Another focus stacking example

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Another focus stacking example

Postby DaveB on Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:53 am

Image
EOS 5DmkII, Sigma 180mm macro
f/16, ISO 100

This was in the forest on the side of Mount Donna Buang earlier this year. These three Mycena fruiting bodies were tiny. The smallest (middle) one was only a mm or two high, and I only noticed it after I'd set up the initial shot.

Three 25-second frames (with just the focus adjusted between each) were blended in Photoshop CS4. Load as layers, auto-align, then auto-blend (which essentially uses the most "in-focus" areas from each image), then straighten/crop, and voila! Without the stacking the depth of field was very limited. Even here we still have limited DOF, but it's much greater than without the stacking.
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby big pix on Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:11 am

....... nice work Dave

and thanks for the tip on stacking in PS....you now have me going off to play with the shell images in Photoshop :mrgreen:
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby Greg B on Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:03 am

Great shot Dave, and a very handy tip on focus stacking. I have never tried it, but
seeing what you have achieved here, I am looking forward to giving it a go.
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby surenj on Tue Aug 11, 2009 5:34 pm

Dave, Could you post some of the original images so we can get an idea of the original DOF?
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby Matt. K on Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:01 pm

That's a nice technique Dave! It makes possible the impossible! You certainly nailed it.
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby gstark on Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:09 pm

This image puzzles me. It has an almost 3-D effect, and that, for some reason, I find bothersome.

I'm just trying to understand why this is so: it looks great, but ......
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby zafra52 on Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:20 pm

Thank you for the tip. It is very handy to know.
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby colin_12 on Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:06 pm

Thanks for the detail Dave. Always handy to know how others do their work.
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby DaveB on Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:00 am

It was only a bracket of 3 shots, and I only needed enough DOF to cover the branch.
Here are crops from the RAW frames at each extreme:

Image Image

There is actually significant difference in the sharpness of the centre of the frame (the closest area to the camera) in these shots. One other difference I noticed between the frames was a tiny leech moving along the branch...
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Re: Another focus stacking example

Postby surenj on Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:56 am

Thanks DaveB... I am still trying to understand this technique... very unusual subject to try this on!
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