Focus stacking with special hw Stack Shot and sw Zerene

Sten · 05-01-2012, 11:15 AM

Well, it took one day on April 30 to get the hardware assembled in a good way: Stack Shot, tripod, and camera.
Then it took May 1 to get a picture (only test, not beautiful) out of Stack Shot + Zerene, and there are still parameters for Stack Shot, Zerene, and the camera to consider and probably change.
It is a learning period.

Sten · 05-02-2012, 08:22 AM

Well, here is my first attempt, a picture of a grape hyacinth.
I hope to learn more.

newarts · 05-02-2012, 09:19 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Sten

Well, here is my first attempt, a picture of a grape hyacinth.
I hope to learn more.

Nice work!

Apparently the learning curve is not all that steep - or, more likely, you are a quick learner!

Congratulations,
Dave

**Ex Finn.** · 05-02-2012, 01:49 PM

Originally posted by Sten

Well, here is my first attempt, a picture of a grape hyacinth.

That turned out very nice.
Zerene is growing on me but I find the Stackshot little pricey, I am a cheapskate at heart.

Sten · 05-03-2012, 01:48 AM

Well,

This is actually a detail of the orchid Phalaenopsis.

The area around the "head" is blurred in reality, so it is not lack of sharpness there.

**jac** · 05-04-2012, 07:20 PM

Nice work! So Stack Shot or keep plugging away manually cranking micro adjustments on my old Pentax macro rail :-) Tempting.

Sten · 05-04-2012, 09:06 PM

This is my third picture with Stack Shot and Zerene.
It is a little different from the two first ones since it is closer.

Best regards,

Sten

Attached Images

**jac** · 05-05-2012, 03:10 AM

Appears than high contrast has hit the right-hand side. You may be able to go back to your stack(s) and find some detail in them to 'paint' over the area. But almost like a watercolor painting and very nice composition.

Sten · 05-05-2012, 05:39 AM

Originally posted by jac

Appears than high contrast has hit the right-hand side. You may be able to go back to your stack(s) and find some detail in them to 'paint' over the area. But almost like a watercolor painting and very nice composition.

Yes, I see the high contrast now. But the stacks are thrown away, so the picture will stay this way.

**jac** · 05-05-2012, 07:45 AM

Been there, done that and then I cropped :-)
John

Sten · 05-05-2012, 08:32 AM

Originally posted by jac

Been there, done that and then I cropped :-)
John

John, I retouched the picture with Photoshop CS5 now, and perhaps it became a little better?

Nass · 05-05-2012, 01:14 PM

Sten, do you have the originals on an online account anywhere for viewing?

Sten · 05-05-2012, 08:36 PM

Originally posted by Nass

Sten, do you have the originals on an online account anywhere for viewing?

Hi Nass,

My online picture accounts have size restrictions, and that is one reason why I publish my pictures here in the size 1024 at the longest side.
The original pictures are about 4900 long and can be up to 10 Mb.
However, I sometimes send original pictures by email to people I trust.
You are a moderator at this forum, and if you like, I can email pictures to you, if you give me your address.

Best regards,

Sten

Nass · 05-06-2012, 02:45 AM

Sten, it's ok. I was just going to take a closer look at that last blue picture. The stacking looks a little bit off, if you look at the bottom right you'll see the specks (pollen?) are duplicated. Also I think you'll want to consider composition carefully, all that blotchy stuff on the right comes from stacking areas of low contrast which software doesn't do well. Was this dmap?

In terms of saturation and PP, I've always left any fiddling with that until the very end, ie once you have an image from a stack. So I have a very flat, unsharpened set of photos that go into a stack, then adjust later. Point being it's easier to adjust 1 composite than have to adjust the 250 photos going in. Personal preference!

Sten · 05-06-2012, 06:11 AM

Originally posted by Nass

Sten, it's ok. I was just going to take a closer look at that last blue picture. The stacking looks a little bit off, if you look at the bottom right you'll see the specks (pollen?) are duplicated. Also I think you'll want to consider composition carefully, all that blotchy stuff on the right comes from stacking areas of low contrast which software doesn't do well. Was this dmap?

In terms of saturation and PP, I've always left any fiddling with that until the very end, ie once you have an image from a stack. So I have a very flat, unsharpened set of photos that go into a stack, then adjust later. Point being it's easier to adjust 1 composite than have to adjust the 250 photos going in. Personal preference!

Nass, yes perhaps the specks to the right are duplicated. I agree that the software was not at its best with this picture, considering the blotchy right part. Yes, it was Dmap. I have tried Pmax a few times too, but Dmap has always been better. Once I retouched the Dmap version with Pmax but discarded the picture later because of its imperfections. I agree that saturation, contrast etc is best treated at the end of the whole process, with the final picture.

05-02-2012, 08:22 AM	#32
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	First picture with hw Stack Shot and sw Zerene Well, here is my first attempt, a picture of a grape hyacinth. I hope to learn more. Attached Images

05-03-2012, 01:48 AM	#35
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	Second picture with hw Stack Shot and sw Zerene: Man with wings Well, This is actually a detail of the orchid Phalaenopsis. The area around the "head" is blurred in reality, so it is not lack of sharpness there. Attached Images

05-04-2012, 09:06 PM	#37
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	Pansy with pollen grains This is my third picture with Stack Shot and Zerene. It is a little different from the two first ones since it is closer. Best regards, Sten Attached Images

05-05-2012, 08:32 AM	#41
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	Originally posted by jac Been there, done that and then I cropped :-) John John, I retouched the picture with Photoshop CS5 now, and perhaps it became a little better? Attached Images

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05-01-2012, 11:15 AM	#31
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	Well, it took one day on April 30 to get the hardware assembled in a good way: Stack Shot, tripod, and camera. Then it took May 1 to get a picture (only test, not beautiful) out of Stack Shot + Zerene, and there are still parameters for Stack Shot, Zerene, and the camera to consider and probably change. It is a learning period.

05-02-2012, 09:19 AM - 1 Like	#33
newarts Inactive Account Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ames, Iowa, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 2,965	Originally posted by Sten Well, here is my first attempt, a picture of a grape hyacinth. I hope to learn more. Nice work! Apparently the learning curve is not all that steep - or, more likely, you are a quick learner! Congratulations, Dave

05-02-2012, 01:49 PM	#34
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	Originally posted by Sten Well, here is my first attempt, a picture of a grape hyacinth. That turned out very nice. Zerene is growing on me but I find the Stackshot little pricey, I am a cheapskate at heart.

05-04-2012, 07:20 PM	#36
jac Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada Posts: 2,364	Nice work! So Stack Shot or keep plugging away manually cranking micro adjustments on my old Pentax macro rail :-) Tempting.

05-05-2012, 03:10 AM	#38
jac Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada Posts: 2,364	Appears than high contrast has hit the right-hand side. You may be able to go back to your stack(s) and find some detail in them to 'paint' over the area. But almost like a watercolor painting and very nice composition.

05-05-2012, 05:39 AM	#39
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	Originally posted by jac Appears than high contrast has hit the right-hand side. You may be able to go back to your stack(s) and find some detail in them to 'paint' over the area. But almost like a watercolor painting and very nice composition. Yes, I see the high contrast now. But the stacks are thrown away, so the picture will stay this way.

05-05-2012, 07:45 AM	#40
jac Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada Posts: 2,364	Been there, done that and then I cropped :-) John

05-05-2012, 01:14 PM	#42
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	Sten, do you have the originals on an online account anywhere for viewing?

05-05-2012, 08:36 PM	#43
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	Originally posted by Nass Sten, do you have the originals on an online account anywhere for viewing? Hi Nass, My online picture accounts have size restrictions, and that is one reason why I publish my pictures here in the size 1024 at the longest side. The original pictures are about 4900 long and can be up to 10 Mb. However, I sometimes send original pictures by email to people I trust. You are a moderator at this forum, and if you like, I can email pictures to you, if you give me your address. Best regards, Sten

05-06-2012, 02:45 AM	#44
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	Sten, it's ok. I was just going to take a closer look at that last blue picture. The stacking looks a little bit off, if you look at the bottom right you'll see the specks (pollen?) are duplicated. Also I think you'll want to consider composition carefully, all that blotchy stuff on the right comes from stacking areas of low contrast which software doesn't do well. Was this dmap? In terms of saturation and PP, I've always left any fiddling with that until the very end, ie once you have an image from a stack. So I have a very flat, unsharpened set of photos that go into a stack, then adjust later. Point being it's easier to adjust 1 composite than have to adjust the 250 photos going in. Personal preference!

05-06-2012, 06:11 AM	#45
Sten Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 103 Original Poster	Originally posted by Nass Sten, it's ok. I was just going to take a closer look at that last blue picture. The stacking looks a little bit off, if you look at the bottom right you'll see the specks (pollen?) are duplicated. Also I think you'll want to consider composition carefully, all that blotchy stuff on the right comes from stacking areas of low contrast which software doesn't do well. Was this dmap? In terms of saturation and PP, I've always left any fiddling with that until the very end, ie once you have an image from a stack. So I have a very flat, unsharpened set of photos that go into a stack, then adjust later. Point being it's easier to adjust 1 composite than have to adjust the 250 photos going in. Personal preference! Nass, yes perhaps the specks to the right are duplicated. I agree that the software was not at its best with this picture, considering the blotchy right part. Yes, it was Dmap. I have tried Pmax a few times too, but Dmap has always been better. Once I retouched the Dmap version with Pmax but discarded the picture later because of its imperfections. I agree that saturation, contrast etc is best treated at the end of the whole process, with the final picture.