Stacking not working, what am I doing wrong?

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pentax360
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Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:06 pm

Stacking not working, what am I doing wrong?

Post by pentax360 »

This is my first foray into macro stacking and I’m having some trouble.
I've done some non macro stacking and it’s worked fine.


I’m using an APSC sensor camera with a full frame macro lens, so I don’t know if when using the 1:1 marking on the lens if it’s correct when using the calculator.

I’m taking a photo of a 1 1/4 inch long toy.
The magnification/focus was left unchanged between shots and the camera was moved on a milling machine table.

I used this calculator:
http://extreme-macro.co.uk/focus-stacking/#calculator

I put in APSC, f11, 1:2 (in the calculator I put .5:1), it told me to do steps of 1.881 mm.


I ended up with 25 photos I ran them through zerene, (and also a couple of other stackers) and this is what I end up with.

Image

I’ve tried this a few times with similar results.
What am I doing wrong?
Am I trying to get too much in focus, are my stacks not the right distance?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

I can see from the dust trails that you have alignment turned on, but it's clear that you have an alignment problem. So then my best guess is that the fuzzy bright bar running vertically across the whole frame is in far background, so it shifts across the subject as you step focus. In that case it's not possible for the software to keep everything aligned at once, and because the bar is big, the software is likely to lock onto the bar at the expense of your subject.

I suggest for starters to place your subject in front of a uniform featureless background. Shoot another stack and see if that works out better for you.

By the way, is this scene supposed to be relentlessly blue, or is there some issue with color balance?

--Rik

pentax360
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:06 pm

Post by pentax360 »

Thanks that makes sense but I hadn't thought of it. :idea:
I'll try another one with a background.

The white balance is fine, it's just in my garage with some off color florescent lights and I didn't bother to correct it.

pentax360
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:06 pm

Post by pentax360 »

That worked!
thanks a lot.

Image



Also I need to clean my sensor :shock:

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Looks much better. Yep, there's nothing like focus stacking to make sensor spots visible. :(

--Rik

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Post by Deanimator »

rjlittlefield wrote:Looks much better. Yep, there's nothing like focus stacking to make sensor spots visible. :(

--Rik
Don't I know it!

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