[stormtech]

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I'm getting into more close up shooting lately. I call it close up rather than macro since I usually don't go past 1:1

My main interest right now is shooting flowers and other vegetation, but getting rather close if not at the 1:1 ratio. When shooting like this with a macro lens (DFA 50 & DFA 100) even when I stop down the aperture quite a bit, I still seem to have a fairly narrow depth of field. I would like to get the entire view of the frame in focus. So this has brought me to start looking at focus stacking which is totally new to me.

Just in my thinking how to achieve this, it seems I would need a good focusing rail, and would have to shoot a series of images with minute changes in the camera fore or aft. This brings the first question as to the quality of focusing rails. It seems there are 2 extremes - the cheaper ones I see on Adorama for $20-$50, then the better ones I've seen that go for $300+. If there is one thing I've learned about this hobby, is not to cheap out on gear. I get to wondering if those cheap rails would work at all well when doing minute adjustments like this.

Then it is on to the software which I haven't even looked at yet and wonder how much expense I would get into with that. The closest thing I have to a real editor is Corel Paint Shop Pro x5 along with Lightroom and Acdsee Pro 6.

I am hoping someone can kind of hold my hand with this with recommendations for a good focusing rail and proper software.

[DanWeso]

This might be of some interest. I’ve been meaning to try it myself.


Focus Stacking: how to extend depth of field when shooting close up | Digital Camera World

[DanWeso]

I should add, I have two of these. They work OK, but a little wobbly when the camera is mounted.

Amazon.com: Macro Focusing Rail Slider: Camera & Photo

[Bob from Aus]

I paid more than $50 for my cheap focus rails. I need to be an octopus with eight arms just to get the camera onto it. It is so messy I have hardly used it. Mine is very solid and seems to be built like a tank, but it has a wobble. There is only one screw holing the main section together and now that I look closely it has been crewed tightly because you can see markings were it has been forces, but the wobble remains. Mine does not have a brand name. Not even China wants to own up to it.

Think about a rail with a quick release, my screw in camera is impossible to get on.

Best of luck with your project. Hope to get some nice results and share it with us. Are you interested in garden plants or natives?

[p38arover]

I, too, am interested in stacking.

[Bob from Aus]

Thanks for your question. I have had a much better look at my rail. It is a double setup - forward/backwards and sidwards. I think I can uncouple one rail from the other. I will end up with a third of the weight, no wobble and much easier to attached.

[stormtech]

This might be of some interest. I’ve been meaning to try it myself.


Focus Stacking: how to extend depth of field when shooting close up | Digital Camera World

Thanks for the link - I'll read it in the next couple days - looks like a good primer

Think about a rail with a quick release, my screw in camera is impossible to get on.

Best of luck with your project. Hope to get some nice results and share it with us. Are you interested in garden plants or natives?

My intention is to have an arca-swiss clamp since my camera has plates on it already.

My wife has an extensive perennial garden with many beautiful and rare looking flowers I want to shoot. Also, we live in the woods and want to get some close up shots of some of the small plants and vegetation on the forest floor.

As far as the focusing rail, I've had excellent results from everything I've bought from Hejnar Photo. While these rails look quite expensive, I know the quality is top notch for sure. Just have to justify the cost to myself........

[stormtech]

Here's a good example of what I want to achieve:

Flower detail - focus stacking - my best so far: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

[Bob from Aus]

My intention is to have an arca-swiss clamp since my camera has plates on it already.

That makes very good sense - i shouldn't have gone cheap.

My wife has an extensive perennial garden with many beautiful and rare looking flowers I want to shoot. Also, we live in the woods and want to get some close up shots of some of the small plants and vegetation on the forest floor.

Looks like you will have plenty of subject material. We are lucky in Australia to have an amazing range of wildflowers. many of them are tiny and a real change to photograph

[Not a Number]

Well if you really want to get fancy you can buy a computer controlled focusing rail:

You Tube

You Tube

StackShot - Focus Stacking Macro Rail

If you're the handy type you try a DIY rail:
Create An Automated Macro Rail For Image Stacking | DIYPhotography.net

[baro-nite]

For shooting around 1:1 a rail is certainly helpful, although not strictly necessary. Here's a very helpful article on various focusing methods for stacking:

Is it better to use a focus rail or the ring on my lens?

This is from the FAQ list for Zerene Stacker, which is the stacking software I use. It's a very powerful tool, although there's a learning curve to get the most out of it.

Now that I have a 100mm bellows lens I've been doing some stacks and refocusing by moving the bellows rear standard. This is theoretically better than moving the entire unit (as with a rail) because you aren't changing perspective. Here's an example:




This was 35 shots and is probably a bit over 1:2 magnification. For higher magnification I do use a rail. This is the one I got:

Macro rail 4 arca swis Kirk Markins wimberley rrs acratech newport linear stage

If you aren't familiar with Hejnar, he appears to be a one-man shop making high-quality arca/swiss compatible gear and sells direct on eBay. I like the rail, although the physical profile is taller than I'd like. It's a specialized rail with a micrometer head to drive the rail, so it's best suited to high-magnification work (2:1 and beyond). He also makes ordinary macro rails, but of course you have more options there.

For stacking software, Zerene Stacker and Helicon Focus seem to be the class leaders, and each apparently has its strengths. One of the nice things about ZS is that the developer also runs the photomacrography.net site, which includes an excellent forum where he is very active. I think ZS is astoundingly good, once you learn how to use the advanced features.

[stormtech]

Thanks for all the details baro-nite - certainly appreciated!

I know of Hejnar Photo - mentioned their rails in a post of mine above. If I go forward with this, he will likely be my vendor of choice.

Lots to chew on here thanks to all the info everyone is offering.

Your moth photo is simply amazing!

[excanonfd]

Thanks for the link - I'll read it in the next couple days - looks like a good primer



My intention is to have an arca-swiss clamp since my camera has plates on it already.

My wife has an extensive perennial garden with many beautiful and rare looking flowers I want to shoot. Also, we live in the woods and want to get some close up shots of some of the small plants and vegetation on the forest floor.

As far as the focusing rail, I've had excellent results from everything I've bought from Hejnar Photo. While these rails look quite expensive, I know the quality is top notch for sure. Just have to justify the cost to myself........

Whether you get the Hejnar rails or the Chinese made 4-way rail available at Adorama or from eBay, they are all going to be big and bulky to be transported around in the woods. I think you should thank your wife for her green thumb and be satisfied that you have so many varied subject s to choose from. I don't know about Hejnar but the Chinese made 4-way rail should be adequate for stacking botanical subject matter at near 1:1 macro.

I have mounted an aftermarket Manfrotto RC-2 QR plate holder so that mounting the camera on to the rail is not a chore in itself, you can easily add the same but instead in A-S plate system: RSO Clamp AND QR Quick Release Plate Arca Swiss Compatible FOR Tripod Ball Head | eBay This one looks even easier since it has a 1/4 x 20 tpi tripod mount socket installed on the bottom of the clamp to screw in the tripod mounting screw on the 4-way rail. I would also strongly recommend that you semi-permanently mount an A-S plate to the bottom of the rail for easy mounting and dismounting from your tripod.

If you can modify the focus knob (replace with much bigger one), you can put indexing marks on the knob for more precise stacking steps. I haven't done this to mine because the pinion on the focus rail is bent (freight damage, I think). I've been trying to get a replacement part from the eBay seller but no luck so far.

I think you can do the type of shots you are wanting on the cheap, as long as your maximum magnification is 1:1 or lower. You definitely will need a much more precise micrometer stage if you want to take stacked pictures of insect anatomy.

[crewl1]

Wow that Hejnar solution looks awesome especially since it is a turnkey unit with arca Swiss for the tripod and camera.
I've considered Jerry rigging a Newport stage but even then just the stage itself is quite expensive.
Example http://www.ebay.com/itm/Newport-430-Linear-Stage-4-X-3-With-Starrett-1-trave...item35c7abb674
I think Newport stage is designed for very fine stacking such as more than 1:1 on tiny critters.
For flowers a cheaper Chinese macro rail in single direction may be sufficient.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-way-macro-focus-rail-slider-for-Digital-SLR-Camera...item23238ef007