sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Wow, another super idea. Really impressive subject rails and I can imagine how that makes stitching stacked images possible by providing a flawless transition between positions.

I'm presently fumbling with manual staging and as you know just the slightest movement has a huge impact on the point of focus.

What's a bit strange is that looking at the camera on a PC in a Live View, the subject is a mirror image so if it is a bit too far right, you have to move to the left so it takes some getting use to.

mawyatt Loc: Clearwater, Florida

The stitching software can handle some levels of misalignment, but the lower the better, so precise staging is important. Another important aspect of stitching is having a lens design that produces a telecentric result (magnification independent of subject to lens working distance). What's important here is with most lens designs the image perspective changes with working distance and you are purposely changing this for the stacking focus. A distorted perspective between images may cause stacking and stitching issues.

Wemacro offers a very nice manual Precision XY stage that works very well with the Vertical & Horizontal Stands, more precise than the supplied XY stage (which is fine for low magnification work).

Routinely do very high resolution images of silicon chips (most I can't show), some are ~19000 by 14000 pixels (~250MP) after stitching, and soon will be attempting 30,000 by 20,000 pixels (600MP). Having done the manual efforts for these large S&S sessions (some lasted many days) I set off awhile back on creating a fully automated S&S setup that would operate "hands off" and create a image file set that could be stacked (Zerene) and then stitched (PS & PTGui). You can follow the details over at the site I've previously referenced in addition to here with a Thor Labs based setup.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38548

And here.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38604

A session test result for "full automation" subject was a broken silicon wafer long thin sliver I had laying around on my desk. This is a very beat up, contaminated subject and not "pretty" but a very difficult subject because of the large aspect ratio and extreme relative depth of the stacks and stitches. Although the image isn't pretty, and not clean, the result was "pristine" in that the entire image capture session was hands off completely automated.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38604

Be sure and download this last image (Another S&S Test Image of Old Silicon Wafer Sliver) to see the effective resolution.

http://img.gg/10oj9Jm

Agree, the reverse camera viewing can get confusing!! Now couple that with a computer controlled stage and it's real easy to get confused which way is which :>)

Best,

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks for the wealth of information. I quite new to this venture and newly retired as well so I have the time to experiment and I find this adventure absolutely fascinating.

You mentioned using a lens which is designed that produces a telecentric result. I'm not familiar with that feature so is there a lens that you would recommend for focus stacking images of insect size? I'm very interested in anything that you recommend.

The Wemacro X/Y precision adjustment stage in on my "must get list" now that I realize how critical the slightest movement of the subject can be to get it staged as wanted and it would be nearly impossible to do a series of shots for stitching without a precision movement stage.

mawyatt Loc: Clearwater, Florida

It's best to do a search on photomacrography.net for telecentric lens, there's a wealth of info there on this subject.

Being mechanically inclined you will appreciate the precision of the Wemacro Precision XY stage, it's beautifully smooth, the dual micrometer controls are scaled at micron increments.

Best,

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

In the "Live view screen" ( in DigicamControl), on the left side of screen is a box labeled "Display". Open it & see if "Flip horizontally" is checked off. If it is, un-check it & you won't have a mirror image any more. That's ALL I know about the program. I'm having problems trying to figure out how DigicamControl works. I have to shut it down AND unplug the USB cable to run the WeMacro controller. If I set my camera (Nikon D-7000) to mirror up, the live view in DigiCamControl won't work. Old man + new computer program = headache!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks for the rotation tip. I have found that the Wemacro camera shutter release will not work if it is connected to a camera control program that uses a Live View. I suspect that the computer software has command of the camera so the shutter will not release. It took me a bit to figure out what was happening.

This happens when I use Helicon, Nikon Camera Control 2 and DigiCam (I own all three) so it at least is a consistent situation regardless of the program.

I use the DigiCam exclusively now for I like its user interface. Once I set the "As Start" and the "As End" distances using the Wemacro program, I close the DigiCam program completely. I give the camera settings one last look (mostly for exposure via shutter speed) and I hit the Run button and off it runs.

naturepics43 Loc: Hocking Co. Ohio - USA

Thanks for posting the link to Digicam Control. I didn't know it was available. Also thanks for sharing the workflow that you use. It will be a big time saver as I experiment with my new program.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Here's a Stink Bug that I found by the backdoor last night that I posted this afternoon.

I used a 10X microscope objective on my Nikon camera as the lens. It's a "FINITE" type so all I need to do is attach it to a set of extension tubes to obtain as close to 6-inches from the tip of the objective to the sensor plain of the camera. For me, the regular 3-set of extension tubes works perfect.

I got an adapter that goes from Nikon F mount to M42 female thread. Then a M42 to RMS (Royal Microscope Society) thread to screw the objective into.

For this shot I set the Wemacro step size to 15 um (slow). The default slow is 50 um. I do this when using the microscope objective because the depth of field is oh so thin.

This shot traveled only 1.86 mm from start to end and it took 124 steps with a shot at each one.

My lighting setup is constant IKEA LED gooseneck desk lamps ($14) and I use three of them. I place a translucent plastic cup that I cut down around the subject to act as a 'circular wall' around it. I place the LED lights at opposing angles and I let the head of the lamps touch the cup which make the cup glow and voids most shadows and softens highlights.

The DigiCam camera control was developed as Open Source Software (free to the public) by Nikon and it is better than any that I have tried and performs solidly with no hangups, freeze ups or glitches.

I truly hope that you will enjoy using yours as I do mine.

(Download)

cactuspic Loc: Dallas, TX

Enjoy your new setup. As you discovered, macro can be addicting.