-tick the Auto checkbox and take an educated guess with the interval value.