How we took these images
To create the final composite image, we mounted our camera on a tripod
and set the camera on MANUAL focus. We set our metering mode to APERTUE
PRIORITY (Av or A on most cameras) and set the aperture to f8. We selected
f8 because the widest opening on this lens was f2.8 and since most lenses
take their sharpest images 3-stops down from wide open, f8 will yield very
sharp results (Note the difference
between "overall sharpness" and "depth of field - an image taken at f22 would have
more depth of field but the entire image would be less sharp. an image taken
at f8 would have less depth of field, but what was in focus would be sharper than
if it were taken at f22).
We then took 15 images - manually focusing at a slightly different point in the flower.
We then imported these images into Helicon Focus, clicked a button and a few
seconds later, HeliconFocus had merged the sharpest portions of each image into
a single sharp composite image.
One of the less obvious issues that HeliconFocus has to deal with (besides the magic of extracting
the sharpest portions of each image) is that when you focus at a different points
with a macro lens, the image size actually changes slightly (see the above animation).
HeliconFocus handles this automatically as well.
Aside from close-ups, we use Helicon Focus for Landscape images when there is a
very close object in the image.
We feel that Helicon Focus is one of the most amazing tools you can have in your
digital photography arsenal!
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