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Focus Bracketing for Fuji X cameras
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Jun 18, 2021 11:59:05   #
jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska
 
rhudston wrote:
In the long run this may prove to be the only way. My only problem here is that even with a tripod I seem to move the camera enough while making adjustments that the images don't stack very well. I had hoped with bracketing and with the time interval set to 0 seconds I would be able to get differently focused shots without moving the camera.

I'm a little puzzled by this. All, or at least most, of the focus stacking software programs, including Photoshop, can deal with slight movements of the camera. I often actually handhold macro stacking shots using Zerene or Photoshop. As long as there is not excessive camera movement, the software will align the images perfectly. If the subject is moving, that's a different story.

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Jun 18, 2021 20:48:08   #
rossk Loc: Melbourne, Australia
 
Peterfiore wrote:
A quick google search brings this up from Fuji...I hope this helps.

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/stories/advanced-month-5-focusing-20-focus-bracketing/


very helpful. thank you

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Jun 19, 2021 00:52:31   #
jimnyc1 Loc: New York, NY USA
 
Pal2tech on youtube is pretty good

https://youtu.be/gouqhCSVdAY

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Jun 20, 2021 10:49:56   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
fetzler wrote:
Let me say that I do not have a Fuji camera but I have Olympus cameras with focus bracketing. I previously posted a document on using focus bracketing for macro-photography using the Olympus 60mm lens.
( https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-623714-1.html ). Some of the small details may differ for your camera but I am sure the process is similar. Olympus also posted a discussion on focus bracketing for landscapes.

https://learnandsupport.getolympus.com/learn-center/photography-tips/landscapes-nature/using-focus-bracketing-and-stacking-in-landscape?utm_content=petertipcta&utm_campaign=2020_03_Focus_Stacking_US&utm_kxconfid=t5ljhtrz5&utm_source=email_ettips&utm_medium=email&sfmc_sub=203456726

The process appears to be similar on your Fuji camera. The working parameters are the step size and the number of steps. It is true that these steps are not well defined but I suspect these are focus motor steps and do not strictly relate to a specific distance interval. You will need to do a few experiments to use this feature effectively. The focus motors appear to be a type of stepper motors.

On the Olympus camera the step sizes are 1 through 10 and the number of steps is 2 to 999. I cannot imagine using 999. If you set too many steps the sequence will stop when infinity focus is reached.

If the step size is too large your focus stacked image will be unsatisfactory as portions of the image will not be in focus in any of the images. If it is small you will need to use more steps but otherwise no harm is done.

Small step sizes are very good for macro and larger ones for landscape.

If you are shooting landscapes if you choose too few steps you will not get to infinity focus.

You might find it handy to take a shot with your finger in the frame before and after the sequence for focus bracketed shots.

I hope you will find thus useful.
Let me say that I do not have a Fuji camera but I ... (show quote)


Very useful - thank you so much. Your method of measuring the steps in macro focus bracketing is brilliant and the following math is spot on. I'm going to follow your approach with my Fuji. I especially liked the focus bracketing in landscape photography article. I was beginning to doubt whether it could be done, but now I'll go back at it. There is something almost surreal in images where the near foreground and the far background are both in crisp focus. Again, my thanks.

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Jun 20, 2021 11:03:56   #
rhudston Loc: Nova Scotia
 
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
From what I understand that you are trying to do, it will help immensely if you have a tripod or at least a monopod, and also very still conditions. As in an early morning before the breezes have stirred up.
You can do quick stacks, with a small number of frames, by simply turning the focus ring a little. Do several 'runs', and attempt the stack with picture frames that line up the best. There will be artifacts with this method because of movements, but these can be patched up later. A stacking program like Zerene Stacker has tools for selecting which bits of the original picture goes into the stacked picture. But those tools can't do everything although it can do basic fixes are very quickly and it requires no particular skill. Then there are more powerful programs like Photoshop or Gimp (Gimp being free), which provide cloning and healing brushes that can do fancier corrections. Here is an example, taken from a few pictures by simply turning the focus ring. There were artifacts that remained, where parts of the wings did not line up. But those were corrected in Gimp by cutting and pasting them into alignment, and then using cloning and healing brushes to conceal my work.
Best to view in download.
From what I understand that you are trying to do, ... (show quote)


I'm still pretty much of a newbie in the world of focus bracketing and stacking software, but the vast amount of help, suggestions, and encouragement on this site are great. Many thanks, and the image of the dragonfly is wonderful. We used to have those little white-bodied guys zipping around our pond when I lived on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. I loved watching them. Good memories.

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