Beta 6.0.2 Experiences

[Pforster]

System: MacPro - OSX 10.6.6, Lightroom 4.4, Photoshop CS6

I’m trying out the beta version of Helicon Focus – 6.0.2 for Mac.
Rendering is rapid and the retouching vastly better (much smoother and quicker) than 4.2.9 but I have encountered several problems.
1)There are regular crashes for no apparent reason (except one listed below) and the only message I get is the “….unexpectedly quit” one from the Mac.

2)I inadvertently asked it to render a stack that was in the wrong order and the programme crashed (several times until I realised what I was asking it to do) without any warning or explanation. I feel sure that when I did this in 4.2.9 it told me that the files were incorrectly ordered so it would be helpful if 6.0.2 did the same.

3)When retouching, the zoom works well enough but it enlarges the centre area and I can’t see any sliders to move to other parts of the picture. Am I missing something here?

4)When saving a file there appears to be no visual indicators of saving in progress or completed. I’m using relatively large files of around 50mb each, which usually take a little while to save, so it would be helpful to have some way of knowing when it is finalised.

5)Finally, the most frustrating one!
With the much improved operating characteristics I have been very keen to use 6.0.2 instead of 4.2.9. However, I seem to be having real difficulties in saving the final output. My workflow usually involves working with DNG files in Lightroom or Photoshop CS6 and using “Photo> edit in” to edit in other applications. I found that images don’t appear in Helicon when I go this route so I have to load from Helicon Focus instead. The files come in and render OK but, when saved as a Tiff, cannot be opened in LR or PS6. There is no message about any problem from within Focus but I get “file appears to be unsupported or damaged” when trying to import to LR or “….cannot parse the file” when opening with PS CS6. I tried (once) to save it as a Jpeg but Focus just crashed immediately!
As an experiment, I first converted the DNG files to Tiffs, opened them in Focus with the “Load” option, rendered, retouched and saved them. Success! So the problem appears to be connected to bringing DNG files into Focus. 4.2.9 works OK with all of the alternative methods but 6.0.2 seems to be different. Any suggestions?
Paul

[Stas Yatsenko]

Paul,

Many thanks for the tests. Most of the bugs are new for us, we will fix them ASAP and publish a new version.

As to scrollbars, this was made in line with latest Mac OS design changes in its native applications. The scrollbars appear only when you move image and disappear afterwards.

[Falk Lumo]

As to scrollbars, this was made in line with latest Mac OS design changes in its native applications. The scrollbars appear only when you move image and disappear afterwards.

Out of curiosity... I know, the Mac port is done by a third party. But ...

Isn't this design change a feature of 10.8. I.e., Shouldn't a 10.6. OS still display always on scroll bars? I always thought, the OS handles all this and your software just uses a scroll pane widget. Now, you see me stupefied

[Stas Yatsenko]

Version 6 is developed in cross platform Qt framework. It looks like native application on Mac OS but still some issues remain. We are syncing with latest Mac OS version.

[exocentric]

Hi,

I am using the new mac-beta and so far so good, except for file saving. When I save in any format, the file is corrupted. TIFF and JPEG look different, but neither matches the excellent results I see in the Focus Beta itself. When I export a 3D model, it also looks like the TIFF file. I have uploaded the JPEG example direct from the Focus Beta

[Stas Yatsenko]

We were not able to reproduce this bug so far. I suspect this might be something to do with color profiles. Please send us one of the original files and the resulting jpeg. Send it to mail (support@heliconsoft.com) or ftp (as described at http://www.heliconsoft.com/ftp-server/)