Helicon Focus User Guide [new] -
No stacking algorithm is perfect. You will frequently encounter "ghosting," halos, or areas where the software chose the wrong frame's data. Helicon Focus features a powerful, built-in retouching brush to fix these errors without leaving the application. How to Retouch:
Ensure your images are in chronological order (from foreground to background). The software typically sorts them automatically, but you can right-click and select "Sort by file name" if necessary. Step B: Setting Parameters
The Helicon Focus interface is divided into several sections:
Helicon Focus is widely regarded as the industry standard for focus stacking, a technique that merges multiple images taken at different focus points into one sharp composite with an extended depth of field. This guide covers everything from your first import to advanced rendering and retouching techniques. helicon focus user guide
Whether you are shooting macro photography, landscapes, or jewelry, is widely considered the industry standard for rendering these stacks quickly and accurately. This comprehensive guide will take you from a complete beginner to an advanced user. Part 1: Understanding Focus Stacking Fundamentals
Method B finds the sharpest pixels and creates a continuous depth map of the subject.
For professional photographers or labs processing hundreds of image stacks, batch processing is a lifesaver. Helicon Focus allows you to form queues of stacks. You can set up the software to automatically process multiple folders of images one after another. Even more powerful is the "auto-split" feature, which can analyze a folder of thousands of sequential photos and automatically separate them into individual stacks for processing. This advanced functionality can save a tremendous amount of time and effort. No stacking algorithm is perfect
Choose between Method A, B, or C (see section 4).
You can drag and drop your images directly into the Helicon Focus window, or click .
Click the button (or press F6). The software processes the stack. For 20 RAW files, this takes about 30 seconds on a modern PC. How to Retouch: Ensure your images are in
Even the best algorithms aren't perfect. Halos, ghosting, and other artifacts can appear along edges. The is one of Helicon Focus's most powerful tools. It is a standout feature often cited by users as indispensable, and is included in the Pro version.
is the industry standard for "focus stacking"—a technique that blends multiple images taken at different focus distances into one tack-sharp photograph. This guide will walk you through the workflow from import to final export. 1. Preparing Your Source Images