Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

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leander
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Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by leander »

I'm shooting a lot of studio white box 1:1 focus stack images of plant blooms. I'm using a Nkon D850 and the automated focus ring feature to capture the images. I upload to Lr, make any adjustments and find the first image in the stack that has something in focus. Usually it's just a very small part of the image, like the tip of a petal. Then I find the image where I want to end the stack and then export them to a "temporary stacking folder". I upload these images into Zerene and then usually have the program stack them using both DMap and PMax. The problem I'm having is when it reads the second image in the stack I get this error message:
"Mismatching Image Size: Image xxxxxxx is a different size from the first image. It cannot be processed." The first image does have something in focus and the second image builds on that and so on down the stack. I don't know why it thinks it's a different size. I never used to have this issue. When I just choose the middle of the subject images (not the extreme front of the subject) it does execute the stack, but the front elements are OOF in the final stack because I didn't use those images. The subject is not moving even though they are blooms because they were freshly cut and shot immediately and I don't see any subject movement (other than thrips!) when I run through the images images.

I'm just guessing at why this is happening:
1. I don't have something set correctly within Zerene and the stacking movement threshold is off?
2. Maybe I don't have enough overlap between images even though when I look at this I seem to.
3. Is something different in the newer software version?

Has anyone else seen this issue when they go to stack using Zerene?
Bruce

rjlittlefield
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by rjlittlefield »

None of the issues that you mention will cause that message.

Most likely your problem is explained by this FAQ on the Zerene Stacker website:
Why does the program complain that my images are different sizes?

--Rik

leander
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by leander »

None of those issues from FAQs apply here. One key might be that it only seems to have problems with the first and second image files of each of the different stack projects I'm running. If I don't load the first (in focus) image in the project, Zerene has no problem running DMap and PMax. So why is Zerene choking on the first and second image of a project. So again, if I have a 30 image stack to process and run 1-30, I get that error message. If I start with 2 and run 2-30 it works fine. It's doing it on all my stacking project now. Is it me?

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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by rjlittlefield »

Is it me?
Well, I'm not hearing any reports from other people, so at the moment, um, yes.

Reviewing your description, I wonder if Lightroom is doing something funny in the export.

The rule inside Zerene Stacker is pretty simple: all images must have the same width and the same height, both measured as pixel counts, as seen by Zerene Stacker, after applying whatever tweaks are specified at Options > Preferences > Preprocessing.

To help debug the problem, I suggest this approach:
  1. Reproduce the problem.
  2. Select each image in the Input Files list, and look at it in the image panel to be sure that it is oriented correctly, landscape versus portrait.
  3. If Zerene Stacker is showing the same orientation, then use your favorite method to check image sizes, for example the Properties > Details display in Windows File Explorer.
  4. If this still does not show the problem, then exit from Zerene Stacker, locate the console log file, and send that to me via email to support@zerenesystems.com, with a pointer to this discussion. The process for locating the console log file is described in the FAQ, I need to report a problem. Are there log files I can send you?
If you do solve the problem, please let us know what it turned out to be.

--Rik

leander
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by leander »

That was helpful and revealing, Rik.

I looked at 4 stacking projects both exported from Lr as TIFFs and JPGs into a temporary stacking folder.

All first images in the stack were sized 8256x5504. All subsequent images were sized 8254x5504. So every first image exported was 2 pixels smaller on the long side. WTF?
It, of course, provides a very simple workaround - start each stack just short of the first image that has something I want in focus and ignore the first image when I load them into Zerene, and chock it up to "it's not a perfect world."

Just a little strange though. I've been using Zerene for years and I have a workflow that is pretty well practiced so I was surprised when all of a sudden I started getting that error message. I have current versions of Lr and Zerene. If nobody else is seeing this I must have a parameter somewhere set differently...

rjlittlefield
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by rjlittlefield »

Interesting! I'm glad to hear that you found the problem.
leander wrote:
Mon Mar 22, 2021 8:12 am
I've been using Zerene for years and I have a workflow that is pretty well practiced so I was surprised when all of a sudden I started getting that error message. I have current versions of Lr and Zerene. If nobody else is seeing this I must have a parameter somewhere set differently...
It could be some new behavior of Lightroom, triggered by almost anything.

I think you're using a Pro license for Zerene Stacker. Have you tried using the Lightroom plugin, described at https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/docs/workingwithlightroom#lightroom_plugin ? I would be interested to know if it shows the same behavior, plus the plugin might remove some steps from your workflow.

--Rik

leander
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by leander »

Going direct from Lr to Zerene using your plug-in shows the same problem and I get that recurring error message. I can't click the "ignore" that image because it want to compare each image with the first, which is the problem image. I can delete that first image from within Zerene and it runs through the rest of the stack just fine.

I do have that plug-in already loaded but I had been doing it my old, slower way (a little like double taxation) - I've just never made the switch since you added that. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Even though my stacks are almost always short you may have pushed me to adopt the more direct, time-saving export feature.

So, yeah, it appears to be a Lr issue, one that I have never experienced before. Fortunately there is a work around.

Thanks for your help, Rik.

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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by rjlittlefield »

This is definitely a puzzling problem. I have no idea why Lr is acting that way. If you have a good way of contacting Adobe, I recommend letting them know about the problem since it seems to be newly introduced.

Inside Zerene Stacker, an alternative workaround to consider is Options > Preferences > Preprocessing > Image Pre-cropping. Setting that to be "8254,5504" should solve the particular case that you've described. However, if you switch cameras or orientations, the crop won't work correctly in the new situation. So maybe it's useful or maybe it isn't, depending on how often you switch formats.

--Rik

leander
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by leander »

I'm still working on this. The problem with Lr is not export. It appears to be with the sync settings. If I make adjustments and include a crop and then sync them all to the end image, that one source image size is slightly different in size from the rest. Sometimes one pixel, other times two. Thanks again for taking the time to help me.

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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by rjlittlefield »

Curiouser and curiouser! Thanks for the update.

--Rik

leander
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by leander »

Mystery solved for now....
Another user on the Photoshop website has just reported the same thing except that person did not crop. It appears that just making non-crop adjustments to one and then syncing that image changes the size of all the other images except for the source image - the images you are copying the adjustments to are one or two pixels smaller. And the person reporting this said they noticed it just since the latest version update. Same with me. So it appears to be a newly introduced Lr bug. This is good news for me as I may not be as crazy as people think, or I'm in good company with at least one other crazy person.

Lou Jost
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Re: Zerene- ERROR- Mismatching Image Size

Post by Lou Jost »

Nice detective work.

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