Stacking

[tpe]

Can anyone help me out finding out a little more about focus stacking, specifically do you get better results bu moving the camera to alter the focal plane or is it better to refocus, which causes less distortion etc.

Also any general hints or links for info, it has been very hard finding out info on this technique.

thanks

tim

 

[aMac]

I hadn't heard of this technique until you mentioned it, but after a quick google search it looks very intriguing and is something I wouldn't have thought of to do. Although now it makes sense; if people use multiple exposures for high dynamic range images, why not combining multiple focuses for high DoF.

I assumed it was going to be something like focus bracketing. Learn something new every day!

 

[Mike_E]

Here is a link to a free program.. http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/CZM/Manual/combinezm_help.htm

I just found it but from the forums that I looked through it appears to be what you need. It also seems to be able to do HDR as well.

Let us know what you find out!

mike

 

[abraxas]

Tim;

links:

The first looks promising;

* http://www.wonderfulphotos.com/articles/macro/focus_stacking/

http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconfocus.html

http://www.mineralogie.uni-wuerzburg.de/links/tools/focus_stacking.html
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=18397
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=361635

 

[tpe]

Thanks for the links they are very usefull abraxas, that guy brian v aka lord v etc gets everywhere, he also seems to be the main info guy for combineZ the free stacking software, he also preferes it to helicon, that i tryed and was very expencive because you can only buy it for a year at a time, if i use it twice in a year it would cost me too much per second to justify.

Mike E yes thats the one i have been using, it seems pretty good but makes errors, I will try and post some pics below.

aMac, i think the main problem with it is the subject has to be stationary, so no fast moving leavs with insects etc.

These were with CombineZ

the first one worked ok, there is a 100% crop in the rhs.

and the second one too.

But I want to get really really close and the third one has some kind of star effect, that although not totally unpleasent is difficult to get rid of.

And i would really like to get some pictures like this...

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/micropolitan/insectportrait/portrait/midge2.jpg
or this
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/micropolitan/insectportrait/portrait/wasp.jpg
(anyone know if it is ok to embed the image in the post even if it isnt mine?)

or any of the other ones on this site

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mic...org.uk/micropolitan/insectportrait/index.html

that are truely amazing, but it so far i have not been able to get it to work when i get really close to the subject. Trying to get over these little things has stumped me so far, perhaps i just have to get a new microscope (I have nothing that a camera is mountable on, big oversight) but don't want to lash out on HUGE amounts of money unless totally necessary

tim