Helicon Focus For Mac

Just like the human eye, cameras can only focus on objects at a certain distance from the observer. Objects that are in the shot but are further away or closer than the focus distance will appear out of focus. This is visible in any kind of photo, but it is especially problematic for macro/micro and landscape photography.

Helicon Focus uses a technique called focus stacking to combine multiple photos with different focus distances, resulting in an image where everything is in focus. It is very easy to use, with most of the process being automated, while also allowing for manual adjustments.

Because of the very shallow depth of field one has to deal with when focusing on close-up objects, it's often difficult to get more than a part of the subject in focus, while the rest of the image will be a blurry mess. This isn't always an issue, but if you want clarity, it just won't do.

Focus stacking requires you to capture multiple images at different focus distances, essentially trying to get every part of the subject in focus. These are then combined automatically, yielding an image that captures everything in sharp focus.

The source images are combined automatically using one of the selected rendering methods. You can change a couple of parameters and try to figure out which setting works best for your photos.

Once the render is done, you can move on to the Retouching tab. Here, you can use a brush to manually replace areas in the rendered image with patches that are better focused in any of the source photos. You can also add a scale bar, which is useful when lacking reference objects.

While you still have to read up on how to capture photos for focus stacking (or just use the same developer's Helicon Remote app), combining these images is remarkably straightforward. You can still make adjustments if needed, and there are plenty of export options when the job is done.