set up for Nikon D500

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migfromAut
Posts: 6
Joined: 24.07.2018 16:07

set up for Nikon D500

Post by migfromAut »

Hi there,
I'm wondering what would be the best setup for my D500 to do focus stacking.

As far as I understood I have two options

A) Helicon FB Tube: I need this Tube and and App for my smartphone

B) Helicon Remote: I need and App and a cable to connect my smartphone to my D500

I like to shoot flowers. mostly with my camera on tripod. Which Option (A or B) would you recommend to me?

And are there any minimal requirements to my smartphone? It is an older model with no so much free internal memory - so I would prefer to store the pictures to the card in my camera.

Thx for giving me some orientation here.
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: set up for Nikon D500

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

I would say download the remote control app (Helicon Remote) and see how it suits. You will also find out whether or not it works on your phone. There are no special hardware requirements, your phone just needs to support USB or it won't detect the camera. Note that you need a USB OTG adapter.
If you find that you need much faster shooting speed, and you don't need other features like live viewfinder on your smartphone, exposure bracketing etc., consider the focus bracketing tube.
migfromAut
Posts: 6
Joined: 24.07.2018 16:07

Re: set up for Nikon D500

Post by migfromAut »

okay - sounds like a plan :-)
I've ordered this USB OTG adapter and will give the remote software a try.

Thank you
mrose
Posts: 68
Joined: 02.04.2014 16:50

Re: set up for Nikon D500

Post by mrose »

As Stas says the Remote App lets you work remotely, set the near & far points of the stack and many other options. It can also be used as a sound and movement trigger and and it is a pity that these aren't well documented in the help.
The FBTube is a 12/13mm extension tube so your max. focus distance will be limited, it will not focus to inf. The biggest advantage of this tube is that it can operate the camera at its max burst speed whereas the firing rate of the Remote App is quite slow. With this tube you start at the near point and keep shooting - you cannot set the far point as well. I discard the shots that have gone too far.
So I have both and each has its uses for different situations.
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: set up for Nikon D500

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Good point about the tube not letting the camera focus at infinity, thanks, I should have mentioned that.
And yes, I remember about the trigger function not being documented, but thanks for the reminder. Very few people seem to be interested in this, but perhaps that's because they just don't know. We are already working on actualizing our documentation.
migfromAut
Posts: 6
Joined: 24.07.2018 16:07

Re: set up for Nikon D500

Post by migfromAut »

Did my first test with remote and focus: It works :-)
But I can imagine, that there are situations, in which this setup could be to slow - and maybe the tube would be the solution.
Thinking about choosing both - just in case ...
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