Working with Helicon Focus

The principle behind Helicon Focus is actually quite simple: take a series of photographs at different foci, select the sharpest bits of each, and combine them into one sharp image. Accomplishing this feat, though, is quite extraordinary. There's a tremendous amount of number-crunching that takes place when you click that "Process Image" button.

Is it worth $115? In my opinion (having gone the Photoshop route), absolutely. I've also learned a few tricks along the way to help ensure success. Here's what you'll need to take great Helicon shots:

• A digital camera capable of being focused manually.
• A lens that can focus on all points of your model scene.
• A sturdy tripod is an absolute must.
• A cable release or a shutter with a timer.

Two other items are helpful, although not critical to success. Being able to control the aperture lets you take fewer images, because you can then stop the aperture down, increasing the depth of field. (However, stopping it "all the way down" can result in a minor loss of sharpness due to diffraction.) Being able to set the white balance manually ensures that it won't drift between exposures, which is a possibility with some cameras.

In the sample photo above (taken on my Z scale James River Branch), the foreground object, bottom right, is about two inches from the lens, whereas the rock in the background is about two feet away. This image would be virtually impossible to reproduce without using software—even a pinhole aperture would have difficulty keeping every pixel this sharp. Here's a supersized enlargement to see just how sharp.

Note that Helicon Focus isn't perfect. It can have some problems with images that are out of alignment. For best results, it's important that you handle the lens with great care between shots. It's helpful to rehearse a shot to get used to adjusting the lens without disturbing the camera. Also, it never hurts to take more pictures than you need; having too few can produce some strange results.

Another thing that can trip up Helicon Focus is a slender, bright-colored object in the foreground against a darker-color background (or vice-versa)—for example, a figure standing very close to the lens, with freight cars well in the distance behind him. The figure will sometimes acquire a "halo" as the software tries to deal with conflicting information. Bear this in mind as you compose your shot, and try to avoid circumstances where there's a significant contrast in color occurring between objects separated by a significant distance.

Taking a dozen or more images (the sample above is a stack of 13) sounds like a PITA, but actually it's one of the easier steps. Setting up a shot can be a lot of work, as it should be: the more you invest in composition and lighting, the better any photograph—Helicon or not—will be.

For even more information, the Helicon Focus website has examples, tutorials and computer requirements. By the way, for folks on a budget, there's a Lite version available for $30.

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