I would like to thank you for using our products and let you know about new versions which we published recently.
Helicon Focus 5.0 for Windows
We released Helicon Focus 5.0 for Windows recently. The major update is Helicon Remote utility which automates focus bracketing. It works with recent Canon and Nikon DSLRs that support Live View:
Canon: 1Ds Mark III,50D,5D Mark II, REBELXsi/450D/Kiss X2, REBEL XS/1000D and later cameras.
Nikon: D3, D3X, D300, D5000, D90, D700 and later cameras.
Helicon Remote sends commands to the camera to drive lens. It ensures that shooting is fast, precise and reliable. It is very important if the DOF is very small and you need to make very small focusing steps to cover all the range. The speed of shooting is important if the object is not stable and moves from time to time like the flower on the wind. And if you plan to create 3D model from your stack you would surely need many images with shallow DOF and regular distance between them.
Helicon Remote gives very powerful control over exposure bracketing. You are no more limited to +2,-2EV range offered by the camera and you can capture the whole dynamic range which your camera can get. Helicon Remote can also do exposure and focus bracketing at the same time!
Helicon Remote can also be used to test the correctness of camera AF. It measures the difference between phase detect auto focus (through the mirror) and contrast detect auto focus (slow and precise). The detected difference is the compensation value which can be set into many recent cameras to make autofocus more precise.
New version of Helicon Focus is able to export depth map and semi transparent layers as PNG files if you want to stack them in Photoshop.
Upgrade to the new version is free for all our users with unlimited or valid one year licenses. All you need is to install the new version over the current one and enter the same activation code in rare cases. Helicon Remote is available only with Pro and X64 licenses. If you would like to upgrade or buy new license, you are welcome to use coupon code 45K2D46T34 to purchase with 20% Christmas discount.
Downoload page:
http://www.heliconsoft.com/downloads.html
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy, creative and prosperous New Year 2010.
Danylo Kozub and Helicon Soft team
Helicon Soft Ltd.
http://www.heliconsoft.com