tinusbum Loc: east texas

anyone know how to prevent halo's and what do i do to keep the whites from blowing out?tom

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Tom: two things you might try:
Go to a smaller aperture: f/11-f/16. Of course, this loses the diffraction advantage of shooting at f/5.6....
Or...: http://www.heliconsoft.com/focus/help/english/tab_retouch.html is a link to using the brush to remove artifacts. This is for Helicon... which I use.

Blowing the whites is tricky. What I've discovered is that I need to move my histogram even further than I normally would to the left. So, you would want to underexpose and recover the lost shadow details in PP.

Hope this helps.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

thanks for the help,i want to stack more and i need to know how to get the best results.tom

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

As I recall, you are adjusting the plane of focus using the focusing ring on the camera. I would encourage/suggest that you look at getting a focusing rail. The reason is this: you minimize the possible movement of the camera on the tripod. My technique is this: set-up & make initial choices (f-stop, iso, shutter duration) after the exposure is "correct", I fine-tune the composition (move tripod, do small adjustments using the x/y axis movement of the rail). The rail also allows the very critical adjustment to find the closest point where critical focus is. Then I use a shutter release along with the 2 sec shutter delay. So I shoot first image, move focus point, shoot second image... and continue until I reach the last point. It's a meticulous, detailed process-- but it will make the combining part much easier.

With permission, I will post an example taken outdoors of a wildflower smaller than a dime.

Good luck!

tinusbum Loc: east texas

i used a focus rail and a remote shutter release.i use Zerene stacker. go ahead and post you pic. i am trying to learn to use histograms now also.tom

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Sorry. I'm just not as familiar with Zerene-- I know it's supposed to be very good. It was actually my first choice-- but wasn't available for Macs at he time I was making the leap. There must be something similar for eliminating halos in Zerene-- I just don't know the program. Here's my photo-- not sure it really helps with your questions...

tinusbum Loc: east texas

nice pic,but doesnt really tell me anything.i will shoot some more with your tip to under expose a bit and see how that works.tom

tinusbum Loc: east texas

i will shoot some more with your tip to under expose a bit and see how that works. i like this one,it works

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Nice!

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

Good Depth on that last one