Helicon FB tube-HELP: I received a helicon FB tube. I followed the configuration and setup for my Nikon D500 and Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 G micro lens. I've repeated the configuration...

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

I received a helicon FB tube. I followed the configuration and setup for my Nikon D500 and Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 G micro lens. I've repeated the configuration several times, the camera, the lens and helicon configuration utility- configuring the direction to go "towards infinity". I focused on the nearest point and released shutter. You can see the incremental moves on the indicator on top of the lens. While the initial focus point became less sharp as it progressed through the series, so did evrything behind it. In the last frame, everything was out of focus. Am I doing something wrong?
Fran

tinusbum Loc: east texas

Ben's nana wrote:

I received a helicon FB tube. I followed the confi... (show quote)

focus from the back and let it focus forward

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

tinusbum wrote:

focus from the back and let it focus forward

I was going to do that but I got it to work. I started everything over from the beginning. I think I may not have done the steps in the exact order.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Ben's nana wrote:

I was going to do that but I got it to work. I started everything over from the beginning. I think I may not have done the steps in the exact order.

Good for you.

I have one but haven't done much macro the last year and a half. I keep telling myself to do some since I can't go out and about much anyway.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

Ben's nana wrote:

I was going to do that but I got it to work. I started everything over from the beginning. I think I may not have done the steps in the exact order.

i dont program mine anymore,i just shoot and it seem to turn out pretty good.

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

robertjerl wrote:

Good for you.

I have one but haven't done much macro the last year and a half. I keep telling myself to do some since I can't go out and about much anyway.

Thanks for responding. Hopefuly you'll be able to get out a little more
Fran

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

tinusbum wrote:

i dont program mine anymore,i just shoot and it seem to turn out pretty good.

Good to know. were you supposed to program it everytime?
Fran

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Ben's nana wrote:

Thanks for responding. Hopefuly you'll be able to get out a little more
Fran

Ha!!! My wife is a retired Surgical RN and OR Charge Nurse - to keep her happy I have gone to 7 medical appointments and 2 curb side pick-up at Sam's Club since Feb.
I am 10 days short of 75 with asthma and diabetes so she even wants me to wear a mask to take pictures in the yard.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Ben's nana wrote:

Good to know. were you supposed to program it everytime?
Fran

You program it whenever you do something that needs a different setting, like if you use a different lens.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Assuming that you are focusing from the near point to the far point, then your successive images will move the focus point toward. The number of steps and the step-size are important. If your stack ends with focus set to near infinity then of course all will be out of focus as all your subject matter will close to the lens.

What are the step sizes? How many steps are you taking?

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

robertjerl wrote:

Ha!!! My wife is a retired Surgical RN and OR Charge Nurse - to keep her happy I have gone to 7 medical appointments and 2 curb side pick-up at Sam's Club since Feb.
I am 10 days short of 75 with asthma and diabetes so she even wants me to wear a mask to take pictures in the yard.

Oh my, well clearly she loves you and wants to keep you around. Early Happy Birthday!
Fran

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

fetzler wrote:

Assuming that you are focusing from the near point to the far point, then your successive images will move the focus point toward. The number of steps and the step-size are important. If your stack ends with focus set to near infinity then of course all will be out of focus as all your subject matter will close to the lens.

What are the step sizes? How many steps are you taking?

So I am using a Nikon100mm micro lens. It was one of the defaults in the helicon software. So the default recommendation was set at f/8 and 53 steps, going toward infinity....so that's where I set it. Here is where I'm unclear. Does that mean to get a proper stack I need to take 53 shots?
Thanks for your help
Fran

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Ben's nana wrote:

Oh my, well clearly she loves you and wants to keep you around. Early Happy Birthday!
Fran

She let it slip, she keeps me alive for my income - she will only get 75% of my pension if I die first and it will be a year and a half until she plans to start collecting her pension and SS (I am 9 years older.) - but more important I do all the bill paying on line and she has never learned enough to take it over (that may be deliberate). She does know how to put in the Debit or Credit Card number and hit "Buy".

tinusbum Loc: east texas

Ben's nana wrote:

So I am using a Nikon100mm micro lens. It was one of the defaults in the helicon software. So the default recommendation was set at f/8 and 53 steps, going toward infinity....so that's where I set it. Here is where I'm unclear. Does that mean to get a proper stack I need to take 53 shots?
Thanks for your help
Fran

i watch it come into focus and when it goes out of focus i quit pushing down on the button.i get different number of shots depending on the size of my target.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Ben's nana wrote:

So I am using a Nikon100mm micro lens. It was one of the defaults in the helicon software. So the default recommendation was set at f/8 and 53 steps, going toward infinity....so that's where I set it. Here is where I'm unclear. Does that mean to get a proper stack I need to take 53 shots?
Thanks for your help
Fran

The number of steps that you need will depend on the magnification, the subject matter and the aperture used.

Your setting would indicate that 53 photos would be taken. I do not own the Helicon tube but my Olympus does does focus bracketing. On the Olympus the camera stops taking photos when infinity focus is reached. If I set the camera to 53 pictures and infinity is reached after 10 exposures the camera stops making additional exposures. My camera needs to be in manual focus so that the camera does not try to refocus with new exposures.

Here is a link to one of my photos that is a 5 shot stack. I think I took 10 but only needed 5. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-661977-1.html. It is OK to have too many.

It is also important to have some idea of what step size means. This is what I did for my Olympus camera. A similar test could be done with your setup.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-623926-1.html