photo stacking

[Lammaite]

Hi,
would anybody advise how to reduce or get rid of blurred zones appearing along the edges of layers when stacking photos on PS. I attach a sample. The object is ~ 12 mm across, this is a merger of 30 photos a settings: F/5, 0.8 s, focus increments ~0.7 mm, the camera mounted on heavy tripod and on focus rail. Optional sets with F/8 or F/10 did not help. I was hoping larger DOF would help.
I would appreciate your comments and sharing experience. I am beginner in PS.
Regards,
Pawel
https://www.google.com/+PawelWembley

[James G]

Pavel,
this is an artefact of the stacking process. Each image is adjusted to place it in the appropriate perspective position which means that those closest are 'downsized' sequentially. (It's the best way I can explain it!) You can see this if you examine the stack before blending the layers.

You need to identify the sharp edge and crop once thestack is complete .

Sometimes ,I use a free stacking program CombineZP, as an alternative to PS since it allows me to choose different stacking methods. It has a built in feature which identifies the 'blurred' areas and allows you to crop with more accuracy.

[chauncey]

As a new member herein, it would help us if you listed your gear used in the shoot...
camera/lenses/version of PS/whatnot.

Can we assume that the areas in question are crystal clear in some of the original Raw image?
Stacking in PS is not a "plug and play" scenario. Restacking the entire series sometimes helps.

[Lammaite]

As a new member herein, it would help us if you listed your gear used in the shoot...
camera/lenses/version of PS/whatnot.

Can we assume that the areas in question are crystal clear in some of the original Raw image?
Stacking in PS is not a "plug and play" scenario. Restacking the entire series sometimes helps.

Thanks. I use Sony A99 and Sigma 100mm Macro lens for this photo. Yes, the individual photos were very much clear. The blur can be seen when zooming the merged photo. It looks to me like it is on the edges of the layers. This is regular effect whenever I try some more complex objects. The PS "aligns" the photos without problem yet the next step - merging produces these blur zones. I did try restacking with similar results.

[chauncey]

You need to be aware that you are minutely changing the field of view when you move the camera
closer to the subject...that is displayed after the alignment stage. The only part that is stacked well
is the centermost area of the final image.

The work-a-round solution is to take one or more of your initial images and manually blend the
crispy parts into that final messed-up image.

[DanK]

It's hard to answer without seeing the image. Most often, this occurs because of parallax when the surface behind the edge is far behind it. The image changes size as you move the camera or change focus to create the stack, and therefore, the edge is blurred.

Sometimes, as Chauncy suggests, you can paint from one image in the stack to solve this problem. If the gap is wide enough, however, this may not work, since there won't be any image that has a clear edge for one in the right place to merge with another. In that case, you sometimes have to change stacking methods because some are more prone to this than others. I use Zerene, which has two algorithms. In many respects I prefer DMap, but PMax has less severe problems with halos, so I often create composites with both. I then paint onto a DMAP composite from individual images, from the PMax composite, or both.

[Lammaite]

It's hard to answer without seeing the image. Most often, this occurs because of parallax when the surface behind the edge is far behind it. The image changes size as you move the camera or change focus to create the stack, and therefore, the edge is blurred.

Sometimes, as Chauncy suggests, you can paint from one image in the stack to solve this problem. If the gap is wide enough, however, this may not work, since there won't be any image that has a clear edge for one in the right place to merge with another. In that case, you sometimes have to change stacking methods because some are more prone to this than others. I use Zerene, which has two algorithms. In many respects I prefer DMap, but PMax has less severe problems with halos, so I often create composites with both. I then paint onto a DMAP composite from individual images, from the PMax composite, or both.

Thanks for the tips. Looks like you diagnosed the thing well. It most often appears when there are overlapping elements at some distance in focusing i.e. the crossing edges are at some distance. But it also appears in other situations. I thought I attached the sample to my initial post. Sorry I am not familiar yet with the Forum. Just in case I attach again. If you can spare your time to have a look, please?