I am looking to photograph my railroad. To create the Depth of Field I am looking for I want to use a Stacking Software.
Which software do you find to best?
What is the difference between Focus Stacking and Photo Stacking?
Price is also a consideration as all it will probably only be use for the railroad.
Harold
Harold:
I have used a product called “Helicon Focus” and was very happy with it. Can’t say it’s the best,as it’s the only one I’ve tried. The “Lite” version of it(which was plenty for my needs)is $30 a year,although I think you can try it out for free. Others on the forum have used a free software - the name escapes me right now - and been happy with it,too. I believe focus stacking and photo stacking are the same thing-the softwire combines multiple shots of the same scene - taken at different focal lengths - to give an image that’s sharp throughout.
Mike
EDIT: I should add that a tripod,or some other means of keeping the camera absolutely stable,is a must.
Helicon focus is pretty much the industry standard.
Focus stacking is photo stacking but photo stacking is not necessarily focus stacking. You are correct when you say Focus stacking is combining multiple shots of the same scene. You are incorrect when you say “taken at different focal lengths”. Focal length is the magnification that the lens produces. You really wouldn’t want to change that in a scene. The image capture software would not be able to discern the appropriate reference points in the photo to align the composite image(s).
Focus stacking combines multiple photos with different focus points within the scene. This maximizes the overall sharpness of the image. It’s used extensively in macro photography, and to a lesser extent in landscape photography. At short focal distances, the depth of field in a photo is smaller (at average apertures). That is, the part of the photo that’s in focus becomes narrower. You can decrease the aperture of the lens, but that in itself leads to other problems. As some very short focal distances, even stopping down to the smallest apertures fails to bring the entire scene into focus. (This is particularly true when using devices like extension tubes to increase magnification.)
Exam
Focus Stacking is Photo Stacking, but not all photo stacking is focus stacking. You can also do exposure stacking that picks out the best details from each photo and combines them.
The Helcion trial was very good, but is of course watermarked. LIONS do not like software by the month or year. CombineZP is a free focus software, but you have to do more of the work yourself.
TRIPOD REQUIRED
LIONS optional
ROAR
I started with Combine ZM. Within about 18 months the newer ZP emerged, but I don’t think I like it as much. Both are free.
Examples:
I can talk to you about Combine if you wish. It takes a few tricks and some learning. If you are already adept with a cloning brush, for example, you can tidy it up here and there if there are any unwanted artefacts left behind after the final product appears.
As Lion hints, a steady camera is a must. Not only that, but returning to within 97% accuracy of aiming point for the previous image is also very important, so either a tripod and a good view memory, or a platform with shims that allows you to slide the camera into the same position relative to the scene. This process, while somewhat labourious, makes the softward render a better final product. Much better.
Your photo’s look great. What exposures did you use for the last pic of the engine. This is the kind of Depth of Field I am trying to get.
Harold
Selector,
Wow, great pictures! Really sharp, (as in focus). Would you mind telling us what equipment you use?
Thank-you. The first three were with a 2006 7 megpx Canon Powershot A710is (late as of last summer) set on manual. I could explain why on manual later if you are interested.
The composite, with the Santa Fe Northern and watermark, was taken using a Fuji Finepix HS20-EXR. It comprises only four exposures. The model diorama is in the foreground, the middleground trees were across a country road about 30 years away, and the distant glacier was about 25 miles distant.
Harold, I have discarded the four original images that were used in a stack to have CombineZM render the image you see. I no longer know, or can remember, what the EXIF information might have been from the Powershot. Sorry. But, what you see here is a stacked composite of only four focus-point exposures into the scene. I first focused on the near edge of the diorama (mounted on a small table with folding legs), then on the rear of he locomotive, then on the trees at left in the middle ground, and lastly on the glacier itself. The Fuji was on a tripod about 3’ from the rear of the locomotive.
This will also work in Photoshop…
Talk to me. I have just downloaded CombineZP into my computer.
I am using a Cannon Rebel T3 on a tripod with a seperate shudder release cable.
Do you use a flash? I have a Cannon 550EX Speedlite flash.
I am just planning on raising the shaft of the tripod and refocusing manualy.
Is this correct? It is not a Marco but shooting across 16’ from front to back.
Harold
I am looking for an answer to the questions above.
Harold
LIONS NEVER use Flash. The shadws would be too harsh.
You need good lighting. two fill lights would be good, but you need one primary light that will cause highlights and shaadows where you want them.
ROAR
One of the advantages of the Helicon suite of programs is the “Helicon Remote” feature which can automatically control the focus and aperature of certain cameras* (I used a T5i but I believe a T3 is on the list, too) and take the guesswork out of focusing.
http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconsoft-products/helicon-remote/
I downloaded the 30 day trial and will probably purchase a licence soon but for now I really don’t have the time to experiment with it.
You connect your camera using a USB cable and you can specify the number of focus “steps” between near and far focus. The software takes over focusing and shooting for you. In sixteen feet you will have quite a few steps — like 48 if you focus every four inches — and each image takes time and resources to manipulate.
Prior to focus-stacking I relied on using lenses that would stop down to ƒ32 and a l-o-n-g exposure time in order to achieve the greatest depth of field.
Good Luck Ed
There is an app for the Iphone called
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC
Its a free download from the app store.
My son has not found time to show me how its works…
Harold, I’m sorry, I have overlooked this thread for a couple of days. Didn’t mean to ignore you.
I never…EVER…use flash indoors and when my setting is during daylight…unless I want to enhance faces under an alcove or in shadow. I never used flash in all my model photos over the years.
Instead, use direct lighting. I would move lamps next to the scene, or slide my halogen GU-10 lights along their bar to minimize fuzzy shadows.
I didn’t use a shutter release because I used the time-delay feature instead. I would take up my Canon point-and-shoot, focus on a different place, trip the shutter, and the reset the camera on the cradle built next to the scene. After a few seconds, the camera took the photo automatically.
I set my camera on manual (thanks to Jarrell Conley’s instruction over the years) and adjusted the shutter speed, not the aperture, to get the best exposure.
For focusing manually, sure, if you can, but the important thing is to retain a mental image of what the view finder saw on the FIRST exposure. That must be reproduced fairly closely in each successive exposure. That is why I fashioned a cradle down on the layout. For one, it produced a more realistic photo…like I was on the ground holding the camera…, and it made the camera line up the same way each time I tripped the shutter. CombineZP will do a good job for you if you don’t make each image differ by more than a c