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Helicon Focus Pro

Posted: 21.11.2017 21:42
by jnikon
Considering the purchase of Helicon Focus Pro which includes Helicon Focus and Remote. Talking to BH Photo and checking your site I am still unclear if the FB Tube is needed to automate the focus shifting, I am using Nikon D800, D500, and D5.Thank you

Re: Helicon Focus Pro

Posted: 24.11.2017 17:15
by Stas Yatsenko
Indeed, Helicon FB Tube enables automated focus bracketing by making focus steps at each shot. There are several ways to perform focus bracketing, including manual turning of the focus ring and using remote camera control app like our Helicon Remote. When doing it manually you can’t ensure equal size of focus steps, you also cause camera shaking when turning the ring, this method has other drawbacks as well. Helicon Remote enables automated focus bracketing – you need to tether your camera and you can trigger shooting remotely. This will be fine if you don’t need high shooting speeds, if you have time and space to set it all up. But if you want also to shoot in the field, to shoot hand-held and/or shoot moving objects, you would probably prefer shooting in burst mode and having no additional devices involved. In this case Helicon FB Tube will be a good solution – it needs no additional power supply, no additional connection to external devices during shooting, you just take your camera with the tube on and press and hold down the shutter button to shoot series. So each of these ways of performing focus bracketing can be good for certain shooting conditions. As for your gear, D500 and D800 has been successfully tested for compatibility with Helicon FB Tube and we received positive feedback from other users, D5 has not been tested, but we don’t anticipate any problems with it.

Re: Helicon Focus Pro

Posted: 27.11.2017 21:07
by jnikon
Thank you, I assume the use of the FB Tube automation holds true with landscapes as well?

Re: Helicon Focus Pro

Posted: 02.12.2017 15:49
by Stas Yatsenko
Just as any other macro extension tube, Helicon FB Tube changes the properties of the optical system, bringing focusing points much closer. Here is the table with some figures that will give you the idea of the focusing range of some of the lenses when using an extension tube: http://www.heliconsoft.com/helicon-fb-t ... _distances

As you can see, the farthest focusing point is being shifted from infinity to, for instance, 3 m for Sigma 150 mm lens and to 1 m for Nikon 105 mm lens. These specifics of the operation of the optical system should be taken into account when considering using Helicon FB Tube for landscape photography.