focus stacking with the nikon d500

Shooting in macro mode, techniques, tips & tricks
egosbar
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focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

is it possible to use this app with a nikon d500
do i need an extension tube for heliconsoft
can i use helicon remote to pair wirelessly with my nikon d500 for focus stacking
how can i do focus stacking with my nikon d500

seems like nikon in thier wisdom and snapbridge is stuffing up my focus stacking options
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Yes, you're right that wireless connection with cameras that require Snapbridge is complicated, we don't support it. You can only use Helicon Remote with this camera with a USB cable connection, and you don't need the extension tube for that.

On the other hand, if you're specifically looking for focus stacking, maybe you don't need remote control at all. Our focus bracketing tube is a self-sufficient solution, no software required (other than for one-time configuration of the focus step size between shots). Just press the shutter release button, and a couple seconds later you have a complete focus stack on your memory card. The two focus stacking technologies (software and hardware) are very different, so you should consider both.
egosbar
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

so a few seconds later with a complete focus stack im assuming high speed continuous, does this work with a d850 in silent electronic shutter , i would like to keep the manual shutter actuations to a minimum , problem with nikon is even the electronic shutter records in the exif data as a mechanical actuation which would devalue a camera for resale.
BobStone
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by BobStone »

Just an aside on the shutter count issue...

The D850 has 2 metadata items: Shutter Count and Mechanical Shutter Count. Shutter Count is incremented in silent electronic mode, Mechanical Shutter Count is not. So Mechanical Shutter Count is what you should use for resale value.
egosbar
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

thats interesting to know thanks , i read a lot of forums yesterday and no one could find a separate mechanical shutter count in the exif data
what is it called in the exif data?
egosbar
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

BobStone wrote: 02.10.2018 11:10 Just an aside on the shutter count issue...

The D850 has 2 metadata items: Shutter Count and Mechanical Shutter Count. Shutter Count is incremented in silent electronic mode, Mechanical Shutter Count is not. So Mechanical Shutter Count is what you should use for resale value.
do you have a d850 you could show me the meta data , my mate has a d850 ive asked him to have a look as that would open up focus stacking for me especially if im stacking say 70 images as a time i definitely dont want the mechanical shutter to be doing the work or the electronic shutter doing it and recording as mechanical
egosbar
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Joined: 30.09.2018 04:01

Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

found this be interested to see if it works ive sent it to my mate to try , very important to resale value of the d850 imo
https://nikonrumors.com/2017/11/11/here-is-a-free-program-to-check-the-nikon-d850-shutter-count-windows-only.aspx/
BobStone
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by BobStone »

Most tools do not report the complete set of EXIF keys. Even the D850 itself does not.

This is for Windows ...

Get the EXIF utility here: http://owl.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

Note: This extracts as exiftool(-k).exe … rename to exiftool.exe

This is a command line tool run from a command prompt, but there is a 3d party GUI for it here:

http://u88.n24.queensu.ca/exiftool/forum/index.php/topic,2750.0.html

Just unzip the EXIF Utility and the GUI tool into the same folder. Neither has an install process.

Open the GUI and navigate to a raw file. Be sure ALL is selected in the right most pane.

If you have the RawDigger program, it has an EXIF viewer as well. It uses the same EXIF Utility so be sure to get the latest version and extract the EXIFTOOL.EXE into that program's root folder. RawDigger has a 'free trial' so may be the easiest path.

https://www.rawdigger.com/download
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Yes, I was talking about our focus bracketing extension tube. It advances the focus point with each shot taken, so you can obtain a complete stack very rapidly by shooting a continuous series. We know it works with D850, but we don't know whether or not it works with electronic shutter specifically.

On a second thought, you don't need the focus bracketing tube, your D850 already has built-in focus stacking function.
egosbar
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

i dont have the 850 but was considering it , ive heard the problem with the d850 focus stacking is you cant pick the front focal point and the last , you can only select the front and then add number of images , still handy though
i currently own the d500 ,can i tether my laptop with windows 10 and use helicom focus from my computer to activate the d500 focus stack shoot

maybe you should look at linking your software with this device as snapbridge looks likely to be staying
https://www.tethertools.com/camera/nikon-d500/?port=usbc
egosbar
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

ive just downloaded the trial version of helicon remote , shame bloody nikon wont let my iphone connect wirelessly
im trialling the windows version tethered to my computer
ive emailed support hoping to get a one day full activation code for both me and my dad , he lives 5 hours away and we are both getting into macros , hopefully we can trial a full version each and will most likely buy two liscences if the program is as good as it looks

what are the limitations of the trial version i cant seem to get it working right , might be the user lol ,
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Our focus bracketing tube works in a similar way: you select a starting point (either near or far focal plane, depending on whether you've configured positive or negative focus step), then you press the shutter release button, the tube keeps advancing focus with each shot, and you decide when to stop.

For now we have no plans to support third-party Wi-Fi control devices, especially since they all have their own software already.
egosbar
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

really keen on helicon remote what a shame it doesnt work with snapbridge , even a third party wifi adaptor to bypass snapbridge
nikon snapbridge is a curse
egosbar
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Joined: 30.09.2018 04:01

Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by egosbar »

hey stas

thanks for the time youve spent answering my questions , im still looking at helicon remote

i was wondering if you think this will work to bypass snapbridge , you do need two devices , im hoping maybe i can use my wifes iphone to connect to snapbridge then my iphone to connect to helicon remote wirelessly to the d500

https://nikonrumors.com/2017/12/06/nikon-d850-qdslrdashboard-connection-workaround-wi-fi-without-snapbridge.aspx/

do you think this will work , i will try it probably on the weekend , its a bit of a pain but would be better then tethering a computer and carrying that around
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: focus stacking with the nikon d500

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

There's a good chance it will work because this was being discussed on our forum, and people reported it working with D850. Just don't think anyone mentioned using D500 this way, but I expect it to work with D500 as well.
Here's the topic I mentioned: https://www.heliconsoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9714
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