Experiments with Focus Stacking

[JohnRostron]

I have been trying out various Focus Stacking software. The consensus seems to be that the ideal arrangements is to focus from front to back (or vice versa). However this seems to be less important when using the Pyramid algorithm rather than the Depth Map.

I have had difficulty with focussing from front to back since I do not have any fancy rail to move the camera or subject, so I devised a compromise. Two drinks mats were placed flush against a ruler, and the subject placed on the further one. I then focussed as best I could on the furthest part of the subject, took a shot, and then pushed the near drinks mat a few millimetres backwards. This was repeated till the front of the subject was in focus. I used about ten shots for each.

My first subject was a Dandelion Clock:


The clock started off nicely symmetrical, but after me messing about with it it was rather tatty. However, I think that I have it all in focus apart from the plume at the left.

My second subject was an Asparagus spear. This had appeared in my front garden from a well-established plant that had self-seeded some years ago. I chose this because it was rather more robust than the dandelion clock.


I tried both Zerene Stacker and Helicon Focus, and the two different algorithms for each. I found that the Zerene Pyramidal algorithm seemed to give optimal results in each case (although Helicon was much faster). In particular, it brought out the aphid on the Asparagus that I had not noticed.

And the fate of the Asparagus? Very tasty!

Comment welcome.

John R

[zkogut]

I've used Zerene in the past with my bug macros and the coolest thing is being able to email the creator of the program and have him explain which mapping would give the best result. I like the personal touch along with it giving the best results or there. Photoshop doesn't even compare.

[Kaye Leggett]

I particularly like the asparagus tip. I have not tried Zerene, so thanks for the suggestion of this one.

[bnnrcn]

Hi John I like the second shot.

[Downrigger]

These are nice images, and nice encouragement for those of use thinking of exploring this realm.

[JohnRostron]

Thanks for your comments, Zak, Kaye, Binnur and Mark. The pyramid algorithm is recommended for fine detail, especially crossing hairs, which is why it came out best for the Dandelion. The depth map method produced many halos. I thought that the depth map method would be better for the Asparagus, but the two were much the same, except that the aphid appeared best in the pyramid method.

John

[IzzieK]

So John, which software did you like best for stacking between the two? Do you intend to buy a rail one day? I am thinking of it because of my interest in bug-o-graphy....and I am blaming David (deetheturk) for his very nice images ...

And oh, I like the asparagus stack between the two shots...

[JohnRostron]

So John, which software did you like best for stacking between the two? Do you intend to buy a rail one day? I am thinking of it because of my interest in bug-o-graphy.

Izzie, I did prefer Helicon because it was faster and easier to use. It also offered a third algorithm. However it is 50% more expensive. I did find some rails on EBay that look suitable. However all this spending might have to wait as we need to have our boundary re-fenced.

John

[IzzieK]

Izzie, I did prefer Helicon because it was faster and easier to use. It also offered a third algorithm. However it is 50% more expensive. I did find some rails on EBay that look suitable. However all this spending might have to wait as we need to have our boundary re-fenced.

John

Life...it gets between photography sometimes. But you won't regret the re-fencing first as it needs to be done. In the meantime, we make do with what we have as I do most of the time. Necessity is the mother of invention, so it was said to be true and what you did with that asparagus shot is equally brilliant. If only we can all be John (jcuknz) ... good with his hands and always inventing something to make his life easier. He is one guy I admire...very inventive... even if he is a Kiwi. (tongue-in-cheek statement...)

[James G]

I posted the following recently in a similar thread about stacked shots of Fungi......

I mostly use Photoshop for stacking. But I found that I also wanted to have fine control over stepping the focus, I now use an android app on my Nexus tablet .... my standard workflow is summarised below...

1) Camera mounted on steady tripod (pretty obvious I know)
2) Camera (EOS 7D) with 100mm macro
3) Nexus 7 tablet, loaded with Helicon Remote (Android app), tethered and controlling focus stepping on the camera.
4) Photoshop CS6 (or CombineZP) for the image stack.

As well as Photoshop I also have used Combine ZP (a free image stacking program) as an alternative to CS6 and had good results with it.(It provides several different stacking algorithms.)

The Helicon Remote app comes in a number of flavours. I use the Android version because a tethered tablet is much easier to use in the wild. (The camera can be lowered to within inches of the ground and liveview is then via the tablet, with me standing or sitting/kneeling comfortably) The Android app can be downloaded independent of the Helicon Focus stacking software package.

The unlicenced app is free but only allows JPEG image capture. Licencing costs $48 and allows Raw captures. I found that stacking jpegs gave good results, though in the end I did licence my version.

[JohnRostron]

I posted the following recently in a similar thread about stacked shots of Fungi......

I mostly use Photoshop for stacking. But I found that I also wanted to have fine control over stepping the focus, I now use an android app on my Nexus tablet .... my standard workflow is summarised below...

1) Camera mounted on steady tripod (pretty obvious I know)
2) Camera (EOS 7D) with 100mm macro
3) Nexus 7 tablet, loaded with Helicon Remote (Android app), tethered and controlling focus stepping on the camera.
4) Photoshop CS6 (or CombineZP) for the image stack.

As well as Photoshop I also have used Combine ZP (a free image stacking program) as an alternative to CS6 and had good results with it.(It provides several different stacking algorithms.)

Thanks James. I have found that getting down to ground level to photograph fungi means that a tripod, however small, just gets in the way. I use a folded roll of bubble-wrap and a remote shutter release. You can see a typical set-up here at the end of the thread. The lighting is a combination of a LED ringlight and 2-4 smaller LED lights, though I use larger ones now.

Unfortunately my camera and tablet are incompatible with tethering and remote apps. I have now acquired a video monitor that sits on to of the camera as described here, which does make it simpler. However, I have only tried it on the tabletop and not yet in the wild!

I have used CombineZP, and until the fencing is complete, I shall probably stick with it for now.

John