Anyone done Focus stacking for macro?

[Ardy]

Thinking about giving this a go. Will practice on land prior to UW.

What are the gotcha's and problems faced underwater?

 

[jlyle]

1. The camera will have difficulty achieving focus lock. If you get too close, or too far away auto-focus won't work. A focus light will help. Some people prefer to use the back focus (setting one of the function buttons to focus) and then rocking the camera in/out until sharp focus is seen.

2. Working distance is very close to the front lens. It's sometimes hard not to squash the subject.

3. Depth of field is very narrow (think credit card narrow). Use the smallest aperture you can (f/22) and take lots of pictures in the hopes you will get one you want to keep.

4. Practice in a pool - optics are different underwater.

 

[Ardy]

Hi Thanks very much for the reply but I am referring to multiple exposures to achieve focus across the whole area as opposed to fine focus on the eye as you have done in your attached shot.

So if we take your shot as an example the focus would go right across the back in normally 12 - 15 exposures to achieve a wide focal area specifically for macro. It is normally done using slow continuous exposure.

This is a video example using 150,000 shots! anthony luke's not-just-another-photoblog Blog: Mind Blowing Macro Underwater Time-Lapse ~ by Daniel Stoupin

This is a photograph from Anthony's site showing a stacked image.

regards

 

[jlyle]

My bad. Sight reading!

The advantages of "focus stacking" are enormous, but are going to be challenging u/w. I look forward to your results.

 

[Stoo]

I have a friend who shoots amazing macro stuff using this technique... but it's in a studio (his wife apparently lets him bring bugs and spiders in to the house!). I routinely 'borrow" his images for my desktop, but they usually give me nightmares. ;-)

He and I have never discussed his technique but he sometimes posts images of his studio and his tripod is a serious piece of kit, with a ball head on it that probably cost $1000. I don't know most of us would want to take such a thing into the ocean.

I suppose if you could find a bare sand patch to lie on and then use a mini-tripod, you could potentially get something. It would certainly be fun to try. Personally, I find shooting with a wet diopter on a 105 more than enough to manage. But then I am more a shipwreck guy. Macro kinda creeps me out... all those little squinty critters that want to burrow into my brain. But I digress... ;-)

 

[bvanant]

Focus stacking can be done in camera with the em-5 II. BUT you need a stationary subject. Fun to do in the studio, but really tricky underwater.
Bill

 

[Ardy]

Thanks guys, I will give it a go BUT I just found out I have to have a bloody hip replacement. Now that will slow me down for a while!

Bill have you seen any examples? The underwater video I have linked above is the only example I could find

Have to look up the diving doc and see how long before I can dive again, post op.

 

[Furnari]

Good luck on the hip replacement- friends of mine that have gone through it are glad that they did. I got some in-camera focus stacked shots of a frog by just bracing the camera against something, so I think it's certainly doable underwater in the right conditions with the right subject. I don't know if it's true with my M1, but apparently you can program a delay in between shots with the M5II to allow for use of a flash.

 

[smoore]

I have been interested in trying this but could not on my last trip because of equipment problems. I think using the delay for flash will make holding the camera steady for even 10 shots next to impossible. I plan to use it for macros using two video lights so that I don't need any delay. I am surprised we haven't seen any examples of this posted yet.

 

[Ardy]

SMoore: I am amazed too that nobody has done this. I am sure some of the serious macro guys would have given it a go and maybe even took a tripod down there for the job. Must be harder than I am thinking and doing it in any sort of current would be next to impossible.

It would change U/W macro photography and ensure we are still running to catch up!