Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus full#
Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus software#
Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus trial#
Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus plus#

In the past, you would have to spend more time and effort on the technology of creating the image stack and compiling. The image below, ‘Yuletide Chalice’, is a composite of 2 stacks of 31 images made with the Nikon Z7, compiled with Helicon Focus then created in Photoshop 2019. The manufacture is also active at issuing new releases.

Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus software#

I have found this software intuitive and adaptable to various type of photography. However for complex stack >5 images, consider Helicon Focus.įuture proof your image making and learn new skills. ( you may have a similar disdain for subscription sw)ĭoes Helicon Focus work better that CC 2019 ?įor small stacks no.

Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus full#

In 2016, after evaluating all the software available in the market, I purchased the Helicon full pro version for $140 during a Black Friday Thanksgiving sale.

Helicon Focus 7.0 takes advantage of scaling to 10 CPU cores.Īlso, this focus stacking software can be used for your macro or astro photography This requires a high end GPU and CPU processing power. It is common now to make a still life scene with multiple 16-bit 45-Megpixel images at f4 (for bokeh) and then f8 (depth of field) of 300 image stacks in RAW then convert to TIFF then compile with Helicon Focus then use the 2 complied images to blend/create your final image in CC19.

Nikon recently released the mirrorless Z7 which expanded their automated focus stacking technology.

The technology and workflow has widened over the years. Since 2009 I have been taking workshops with a pioneer of focus stacking. And again, it’s highly likely that I lack some process flow to improve what PS can do. In most of the grass images I do, the details are so small that the imperfections in the stacks are not even close to being visible in a 1500px web view.Īnyway, thanks for asking. Imagine what the difficulty is in hundreds, thousands of tiny leaves. Keep in mind too, this image contains only aspen trunks - no moving in the wind and not many fine details or difficult edge transitions. This particular intimate scene worked better at f/16 than the attempt at stacking.Ī little hard to tell in this image, but hopefully you can see. The end result are areas that are not well defined and clearly not fit for printing or often even web display.

Anyway, PS often can’t figure out which area is best, or the in-focus areas are “too close” for PS to distinguish, and it attempts to do some content aware filling, or other things I don’t understand.

Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus plus#

There’s a visible difference in focus between front and back trunks, plus 2 other focus points in between. I’m zoomed out at 170mm and shooting at f/8. It’s a grouping of aspen trunks separated by maybe 15-20ft front to back. Here is a close up example of a simple 4-image stack. There’s operator error too, and I’m not even sure I’m doing the best job in the field when capturing, which could make it harder for PS to do stuff. Now to be fair to PS, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a genius when it comes to the technical aspects, and I try to take the simple, easy route. Thanks for the Zerene Stacker reference too. Was just checking to see if there were any other options out there that I hadn’t heard about. Sure, I get the power of the sw, but if I don’t need all the bells and whistles, I hope it’s easy enough to produce a quality image without too much trouble. I’m just hoping there’s an “easy button” for simple stacks. It seems to me these focus stacking programs are great for very complicated subjects (macro/micros of flies and table-top photography…) I have no plans for anything like that and would utilize primarily for simply landscape type images (you know me, grasses, etc.) Nothing complicated about the PS process - it’s just that it doesn’t deliver great results, depending on the scene. My initial fear like with anything new or different is being able to use the software without much pain and minimal learning curve.

Then again, they have a holiday sale $40 off regular price, so I may just purchase anyway.

Zerene stacker vs. helicon focus trial#

Duh, on downloading and checking out trial versions… The Helicon sw is fully functional for 30 days, so I’ll be giving that a try.