Originally Posted by
Richard Lovison
Anita,
As Steve indicated, this problem should be handled by the stacking software in the alignment process although it is not perfect. I have a feeling that the amount of artifacts produced in the merge process is dependent on the f stop, lens used, closeness of the lens to the subject and magnification. The less depth of field present in the initial setup, the more likelihood of artifacts.
Most of my merges have been at 1;2 magnification. Macro at 1:1 or greater magnification will probably create more artifacts due to less depth of field. I have run into issues if the depth of my subject is too great. This usually results in artifacts around the edges of my subject. Most of these can be easily removed in Photoshop.
I haven't used Helicon Focus in a while but if I remember correctly, it had some pretty nifty tools for removing artifacts. I believe you had the ability to paint part of the original images into the merge.
Richard