focus question on the 7D II
Jul 13, 2018 09:16:44 #
Hogsters,
Changing the focus point for the purpose of focus stacking presents some problems on the 7D. The normal grouping of focus points does not extend to the bottom or top 1/3rds of the viewing field. I have noted on other cameras that the focus box goes from the top to bottom. That leaves me picking the focus points in live view but even there the focus point does not extend all the way to the top or bottom. How do you 7D focus stackers deal with not getting sharp focus from the bottom to the top? I suppose I could tilt the camera to focus in these extreme areas but then I would have to untilt it to maintain my original position for the stack - time consuming and possibly not accurate.
Thanks,
Photodoc16
Changing the focus point for the purpose of focus stacking presents some problems on the 7D. The normal grouping of focus points does not extend to the bottom or top 1/3rds of the viewing field. I have noted on other cameras that the focus box goes from the top to bottom. That leaves me picking the focus points in live view but even there the focus point does not extend all the way to the top or bottom. How do you 7D focus stackers deal with not getting sharp focus from the bottom to the top? I suppose I could tilt the camera to focus in these extreme areas but then I would have to untilt it to maintain my original position for the stack - time consuming and possibly not accurate.
Thanks,
Photodoc16
Jul 13, 2018 09:46:20 #
Jul 13, 2018 10:29:18 #
Hello Big-Guy,
Thanks for the reply. Talk about tunnel vision. Yes, I do manually focus on occasion but auto focus can be quicker and possibly more accurate. Your point is well taken, however, and might have to be the way to go. I guess the real question amounts to whether there is any way to attain auto focus at the top and bottom of the screen. Was Canon negligent in not creating a system where a focus box could be placed in these areas?
Thanks,
Photodoc16
Thanks for the reply. Talk about tunnel vision. Yes, I do manually focus on occasion but auto focus can be quicker and possibly more accurate. Your point is well taken, however, and might have to be the way to go. I guess the real question amounts to whether there is any way to attain auto focus at the top and bottom of the screen. Was Canon negligent in not creating a system where a focus box could be placed in these areas?
Thanks,
Photodoc16
Jul 13, 2018 11:38:51 #
Are you asking how to obtain auto focus in the red areas outside the array of 65-points? You can use Live View to access the entire frame, including these red areas. Otherwise, focus occurs at the selected AF points within the array or via manual focus.
Jul 13, 2018 12:07:43 #
Thank you CHG CANON,
I have realized that one cannot obtain focus outside of the red areas which is too bad. I have also used live view to get around this. It is interesting that the live view focus box is larger than I would like and it too doesn't quite get to the bottom or top of the frame. Such is life. It is frustrating to watch a tutorial where someone is using the Sony a7R III and see the small focus box move as high or low as the photog wishes.
Should be my biggest problem. I do think it is a design flaw and with the great interest in focus stacking it might just be corrected. Thanks for the help.
Photodoc16
I have realized that one cannot obtain focus outside of the red areas which is too bad. I have also used live view to get around this. It is interesting that the live view focus box is larger than I would like and it too doesn't quite get to the bottom or top of the frame. Such is life. It is frustrating to watch a tutorial where someone is using the Sony a7R III and see the small focus box move as high or low as the photog wishes.
Should be my biggest problem. I do think it is a design flaw and with the great interest in focus stacking it might just be corrected. Thanks for the help.
Photodoc16
Jul 13, 2018 12:46:23 #
`
The "great interest" in focus stacking
is miniscule. Therein lies your problem.
Who judges what is great or miniscule ?
Well, the only judges who matter are
the marketing dept's of the makers.
Also, those judges have not neglected
the miniscule groups. They have merely
decided that as special interest groups
you need to take some initiative, which
in this case means MF.
You have so-called "professional level"
cameras still including a "Green Mode"
but no AF for focus stacking. IOW, the
needs of the masses are the needs that
rule the decisions about features.
The "great interest" in focus stacking
is miniscule. Therein lies your problem.
Who judges what is great or miniscule ?
Well, the only judges who matter are
the marketing dept's of the makers.
Also, those judges have not neglected
the miniscule groups. They have merely
decided that as special interest groups
you need to take some initiative, which
in this case means MF.
You have so-called "professional level"
cameras still including a "Green Mode"
but no AF for focus stacking. IOW, the
needs of the masses are the needs that
rule the decisions about features.
Jul 13, 2018 15:53:41 #
User ID,
The irony is that I always shoot in Manual mode only. I will be using manual focusing when I go to live view to make sure each pic in the stack is sharp. I might have gotten a bit mislead when I see tutorials using a moving focus box although many also go to live view magnification to make sure all is as sharp as can be. Just another step on the march to, at least, basic competence.
Thanks,
Photodoc16
The irony is that I always shoot in Manual mode only. I will be using manual focusing when I go to live view to make sure each pic in the stack is sharp. I might have gotten a bit mislead when I see tutorials using a moving focus box although many also go to live view magnification to make sure all is as sharp as can be. Just another step on the march to, at least, basic competence.
Thanks,
Photodoc16
Jul 13, 2018 17:29:40 #
photodoc16 wrote:
Hogsters, br Changing the focus point for the purp... (show quote)
Why not shoot a little wider to cover the focus point range of movement, and crop in on the final output?
Jul 13, 2018 19:01:46 #
photodoc16 wrote:
Hogsters, br Changing the focus point for the purp... (show quote)
It does not matter, pick whatever focus point you want, the center point for example. You use that center point for everything you want sharp in your pic, just move the point over the area you want to focus on and ta da, there it is!
Jul 13, 2018 21:55:05 #
I hate to mention this as all the doomsayers will jump in and extol the end of the earth is nigh, but you might consider using Magic Lantern which has a built in focus stacking option among many other options, that you may configure as you see fit. I have used ML on all 4 of my cameras for several years now with no problems. In fact I knew about this for a few years but was swayed by the doomsayers. Then one day on an old Canon I figured let's try it out. After a couple days of testing and monkeying around seeing if combining some different options would indeed brick the camera, the earth didn't stop spinning and the sun still rose every morning and I have it installed on all my cameras now and would never turn back. The only caveat is that your firmware version must be what is stated before trying to install ML. In the case of the 7D you must have firmware version 2.0.3.
Jul 14, 2018 06:23:11 #
big-guy wrote:
I hate to mention this as all the doomsayers will ... (show quote)
So ML has finally developed a version for the 7D mkii? That's worth looking at for a lot of different reasons
Jul 14, 2018 10:47:35 #
Travis,
Now that is a helpful thought. Thank you and I will certainly give that a try. It is always humbling to realize just how easy it is to overlook the obvious.
Thanks again,
Photodoc16
Now that is a helpful thought. Thank you and I will certainly give that a try. It is always humbling to realize just how easy it is to overlook the obvious.
Thanks again,
Photodoc16
Jul 14, 2018 10:49:38 #
Jul 14, 2018 10:50:09 #
travisdeland wrote:
So ML has finally developed a version for the 7D mkii? That's worth looking at for a lot of different reasons
According to the ML site, while the 7D is fully supported, the 7D2 shows as “porting started”. I also hope it’s available soon and love it on my 5D3. I researched it carefully before I installed, and while I saw the rumors of “bricking” a camera (with improper installation), I could not locate a single verifiable case of this happening.
Jul 14, 2018 22:03:37 #
I believe a CamRanger will do focus stacking...but not something I have done with it...
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