Focus Bracketing

[MrSparks999]

Hi all
When using the in Camera Focus Bracketing, should your initial focus point be at the back of the image or the front?

 

[Ferenc MÓGOR]

It doesn't matter. Camera takes care of that. Kinda like scanning focus through the whole picture by itself. Very clever!

 

[Kwazy]

That's not correct. It does not "scan through the whole picture"
Focus bracketing happens from near focus to far focus in step sizes and number of steps set by the user.

So your initial focus point should be in the front of the subject.

 

[MrSparks999]

Hi, thanks for feedback, intention is to hopefully try it out this weekend,

 

[Kwazy]

Have fun! It's often used for focus stacking, especially in macrophotography, but you can also use it for getting the perfect focal plane in portraits and such.

 

[Ferenc MÓGOR]

That's not correct. It does not "scan through the whole picture"
Focus bracketing happens from near focus to far focus in step sizes and number of steps set by the user.

So your initial focus point should be in the front of the subject.

Yes, you are right Kwazy. Sorry for the wrong info. Take care All!

 

[JustUs7]

I set up at or just in front of the first point I want in focus. I also save all the images that are a part of the stack.

Final stacked image is a jpeg if done in camera. If you want editing latitude with the raw files, you need to save those, edit to your taste, copy the edits to all the other images in the stack, then do the depth compositing In software of your choosing.

What I like about software depth compositing is that I can hand pick the beginning and end of my stack.

So I can have a sharp subject front to back, and an f/2 background.

 

[koenkooi]

That's not correct. It does not "scan through the whole picture"
Focus bracketing happens from near focus to far focus in step sizes and number of steps set by the user.

So your initial focus point should be in the front of the subject.

And the camera will focus slightly in front of the point you selected. For peace of mind I select a point very much in front of the subject or stick a finger/twig/match in front of the lens to make it focus there.

 

[Kwazy]

And the camera will focus slightly in front of the point you selected. For peace of mind I select a point very much in front of the subject or stick a finger/twig/match in front of the lens to make it focus there.

I typically use the back focus button to focus on the front of the subject, and then move the camera back a tiny bit before pressing the shutter release. This way don't need a third hand!

 

[Hali]

And the camera will focus slightly in front of the point you selected. For peace of mind I select a point very much in front of the subject or stick a finger/twig/match in front of the lens to make it focus there.

I find it easiest to manually focus the lens using the magnifier at 6x and moving around the subject to make sure that I slightly front focus the closest point and then just let the camera do its thing.