Handheld Focus Stacking (photo sharing and applications)

[Stephen]

I am a new macro shooter. Recently I am very happy in taking handheld focus stacking photos with my EOS-R7.
I would like to share some photos and observations using in-camera focus bracketing / depth composite function.

My gear
Canon EOS-R7 / EF 100mm f/2.8 macro IS
Handheld, CRaw, Av, using in-camera focus bracketing function with depth composite enable

Workflow
take 10-30 shots
use DPP to edit, depth compositing, disable sharpness and noise reduction
composite to a tiff file and use Topaz Denoise AI for final processing and converts to jpg file
copy EXIF information to the post processed focus stacked photo from the in-camera depth composite jpg file using EXIFER



Focus Stacking usage

1. Increase depth of field

Object : Creobroter gemmatus (35-40mm)

Single Shot

Focus Stacking of first 10 photos / 15 shots taken


2. Control depth of field by selecting number of shots for focus stacking

Object : Blue butterfly bush (little flower)

Target :
High resolution subject ( especially anther in each filament)
Subject stands out from the background
Blur the background

Focus Stacking of all 25 shots taken (in-camera depth composite photo / post processed focus stacking photo)

Focus Stacking of First 11 photos (25 shots taken), the flower at the back and the green bud on the left look blur




Some more handheld focus stacking photos taken recently

Forget-me-not butterfly mating (30mm)

Focus Stacking of 4 photos / 10 shots taken



Beefly mating (12-15mm)

Focus Stacking of 4 photos / 10 shots taken



Creobroter gemmatus (35-40mm)

Focus Stacking of 5 photos / 10 shots taken



Lesser Glass Blue butterfly (20-25mm)

Focus Stacking of 5 shots / 10 photos taken

Focus Stacking of 5 shots / 10 photos taken


Please feel free to give comments

 

[MrSparks999]

Great shots.

 

[Kerro]

I am a new macro shooter. Recently I am very happy in taking handheld focus stacking photos with my EOS-R7.
I would like to share some photos and observations using in-camera focus bracketing / depth composite function.

My gear
Canon EOS-R7 / EF 100mm f/2.8 macro IS
Handheld, CRaw, Av, using in-camera focus bracketing function with depth composite enable

Workflow
take 10-30 shots
use DPP to edit, depth compositing, disable sharpness and noise reduction
composite to a tiff file and use Topaz Denoise AI for final processing and converts to jpg file
copy EXIF information to the post processed focus stacked photo from the in-camera depth composite jpg file using EXIFER



Focus Stacking usage

1. Increase depth of field

Object : Creobroter gemmatus (35-40mm)

View attachment 20175
Single Shot


View attachment 20176
Focus Stacking of first 10 photos / 15 shots taken


2. Control depth of field by selecting number of shots for focus stacking

Object : Blue butterfly bush (little flower)

Target :
High resolution subject ( especially anther in each filament)
Subject stands out from the background
Blur the background


View attachment 20177
Focus Stacking of all 25 shots taken (in-camera depth composite photo / post processed focus stacking photo)


View attachment 20178
Focus Stacking of First 11 photos (25 shots taken), the flower at the back and the green bud on the left look blur




Some more handheld focus stacking photos taken recently

Forget-me-not butterfly mating (30mm)

View attachment 20179
Focus Stacking of 4 photos / 10 shots taken



Beefly mating (12-15mm)

View attachment 20180
Focus Stacking of 4 photos / 10 shots taken



Creobroter gemmatus (35-40mm)

View attachment 20181
Focus Stacking of 5 photos / 10 shots taken



Lesser Glass Blue butterfly (20-25mm)

View attachment 20182
Focus Stacking of 5 shots / 10 photos taken


View attachment 20183
Focus Stacking of 5 shots / 10 photos taken


Please feel free to give comments

These are amazing for hand held. I'm afraid at my age I need a tripod as my hands aren't that steady anymore.

 

[Stephen]

These are amazing for hand held. I'm afraid at my age I need a tripod as my hands aren't that steady anymore.

I am an old man too. I can do handheld focus stacking not solely because I got a steady hands, the most important is Canon.
Canon has done a lot of effort in in-camera focus stacking.

1. Fast shooting rate
New models of EOS-R series cameras have 30-40 frames per second. This minimize ghosting in the composite photo due to object movement or movement due to wind. Moreover, it is more easy to hold the camera in the same position and finish focus bracketing (normally 10 shots) in less than half of a second.

2. Stabilization
a. New models of EOS-R series cameras have 7-8 stops IBIS, in macro status, they still have 2-3 stops
b. In the Canon official site, they stated that the EF 100 macro lens has 2-stop stablization in magnification 1x condition

3. Modest resolution of EVF
- new models of EOS-R series cameras equipped with a clear 2.36million dots and fast refresh rate EVF
- select any point to focus and magnify to enlarge the object to focus (mirrorless camera)
- grid line enable user to locate the relative focus position easy and hold in same position

4. Improvement in focusing speed, accuracy and sensitivity of EOS-R series cameras
- for magnification near 1x macro, normally Canon recommend manual focus, but in new model, autofocus is possible.

5. in-camera depth composite
- by looking at the in-camera depth composite photo, it is very easy to see the final result. If you are not satisfy with the result, you can repeat the process again instantly. In the other brand, you need to stack the photos in the computer seperately. If focus stacking is failed, you might not repeat the process again.

6. Easy to use depth composite software
- besides in-camera depth composite, you can also use Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) to stack the sequence together. It is very simple and easy to use. You can also edit the stacked photo to remove ghosting and antifacts.


Before doing handheld focus stacking outdoor, I had tried it indoor.
Here is the simulation test


Object #1 : 8mm flower of a bracklet

f/7.1, 1/125s, ISO 1600, CRAW, handheld

focus distance : close to the nearest focusing point, magnification around 1:1

focus bracketing mode, 30 shots with depth composite enable

in-camera depth composite photo

post-poceessed focus stacking photo

Single shot


Object #2 : AA battery

Single shot

handheld, focus stacking of 20 shots, notice the use of larger aperture and lower ISO value

 

[Stephen]

Great shots.

Thanks

 

[Kerro]

Stephen, another set of great shots. I agree the Canons are good these days. I have an R5 and a RF800/F11 and I can do handheld moon shots enough for stacking and get a reasonable result. I do prefer macro on a tripod though these days. I also play around with product photography and compositing, albeit I am not that good at it. But its fun and I enjoy it. It's just a hobby and I'll never make a $$ out of it but what the heck. The attached photo is not R series but it is a 4 stack handheld from a few years ago.

 

[Stephen]

Kerro, great shot! I know it is very difficult to do handheld focus stacking without using in-camera function. Before buying the EOS-R7, I use EOS-M50 with EF 100mm f/2.8 macro IS lens. The camera didn't have in-camera focus stacking function. I tried to do handheld focus stacking manually by altering the focusing points. Slow response of the camera, time lag in EVF, unreliable AF made me even harder to have the job done. 3 out of 5 were failed. Here is one of the handheld manual focus stacking photo (3 shots). Now with the in-camera focus bracket / depth composite function, I almost got 8-9 out of 10 were succeeded.

 

[Kerro]

Kerro, great shot! I know it is very difficult to do handheld focus stacking without using in-camera function. Before buying the EOS-R7, I use EOS-M50 with EF 100mm f/2.8 macro IS lens. The camera didn't have in-camera focus stacking function. I tried to do handheld focus stacking manually by altering the focusing points. Slow response of the camera, time lag in EVF, unreliable AF made me even harder to have the job done. 3 out of 5 were failed. Here is one of the handheld manual focus stacking photo (3 shots). Now with the in-camera focus bracket / depth composite function, I almost got 8-9 out of 10 were succeeded.

View attachment 20240

Awesome detail on this shot. I need to get out more now I am retired.

 

[Stephen]

A comparison of using f/6.3 single shot Vs f/4 single shot Vs f/4 Focus Stacking (6 shots/10 photos taken)
I prefer the last one.

1. f/6.3 single shot

2. f/4 single shot, #3 in the focus stacking sequence (not enough depth of field to cover the whole wing)

3. f/4 Focus Stacking (6 shots/10 photos taken)

 

[ACEkin]

A comparison of using f/6.3 single shot Vs f/4 Focus Stacking (6 shots/10 photos taken)
I prefer the latter one.

f/6 single shot
View attachment 20381


f/4 Focus Stacking (6 shots/10 photos taken)
View attachment 20382

It may be more educational if a single best frame at f/4 was shared along with the stacked result.

 

[Stephen]

It may be more educational if a single best frame at f/4 was shared along with the stacked result.

Thanks for your friendly reminder. I have edited the article.