EXCERPT page containing first few paragraphs. 2024-04-23 05:22:08
UA_SEARCH_BOT_compatible_botmozilla/5.0 applewebkit/537.36 (khtml, like gecko; compatible; claudebot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com) @ 18.218.129.100
For full access, subscribe here. Or click title to login. 
via Edit => Auto Blend Layers
Overview of Focus Stacking Software/Processing
This page gives a brief overview of the stacking process.
Plan on investing time in learning how to use your choice of stacking software. Start with 2 or 3 frame stacks of something simple (no motion, no extreme close/far content). The examples in this article should give a good idea of what will work well.
There are various software packages that perform focus stacking, including Zerene Stacker, Helicon Focus, Adobe Photoshop, and others. I’ve gravitated to Zerene Stacker. While the built-in + commands in Photoshop work well in many circumstances, there is no choice of algorithm or parameters for doing the stack. Still, it is a quick way to try focus stacking for anyone already using Photoshop.
Article continues for subscribers...
Diglloyd Making Sharp Images is by yearly subscription. Subscribe now for about 13 cents a day ($50/year).
BEST DEAL: get full access to ALL 8 PUBLICATIONS for only about 75 cents a day!
Diglloyd Making Sharp Images articulates years of best practices and how-to, painstakingly learned over a decade of camera and lens evaluation.
Save yourself those years of trial and error by jump-starting your photographic technical execution when making the image. The best lens or camera is handicapped if the photographer fails to master perfect shot discipline. High-resolution digital cameras are unforgiving of errors, at least if one wants the best possible results.
- Eases into photographic challenges with an introductory section.
- Covers aspects of digital sensor technology that relate to getting the best image quality.
- Technique section discusses every aspect of making a sharp image handheld or on a tripod.
- Depth of field and how to bypass depth of field limitations via focus stacking.
- Optical aberrations: what they are, what they look like, and what to do about them.
- MTF, field curvature, focus shift: insight into the limitations of lab tests and why imaging performance is far more complex than it appears.
- Optical aberrations: what they are, what they look like, and what to do about them.
- How to test a lens for a “bad sample”.
Intrigued? See Focusing Zeiss DSLR Lenses For Peak Performance, PART ONE: The Challenges, or (one topic of many) field curvature.
