Helicon Filter 5 UPD Free Download
Doreen Kaczmarek
About one year ago I was introduced to the Helicon Focus Filter,and in my July2005 Tip I showed how this neat pieceof software could be used for maximizing an image's depth of field.In our latest book, Digital Nature Photography, From Capture toOutput, we discuss the filter as well, but I do have to make aconfession here ...
Sometimes, with all the equipment onehas, with all the software one may have or be exposed to, well,sometimes it is easy to forget that you have some really greattools at your disposal. And the Helicon Focus filter unfortunatelyfell into that vat of unused tools!
Recently, toward dusk I spotted two 1/8thinch leaf-hopper insects in the process of mating, positionedbutt-to-butt. For a few minutes the insects cooperated by beingparallel to my digital plane, allowing me to get fairly good depthof field, but the insects then moved, and I was stuck with eitherhaving a portion of one insect in focus, or a portion of another.Try as I might to reposition myself to get parallel, a difficultprocess with the intervening foliage that might shake and alarmthe insects, I just couldn't get the right spot. Then a lightbulb went off -- I did have the Helicon Focus filter and I coulduse that! Duh!!!
With that in mind, I shot a series ofsix or seven images when the insects were still, focusing fromthe wingtips of the nearest insect amd rolling the focus alongwith each shot until I ended with the antennae and forelegs ofthe insect furtherst away. Each shot showed only a small areain focus, but the Helicon Focus filter blended them seamlesslyinto a final shot that was, one, in complete focus and, two, hada larger image size than I could have obtained when I tried toshoot both insects parallel.
LEFT: Using the filter is as simple as calling it up from yourprogram menu, then browsing to the images you want to run in theSource files, which is the image well to the upper left of thescreen shot.
RIGHT: The finished image, with the new file information appearingin the lower left panel. To get to this point, all I had to dois hit the RUN button ath the top of the Filter page, and nowall I need do is go to File>Save AS and give the compositedimage a new name. What could be simpler?
To use the Helicon Focus filteryour subjects need to be motionless, but when they are, you canget some great results. I'm looking forward to shooting down theentire length of a rattlesnake that's lying toward me -- I can'timagine the depth and the look I'll get!
Helicon Filter is a complete image editing solution that allows you to edit your photos in a very professional way. The application includes interesting and unique features including voice comments, sensor dust filter, haze compensation, spectral sensitivity controls, chromatic aberration filter, vignetting and barrel corrections, stacking images to lower noise or increase dynamic range, which will surely attract professional photographers. Its user interface will guide you through all post processing stages. The program is full of labeled "filter" tabs, each tab containing labeled edit options specific to a single aspect of the picture. Other basic options include RAW support, exposure correction, color adjustments, red eye removal, resizing/cropping, among many others. Note that this version is completely free,but the professional version includes even more powerful and useful features.
In short, Helicon Filter is an easy digital processing program which will definitely call the attention of digital camera enthusiasts.
Notice the focus ring on my Canon Macro lens is set for infinity [highlighted by a green rectangle]. The distance between the front of the Canon lens and front of the Raynox close-up filter is 54 mm, based upon guidance from Rik Littlefield.
My Rube Goldberg telecentric lens rig is cobbled together using a Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter attached to my Canon EF 100mm macro lens using the plastic clip-on adapter supplied by Raynox. The lens assembly is mounted on my Fujifilm X-T3 APS-C digital camera using a Fringer EF-FX Pro II adapter.
Helicon Filter Free offers full set of the professional post processing tools to the digital photographer. Intuitive interface, context help and full screen preview make it easy to learn. Available filters: noise reduction, white balance and saturation adjustment, correction of chromatic aberration, distortion and vignetting correction, cropping, rotating, resizing, sharpening and deblurring, adding frames, text.
During our recent workshop in Yosemite Valley temperatures were cold enough to create some wonderful ice formations along the Merced River, next to Bridalveil Fall, and in some of the creeks, so of course we had to make time to photograph the ice. We were often looking for places and angles where ice in the shade would catch golden reflections from sunlit cliffs across the valley, adding a splash of color to the patterns. And in some spots, with the right kind of ice, in the right light, we could see prism effects in the ice through a polarizing filter.
The photos are captured in RAW mode (standard .ARW format in SONY camera) at 16bit, converted to .jpg (8bit) and .tif (16bit). The stacked image is not modified, not filtered to improve the contrast, the sharpening, and no noise removal filter was applied.
The numbers of and advancements in specialty software programs for working on digital files has exploded in the last several years. These plus all of the different plug-ins and filters available have made post production work a key component of photography. As much as I am more of a traditionalist when it comes to photography - I wish we were still with film - I continue to explore some of the different options out there and how it can expand the possibilities of the world of photography to the point that shots that were only a dream a few years ago are easily doable today. With having an outlet to let others know of the different programs out there, I'm able to get comp copies to then test, compare and let people know what I think of the programs.
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