[Share] Practical techniques in handheld macro automatic focus bracketing / stacking (by Mark Overmars)

[Stephen]

Articles published by Mark Overmars

1. Photographing Insects: Focus Bracketing (Using automatic focus bracketing for enhanced focus)​

https://medium.com/full-frame/photographing-insects-focus-bracketing-e420dff52a7a

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2. Photographing Insects: Adding a Close-up Lens (RF/EF 100mm macro lens with DCR-250)

https://medium.com/full-frame/photographing-insects-adding-a-close-up-lens-d0edc42e69f

3. Photographing Insects: Choosing a Macro Lens (RF 100mm and EF 100mm with 31mm extension tube / Raynox DCR-250, and magnification tables)

https://medium.com/full-frame/photographing-insects-choosing-a-macro-lens-159a93348719

I had tested with my EOS-R7 with (EF 100mm f/2.8 macro IS and DCR-250)
Actual magnification (excluding the crop factor 1.6), object size in the image divided by actual size
I didn't measure the working distance

at lens position 0.30 (with EF 100mm macro lens only) actual magnification is 1x
at lens position 0.30m (max magnification) actual magnification is 1.94x
at lens position 0.34m actual magnification is 1.44x
at lens position 0.39m actual magnification is 1.27x
at lens position 0.48m (min magnification) actual magnification is 1.12x

4. Other articles published by the author

https://medium.com/@m.h.overmars

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[MrSparks999]

Great articles, very interesting. Plan to do some focus bracketing/stacking this winter

 

[ctitanic]

Wonderful articles explaining the whole process! THANK YOU!

 

[dougsmit]

I seem to have relatively little in common with most who post here but I am not sure why. Yesterday my new toy arrived. Does anyone here use a WeMacro rail for focus bracketing? So far I have been playing with settings and greatly appreciated the great customer service provided to get me over my avoidance of cell phones and Bluetooth. Have you tried motorized stacking? At present, I need ideas for subjects that would be fun for a beginner.

I attach my very first WeMacro image showing what remains of a Pink Ladyslipper wildflower that grows in my yard. The insets below show it last Spring. What remains is that green canopy over the top now dried and twisted. With imagination I see a head of some beast facing left with eye, open mouth and 'trunk'. I trust my results will improve with practice. I have not tried a distance method yet or advanced to the point of calculating the best spacings.

Canon R7, Laowa 85mm macro at about 1:1, f/8, 34 images with 0.5mm spacing exposed with the start / end method and combined with Zerene Stacker.

 

[Archibald]

I seem to have relatively little in common with most who post here but I am not sure why. Yesterday my new toy arrived. Does anyone here use a WeMacro rail for focus bracketing? So far I have been playing with settings and greatly appreciated the great customer service provided to get me over my avoidance of cell phones and Bluetooth. Have you tried motorized stacking? At present, I need ideas for subjects that would be fun for a beginner.

I attach my very first WeMacro image showing what remains of a Pink Ladyslipper wildflower that grows in my yard. The insets below show it last Spring. What remains is that green canopy over the top now dried and twisted. With imagination I see a head of some beast facing left with eye, open mouth and 'trunk'. I trust my results will improve with practice. I have not tried a distance method yet or advanced to the point of calculating the best spacings.

Canon R7, Laowa 85mm macro at about 1:1, f/8, 34 images with 0.5mm spacing exposed with the start / end method and combined with Zerene Stacker.

I've done focus bracketing with a mechanized rail. I use the StackShot, a nifty device. However, in-camera focus bracketing might be just as good. I have not compared them so far. For the stacking, I have used Zerene and Helicon, both very expensive programs considering the limited application, so they were just the trial versions. Nowadays I use Photoshop for stacking. No additional cost for it.

 

[Stephen]

I seem to have relatively little in common with most who post here but I am not sure why. Yesterday my new toy arrived. Does anyone here use a WeMacro rail for focus bracketing? So far I have been playing with settings and greatly appreciated the great customer service provided to get me over my avoidance of cell phones and Bluetooth. Have you tried motorized stacking? At present, I need ideas for subjects that would be fun for a beginner.

I attach my very first WeMacro image showing what remains of a Pink Ladyslipper wildflower that grows in my yard. The insets below show it last Spring. What remains is that green canopy over the top now dried and twisted. With imagination I see a head of some beast facing left with eye, open mouth and 'trunk'. I trust my results will improve with practice. I have not tried a distance method yet or advanced to the point of calculating the best spacings.

Canon R7, Laowa 85mm macro at about 1:1, f/8, 34 images with 0.5mm spacing exposed with the start / end method and combined with Zerene Stacker.

I have no experience in using electronic rail for focus bracketing. After getting the EOS-R7 camera, I have been using the in-camera focus bracketing/depth composite mode (handheld) for my macro work. I use Canon Digital Photo Professional to stack the photos.