A question to all you Focus stacking people: I have a flower blossom that is about 2 inches thick and I would like a sharp focus 1/2 in front and 1/2 inch in the rear for a total of 3...

REJ Loc: Ontario Canada

I have a flower blossom that is about 2 inches thick and I would like a sharp focus 1/2 in front and 1/2 inch in the rear for a total of 3 inches, I am using a D810, with a 105 macro lens set at f8 and ss of 250/sec..How do I figure out how many shots I must take to cover that 3 inches. Thanks in advance. REJ.

PS. Should I shoot in JPEG or RAW.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

REJ wrote:

I have a flower blossom that is about 2 inches thick and I would like a sharp focus 1/2 in front and 1/2 inch in the rear for a total of 3 inches, I am using a D810, with a 105 macro lens set at f8 and ss of 250/sec..How do I figure out how many shots I must take to cover that 3 inches. Thanks in advance. REJ.

PS. Should I shoot in JPEG or RAW.

What is your reproduction ratio?

REJ Loc: Ontario Canada

RWR wrote:

What is your reproduction ratio?

I have no idea what a reproduction ratio is.REJ

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I have heard the following: Rule of thumb about DOF. However deep or shallow the DOF in an image is, about 1/3 of it will be in front of the focus point and about 2/3rds behind it. Perhaps you can figure it out from there.

REJ Loc: Ontario Canada

rjaywallace wrote:

I have heard the following: Rule of thumb about DOF. However deep or shallow the DOF in an image is, about 1/3 of it will be in front of the focus point and about 2/3rds behind it. Perhaps you can figure it out from there.

Thank you, a good starting point. REJ.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

REJ wrote:

I have a flower blossom that is about 2 inches thick and I would like a sharp focus 1/2 in front and 1/2 inch in the rear for a total of 3 inches, I am using a D810, with a 105 macro lens set at f8 and ss of 250/sec..How do I figure out how many shots I must take to cover that 3 inches. Thanks in advance. REJ.

PS. Should I shoot in JPEG or RAW.

I have been stacking exactly that sort of stacking for the last couple of months. The closer you are to the subject the more shots will be needed; the longer the focal length the more shots; the wider the aperture the more shots; the deeper the subject the more shots. I am using a Canon 100mm macro lens at f/8 so that is equivalent to what you are using.

This flower is about the size of the one you are asking about, and I filled the frame with it. I think it took about 30 shots. You can always shoot more frames than you need and then pick the sequence you want to stack later.

tTulip on Flickr

Here is a trick I used - put a printed page on a table and shoot it at an angle and at the distance you want to shoot your flower. If there are any out of focus areas in your technique, they will easily be seen.

Mike

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

The number of shots required is a function of the depth of field of the lens at whatever f-stop you are using.
The rule of thumb is to do a 50% overlap to ensure good coverage.
There are calculators that help you determine the steps here:
http://extreme-macro.co.uk/focus-stacking/#calculator

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

rjaywallace wrote:

I have heard the following: Rule of thumb about DOF. However deep or shallow the DOF in an image is, about 1/3 of it will be in front of the focus point and about 2/3rds behind it. Perhaps you can figure it out from there.

That doesn't work for macro. At short distances, the distribution is more like 50/50, such as this lens at 20".

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

REJ wrote:

I have a flower blossom that is about 2 inches thick and I would like a sharp focus 1/2 in front and 1/2 inch in the rear for a total of 3 inches, I am using a D810, with a 105 macro lens set at f8 and ss of 250/sec..How do I figure out how many shots I must take to cover that 3 inches. Thanks in advance. REJ.

PS. Should I shoot in JPEG or RAW.

Shooting raw won't hurt, especially if you have wide dynamic range.

I simply start at the distance closest to the camera and focus slightly closer, then advance focus until I get to the farthest distance, then an extra shot beyond the farthest point for insurance.

At 20" your depth of field is 1/3 inch, so if you are a little conservative, I would use 1/6 in with the understanding that at 23" your DoF is .48", which would prompt me to use 1/4" increments.

This is all much easier if you use live view and eyeball it. You'll be surprised at how accurate that really is.

Also, On1 Photo Raw looks promising - it allows you to visually "select" your desired depth of field from your sequence using sliders. It's not quite ready for prime time, though. I am waiting for when they provide access to the layer masks, important for when you need to fine tune a mask to make it look right.

.

(Download)

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Blenheim Orange wrote:

I have been stacking exactly that sort of stacking... (show quote)

Nice shot!

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

rjaywallace wrote:

I have heard the following: Rule of thumb about DOF. However deep or shallow the DOF in an image is, about 1/3 of it will be in front of the focus point and about 2/3rds behind it. Perhaps you can figure it out from there.

No, that does not apply here at all.

Mike

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

REJ wrote:

I have no idea what a reproduction ratio is.REJ

Divide the subject size by the image size. Say the subject is 72mm (2.835") wide and your sensor is 36mm. 72 ÷ 36 = 2. The reproduction ratio is 1:2. The attached depth of field chart is based on the ratio. Divide the subject’s depth by the DOF to determine the number of exposures needed for focus stacking. In this example the total DOF at 1:2 and f/8.0 is .126". For a 3" deep shot, you would need at least 24 exposures, double that for a 50% overlap.
There is no mention of subject distance or focal length in the chart because neither have any bearing on depth of field - you’ll need the same number of exposures regardless. You can move in close with a 50mm lens or move back with a 200mm lens, and as long as you maintain the same ratio the DOF will be the same. You may see for yourself here: https://www.photopills.com/calculators/dof-macro.

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traderjohn Loc: New York City

Blenheim Orange wrote:

I have been stacking exactly that sort of stacking... (show quote)

That is really a spectacular picture.

bbrown5154 Loc: Baltimore, MD

Gene51 wrote:

Shooting raw won't hurt, especially if you have wi... (show quote)

WOW those are excellent.
I have only tried focus stacking once or twice on some close ups of leaves. I liked the results but nothing as good as yours.
Does it work as well on landscapes?

melueth Loc: Central Florida

Blenheim Orange wrote:

I have been stacking exactly that sort of stacking... (show quote)

Wow - SO helpful! Thank you!! And what an incredible "shot!" Gorgeous.