Launch Helicon Focus and drag your source files (RAW or TIFF files are highly recommended) directly into the main window. Alternatively, click . Your source files will populate the right-hand panel. Step 2: Alignment and Pre-Configuration
Once rendering is complete, navigate to the tab at the top of the screen. This splits your view: the left side shows your rendered image, and the right side displays your individual source files.
To maximize rendering speeds, open . If you have a dedicated NVIDIA, AMD, or Apple Silicon GPU, ensure OpenCL acceleration is active. This offloads calculation tasks from the CPU to the graphics card, reducing processing times significantly.
Help eliminate seams, halos, and abrupt transitions, making it perfect for soft backgrounds or out-of-focus areas (bokeh). 2. Choosing the Right Rendering Method
Paint directly onto the rendered image to clone the sharp data from that single frame. 6. Saving and Exporting Your Work Always review your image at 100% zoom before exporting. Click the tab at the top of the interface. Click Save... at the bottom of the sidebar. helicon focus user guide
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Source Files (Left Column) | Main Viewer (Center) │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Method Selection & Parameters Panel (Right Column) │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Continuous surfaces, macro jewelry, and product photography.
Avoid using Auto White Balance (AWB), as it can shift between frames and create color banding in the final render.
Any camera movement between frames increases registration errors. A Method for Changing Focus: Launch Helicon Focus and drag your source files
Focus stacking is a powerful digital image processing technique that combines multiple images taken at different focus distances. The result is a single photograph with an extended depth of field (DOF). This technique is essential for macro photography, extreme close-ups, landscape photography, and microscopy, where a shallow depth of field often prevents the entire subject from being sharp.
Reduces halos and smooths out transitions. Ideal for landscapes.
A successful stack begins with precise execution in the field or studio. Helicon Focus can correct minor alignment errors, but it cannot fix missing focus data or motion blur.
Helicon Focus provides three primary processing algorithms on the right panel. Selecting the right method is critical to the quality of your output. Best Used For Pros & Cons Smooth surfaces, continuous gradients, landscapes. Step 2: Alignment and Pre-Configuration Once rendering is
If you shoot multiple stacks in a day, utilize the Batch Process queue under the Tools menu to render multiple stacks consecutively overnight.
: Source images can be imported by dragging and dropping them into the main screen, using the File → Open images menu, or using the Select Rendering Method : Computes weight for each pixel based on contrast. Method B (Depth Map)
Use the scroll wheel or shortcut keys to scale brush size and opacity for precise blending around complex edges. Adding Text and Scale Bars