Latest or all posts or last 15, 30, 90 or 180 days.
2024-03-19 04:41:13
Designed for the most demanding needs of photographers and videographers.
877-865-7002
Today’s Deal Zone Items... Handpicked deals...
$3399 $2999
SAVE $400

$2997 $2997
SAVE $click

$348 $248
SAVE $100

$999 $699
SAVE $300

$5999 $4399
SAVE $1600

$1049 $879
SAVE $170

$4499 $3499
SAVE $1000

$999 $849
SAVE $150

$999 $799
SAVE $200

$5999 $4399
SAVE $1600

$799 $699
SAVE $100

$1199 $899
SAVE $300

$1099 $899
SAVE $200

$348 $248
SAVE $100

$1602 $998
SAVE $604

$3399 $2999
SAVE $400

$3997 $3697
SAVE $300

$5999 $4399
SAVE $1600

$1397 $997
SAVE $400

Critical Tip on Focus Stacking Focusing, Particularly with Nikon D850 Autofocus

See my Nikon wish list and get Nikon D850 at B&H Photo.

See my growing review of the Nikon D850 in Advanced DSLR.

I conveyed my excitement about the Nikon D850 Focus shift shooting feature for focus stacking in Nikon D850: 'Focus shift shooting' Feature Most Important Feature since Live View; Focus Stacking is the ONLY Solution to Full Resolution Images.

Autofocus can wreck your focus stack. More specifically, it can either place focus too far away to start (what I saw) or too close (wasted extra frames).

The only approach I recommend for focus stacking focusing is magnified Live View at full aperture*.

Here is what I saw: I watched the D850 focus at the shooting aperture in magnified Live View. I then toggled to full aperture just afterwards and saw major blur, which means that the D850 cannot focus where desired with the lens stopped down to the shooting aperture. I observed this repeatedly and at will. The solution is to focus only at full aperture: dial the aperture open and then use AF, or pop the aperture open and focus manually.

* The top button at camera front will toggle between full aperture and shooting aperture while in Live View.

Conventional autofocus is pretty good, but it is just not good enough for the precision needed for focus stacking for many subjects. Do NOT use conventional autofocus for focus stacking purposes. The whole point is sharpness, so why risk it?

Below, 3-frame focus stack. That leading tree is impossible to get sharp without focus stacking (if one wants the distance also sharp).

Drainage to Greenstone Lake, Hall Natural Study Area, Hoover Wilderness
f9 @ 13.0 sec focus stack 3 frames, ISO 100; 2017-10-26 18:25:47
NIKON D850 + Zeiss Milvus 25mm f/1.4

[low-res image for bot]

 


View all handpicked deals...

Nikon Z7 II Mirrorless Camera
$2997 $2997
SAVE $click

diglloyd Inc. | FTC Disclosure | PRIVACY POLICY | Trademarks | Terms of Use
Contact | About Lloyd Chambers | Consulting | Photo Tours
RSS Feeds | X.com/diglloyd
Copyright © 2022 diglloyd Inc, all rights reserved.