[spiralcity]

Does anyone have some good suggestion for getting an extremely smooth blend while focus stacking? I have tried to get perfect blends but always fall short. The images are acceptable, but not to my standards. below is the latest attempt for a smooth transition.

[MossyRocks]

My method is generally to take lots of shots with very minor changes in focus. I will typically have the lens stopped down to at least f/8 if not f/11 to also increase the depth of field. By a lot of shots I mean well over a hundred and with small focus adjustments I mean that with the D FA 100/2.8 WR Macro I will usually be taking 3 shots for each 1 rib of movement on the focusing ring. I will start with the focus closest to the lens and work out and then when I get slightly past the object work back in. For software I use Hugin for doing the image alignment (GUI) and the enfuse tool for actually combining the images. The general process I use and learned from is this one. This is a 137 image focus stack I did and while it does show some artefacts those are due to the very complex geometry of the object being photographed:


Remember tiny focus movements and get as much depth of field as you can get away with. Having lots of overlap between shots means the alignment can do a much better job and you get a nice smooth result.

[biz-engineer]

Does anyone have some good suggestion for getting an extremely smooth blend while focus stacking?

There is the fake focus stacking. Without moving the camera , take pictures of the same subject with different f# numbers all the way beyond diffraction limit. Then superimpose images as layers and mask/unmask image areas based on where most detail is wanted. The advantage of apertures blending is the distance to subject is constant, no re-scaling needed to match images in the stack, more natural look of the final result.

[Sir Nameless]

This link might help you evaluate the optimal focus step size for a given aperture and magnification ratio:

stacker:docs:tables:macromicrodof [Zerene Stacker]

[spiralcity]

Smudge drive me nuts. 100% zoom of my AX3 shows a bit of smudge on the 1 in the 1.9 marking on face of lens. The U and the J in the FUJINON on the face of the lens has a clarity issue at 100%. The photo was a 10-image stack.

Thanks everyone for the replies, it's appreciated. Mossy, I downloaded Hugin, I'll give it a try. thanks for the link.

[BarryE]

Tried a few times with the D FA 100/2.8 WR Macro and D FA 50/2.8 WR Macro lenses. On all occasions I was bothered by slight changes in the field of view as I tweaked the focus. This was mostly worked out with auto alignment tools, but not always. The stacking then required careful use of masks to iron out artifacts. Maybe I did not take enough frames - 20 to 30, but I wasn't in macro territory and I ensured there were no gaps.

I'll be interested to read what others say, who have a lot of experience of focus stacking.

I used PS cc. Maybe Helicon would be better or lenses that don't focus breathe as much as the above do...

[pearsaab]

@rgknief60 is a master at stacking. hopefully he will join the discussion

[MossyRocks]

Mossy, I downloaded Hugin, I'll give it a try. thanks for the link.

Hugin and the tools like enfuse it comes with take some learning so don't' get discouraged if your first try doesn't work all that well. Like with anything these things take practice to really get good results but getting pointed in the right general direction early on helps a lot. That is why I mention taking lots of shot with small differences in the focus point resulting in lots of overlap. I have found that to be probably the biggest help. Thankfully electrons are cheap so wasting them isn't a big deal.

[BarryE]

... Thankfully electrons are cheap so wasting them isn't a big deal.

Well in the UK electrons coming out of my wall sockets have become a lot more expensive recently ...

[MossyRocks]

Well in the UK electrons coming out of my wall sockets have become a lot more expensive recently ..

They have everywhere but 1KWH worth of electrons takes a lot of pictures and even over there in the UK should still be substantially less than 1GBP.

[rgknief60]

Does anyone have some good suggestion for getting an extremely smooth blend while focus stacking?

@rgknief60 is a master at stacking. hopefully he will join the discussion

Thanks for the vote of confidence, pearsaab, but not really a master. Much of this will be a recap from the fine suggestions above.

As noted above, enough in focus slices for the stack is critical. You cannot stack what is not there. I'd also suggest that you use the trial versions of Helicon & Zerene with your images as well. That may rule out the problem of software that is just not up to the job.


Some things I keep in mind.

What is purpose of the photograph? If it is only to post on the web, perfection is not necessary, unless you are wired that way! Then it is probably best to put your expectations low, and give yourself time to figure out the best way for you to meet your goals. It will take time.

Most people will never see the details that drive you nuts at 100%. If you print large, or do commercial work, it is good to be detail oriented. There is a guy who stacks wrist watch movements. He stated that he never lets a client see the images at 100%.

Composition & Lighting. Good lighting makes all the difference in how well a stacking program is able to work for you.

Stacking. You can 1) Move the camera forward by hand, or use a manual or automated rail. 2) Use the focus ring. A lens with a long throw works best for this. I miss more focus slices with this method than #1. 3) Aperture method noted above. Disadvantage is that you will never have more of the subject in acceptable focus than your narrowest f-stop.

Gear. Gear needed for extreme macro stacking is different than a large subject like a camera or flower.

Support. I rarely stack without a support/tripod. I'm not a Thomas Shahan. I'm just not steady enough. I still try on occasion, as I miss 100% of the shots I don't take. Sometimes it works out. Vibration of gear and movement of subject are my primary causes of ruined stacks.

Lens. You will never get a stack sharper than the sweet spot on your sharpest lens. Take the time to dig out the right lens for the job.

Macro Rail. I use two manual advance rails. One is rack and pinion. Best used for large steps. I bought a 10x Nikon objective, and found that the rack & pinion could not take fine enough steps to make a good stack. My second is a NiSi. It was on sale for $90 a month ago. Allan Walls has a youtube video with a simple modification that might let one use the NiSi at 10x. It would be challenging. Better would be a stack shot automated rail for such shots. I've used the NiSi up to 5x.

Light source. Diffused Flash is best to avoid vibration & harsh lighting, especially for reflective surfaces. A power source to keep the flash going is helpful sometimes.

Remote. I use a remote 95% of the time to reduce vibration. Mirror up & electronic shutter can be a great help.

Shutter Speed. Can make or break an stack if there is too much movement/vibration.

ISO. Use the lowest you can. Noise is cumulative in some stacking programs.

Distance to Subject. Sometimes it is better to be a bit further away from the subject for better DOF at a given f-stop and crop in. Fewer images for the stack are needed. Fewer images in the stack mean less to go wrong.

Live View. I use magnified live view, at least to get started and check occasionally.

Software

Free Capable of good results. Learning curve is generally high. Control might be better if you really understand the software. Stack edit is not easy. Disclaimer: I've not used free software for over 5 years, so I might be out of touch.

Paid The two main programs are Zerene & Helicon. They have a learning curve as well. Helicon is fast, and will convert RAW to TIF on the fly as it processes the stack. Zerene has the best stack edit tools. Almost every stack needs an edit. I've spent over 8 hours editing a stack. None of mine have been extremely complicated. I've used Zerene for years. Downside is the cost of these programs. They are worth it if you do a lot of stacking.

I hope that there is something in here that might be of assistance. The best thing is to do a lot of practice. I do more learning than not.


Fly at 5x (focus stack) Actual Pixels by Roger

[rlmartindale]

Attached are 7 examples of focus staking software outputs...photoshop, Zerene Stacker and Helicon Focus....

Is there a winner?...imho....Zerene stacker Pmax setting....you choose

[Doundounba]

I'm kind of late to the party here, but I did want to mention a couple of things...

For one thing, in my (admittedly limited) experience, stacking software (I use Zerene) struggles most when you have both foreground and background elements in focus in the same area. For example, the edge of a wing on an insect with part of the abdomen behind it in focus in another shot well "down" in the stack. There will generally be an area at the edge of that wing where you can always improve the stack by manually retouching. Learn how your software's manual retouching works and use it. For me, I will first use both Zerene stacking methods and vary the parameters a bit and compare the resulting output. Then I will pick the best stack and start retouching. I usually spend quite a bit of time retouching. Areas where there is a "hole" in a foreground object (like the small gaps in a snowflake) are also often problematic. Basically any foreground/background edges.

The second thing is you need to choose your background "style" (for lack of a better term). The stacking software will always pick the most detailed shot, even if it's not quite in focus. For the background of your shot, sometimes you actually want the most out of focus shot to be used instead, which (especially if the background is busy) really brings out your subject in a manner totally similar to shooting at a wide aperture to "bokeh out" the background in non-macro shots. Choose deliberately where you want detail and where you do not. Thankfully that retouching is usually fairly quick, as you can deal with large areas quickly (though again, it gets harder at the edges of the subject).

Just a couple of thoughts...

Addendum: my focus stacks.