Still No Focus Stacking Support from Sony?
Related: computational photography, focus stacking, golden age of photography, shutter, Sony, Sony A1, Sony mirrorless
re: Landscape Photographers Looking for Superior Results and Lowest Effort and Fewest Problems Go with Fujifilm GFX100, not Sony A7R IV
re: Attention all Camera Makers: 23.5 Things To Please Your Customers
re: focus stacking
I’d love to help Sony design a focus stacking feature. Sony?
Most camera systems today now have focus stacking support, which on high-res digital is critical for proper stepping for a good stack, particularly for macro work. See the Focus Stacking section of Making Sharp Images.
Some implementations are better than others, and all of them have chosen misleading or outright incorrect terminology for it (none call it what it is). As of Spring 2022:
- Nikon calls it Focus Shift Shooting.
- Fujifilm calls it FOCUS BKT.
- Canon calls it Focus Bracketing (but see comment below).
- Panasonic S1R supports focus stacking.
- Sony has no support for focus stacking.
- Leica SL2 has no support for focus stacking.
Focus stacking is such a simple feature to implement that it boggles the mind that Sony has done nothing after all these years. It does not require any special processing power; it’s just stepping the lens from near to far and taking a series of images.
BTW, Zerene Stacker in my experience produces the very best stacking results (least amount of artifacts), which is why I use it exclusively. And response from support is outstanding.
Taki T writes:
I just wanted to check with you if you ever received any sort of feedback or news on wether Sony will ever add focus stacking?
I have lost track (and interest for that matter) because I have asked and emailed everywhere without response (which I also find so disrespectful)! I will be testing the Canon R5 soon and might say goodbye to both Nikon and Sony if I'm happy with that.
DIGLLOYD: from what I understand, things are all decided over in Japan, and Sony does listen if there is an outcry... how can we make an outcry that will get Sony’s attention?
At least for Taki, Sony is going to lose a customer. And I know that’s true for other readers in the past—it is a major sticking point.
Chuck D writes:
I’ve been using the R5 Focus Bracketing function since August of 2020, and it works quite well. It automatically switches to the electronic shutter when focus bracketing is enabled with a maximum shutter speed of 0.5 seconds. The focus increments are adjustable in 10 increments, and you can take from 2-999 shots. The stacks have been easily handled by both Helicon Focus and Lightroom. It’s a feature that gets a lot of use with my near/far wide angle and layered telephoto shots. It has worked with my EF adapted lenses and my native RF lenses.
DIGLLOYD: reader Glenn K had written me in late 2021 that “Canon EOS R5 focus bracketing only works with electronic shutter which limits raw images to 12 bits depth”. If this is (remains) true, it makes the Canon implementation compromised vs all other platforms. Compare that to Nikon (full bit depth and lossless) and Fujifilm (14-bit or 16-bit lossless). Nikon and Fujifilm do it right.
Sony A7R IV + Sigma FE 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN Art @ 14mm
ENV: Twenty Lakes Basin, altitude 10300 ft / 3139 m, 53°F / 11°C
RAW: LACA corrected, +100 Shadows, -73 Highlights, +57 Whites
[low-res image for bot]
