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Mineral PhotographyCombineZP / Mr. Alan Hadley - Status?

19th Jun 2017 14:35 UTCScott Braley

I've been using CombineZP for a while now, and went looking for updates recently. I was surprised that the website seems to be gone (formerly http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/CZP/News.htm, now just times out). Does anyone know the status of the software, or its creator? Is all well?


Cheers,

Scott

21st Nov 2017 14:49 UTCScott Braley

I'm going to assume that development and support for this software has ceased. What other, alternative stacking software do people use and like? I'm unlikely to spring for Photoshop.

21st Nov 2017 18:02 UTCTravis Olds Expert

Helicon Focus is nice, with some good options for retouching. And has support for automation if you use a motorized rail. Though it requires a subscription.

21st Nov 2017 19:35 UTCJürgen Greiner

Zerene Stacker is also an option for stacking and has the support for an automated rail as well.


There is a 30 day trial period for both programs available

21st Nov 2017 22:33 UTCRobert Rothenberg

I use and like Helicon Focus - when I started, it was the only program that worked with Apple computers. This may have changed. It takes about 1 second per image to stack them.


Bob

22nd Nov 2017 03:34 UTCOwen Lewis

Go with Helicon Focus and you'll not look back. For those using a Nikon or Canon DSLR it's worth going with Helicon even just for the Remote control routines. You don't have to have a motorised rail as the stepping between shots is done in your camera under remote control from a PC running the hardware.

22nd Nov 2017 05:01 UTCScott Braley

I'm using an Olympus, which neither (as best I can tell) directly supports for remote control. Any other candidates that folks are happy with?

22nd Nov 2017 06:09 UTCHarald Schillhammer Expert

Owen Lewis Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Go with Helicon Focus and you'll not look back.

> For those using a Nikon or Canon DSLR it's worth

> going with Helicon even just for the Remote

> control routines. You don't have to have a

> motorised rail as the stepping between shots is

> done in your camera under remote control from a PC

> running the hardware.


That works only for AF lenses. For fixed focus setups (bellows and enlarger lens/microscope objective) it is useless. But, admittedly, nice to have when you need it.

22nd Nov 2017 11:34 UTCSteve Rust Manager

I now use Zerene having tried Combined Z and Helicon, Zerene just has the edge over Helicon for me.

22nd Nov 2017 18:10 UTCRonald J. Pellar Expert

The one advantage Helicon Focus has over Zerene is Helicon accepts Camera RAW and outputs DNG (digital negative) whereas Zerene takes only TIFF or JPEG, the last I checked..

22nd Nov 2017 19:45 UTCTravis Olds Expert

I've looked into "Capture One" as well. They have an extensive compatibility list that I would assume includes your Olympus.


https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products/Software/Capture-One-Pro/Supported-Cameras.aspx


Again, it's a subscription/pay situation after 30 day trial..


Edit: well I guess not.. seems Olympus does not support tethering/live view while shooting on many of the models..

23rd Nov 2017 02:35 UTCMartin Rich Expert

There is a new homepage for CombineZ: http://micropics.org.uk/


In my opinion Combine makes good results and you can adjust a lot of parameters. For deep stacks (about more than 30 images) Zerene is the better choice. For remote the camera, I use digiCamControl. http://digicamcontrol.com/


There is an other freewere: Picolay, but I had not tested it.

http://www.picolay.de/

23rd Nov 2017 18:14 UTCRonald J. Pellar Expert

I also think Zerene is the best, but not inputting CameraRAW and not outputting DNG is a real Bummer!

23rd Nov 2017 19:01 UTCDon Saathoff Expert

Pardon me folks, but this discussion reminds me of the locker-room discussions in high-school - "which is more cool, a '57 Chevy or a '57 Mercury".LOL


Don S

23rd Nov 2017 20:26 UTCHarald Schillhammer Expert

IMO, it is all a matter of what you are used to. I worked with HF years ago but switched to ZS because at that time HF did not provide the Pyramid algorithm and sometimes had problems with alignment. Meanwhile, both are very similar to each other, with ZS still having the better alignment algorithm - which comes at cost of speed, though.


Ronald J. Pellar Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I also think Zerene is the best, but not inputting

> CameraRAW and not outputting DNG is a real Bummer!


This should not be an argument since shooting minerals is usually done under controlled conditions, i.e. you can tweak the camera settings until they are perfect, so there is no need of the advantages of RAW for postprocessing.

25th Nov 2017 06:32 UTCDouglas Merson 🌟 Expert

I use Zerene and shoot in RAW, import to Lightroom for minor post processing, export from Lightroom directly to Zerene doing the conversion from RAW to TIFF.
 
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