Focus stack experiment R5

[Ben Egbert]

My goal was to find out what the settings under focus stack do. I understand that the number of shots you set are an upper limit and even if you set 100, the stacking will halt when infinity focus is reached. For my purposes, the question is how to set the incremental size. The range is 1 to 10 with 4 being the grayed out setting which I presume to be Canons suggestion.

Test 1.

15mm f2.8 set at 100 images and increment setting 4. Starting focus was at about 18 inches. The result was 8 images. Results after stacking in Photoshop were excellent.

Test 2.

15mm f2.8 set at 100 images and increment setting 10. Starting focus was at about 18 inches. The result was 2 images. Results after stacking in Photoshop were bad, infinity was never reached.

Test 3.

15mm f5.6 set at 100 images and increment setting 4. Starting focus was at about 18 inches. The result was 4 images. Results after stacking in Photoshop were excellent.

Test 4.

15mm f8 set at 100 images and increment setting 4. Starting focus was at about 18 inches. The result was 4 images. Results after stacking in Photoshop were excellent.

Conclusion:

I can possible see better corner sharpness at f8 than F2.8 otherwise all tests were pretty equal other than test 2.

I think increment 4 and probably 10 images is a good setting for this type of image where you have lots of detail close to the camera and you still want it to be sharp to infinity.

As you can see, the camera finds infinity focus with fewer steps as you stop down. Not sure why f5.6 and f8 both took 4 images.

Samples were stacked, aligned and blended in photoshop. I did some exposure tweaking in ACR but nothing in Photoshop. I am not bothering to show test 2.

Test 1. F2.8, 8 shots inc 4

Test 3 F5.6, 4 shots inc 4

Test 4 F8, 4 shots inc 4

 

[AlanLichty]

I do a lot of focus stacking by hand using the touch screen to set my focus points and have found that it's rare I need more than 3 exposures at around f/9 to get everything in focus after processing.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I do a lot of focus stacking by hand using the touch screen to set my focus points and have found that it's rare I need more than 3 exposures at around f/9 to get everything in focus after processing.

I have done a few like that. I often have a lapse of focus in some distances when I do. At least for this sort of situation. I find that hyper focal works fine for most landscapes.
A nice feature of the R5 focus stack is that it uses electronic shutter and captures the entire set in about a second.

 

[AlanLichty]

I have done a few like that. I often have a lapse of focus in some distances when I do. At least for this sort of situation. I find that hyper focal works fine for most landscapes.
A nice feature of the R5 focus stack is that it uses electronic shutter and captures the entire set in about a second.

I do like the idea of an electronic shutter capturing the whole sequence quickly. I have searched my manual carefully but this is a feature Canon has added since the 5D MkIV/EOS-R software interface first came out.

In hindsight I can see that the 5D MkIV software interface was a prototype for the R series of cameras and had almost nothing in common with the rest of the 5D family interfaces but it doesn't look like Canon is going to be adding much of anything further to the 5D family now. The stacking function is a neat feature but not something that will push me into the R series yet.

 

[JimFox]

That is neat results Ben!

What's going to be your choice going forward?

 

[Ben Egbert]

That is neat results Ben!

What's going to be your choice going forward?

i will mostly continue hyperfocal but when I have close subjects in a landscape I will probably use f5.6 and focus stack with increment 4 and 10 images selected. I want to try a macro with a long lens and find best settings

 

[JimFox]

i will mostly continue hyperfocal but when I have close subjects in a landscape I will probably use f5.6 and focus stack with increment 4 and 10 images selected. I want to try a macro with a long lens and find best settings

I think that would be my approach too. Hyperfocal distance is proven and I don't know about you, but I don't even have to think about it anymore, I know exactly on any given composition where my focus point should be.

I will shoot with the focus bracketing occasionally. My problem is I do it so rarely, that I usually forget that I have done it and still end up using an image that I had used hyperfocal distance for.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I have used focus stacking several times but have had a few problems. My first big problem is getting stuff set, when you have a setting selected, you have to press another button to finalize it. I am adverse to all software interfaces that require this last step.

The second problem is that is shoots so fast you are not sure the stack was even taken.

In some cases, you only get one shot because DOF was reached first time. Good reason to shoot at a lower aperture, f5.6 seems to be a good choice.

In some cases, I never get infinity, maybe the increment was set too high.

This is a feature that requires a bit of practice and knowledge of what the camera is doing.

The fast capture and especially if a low aperture and faster shutter is used makes capturing in wind a better proposition.

The scene I usually take at dead horse point has some really near detail in the form of a juniper that would make good use of this technique. I usually sacrifice a bit of infinity sharpness to get the juniper sharp.

 

[Kyle Jones]

Hyperfocal breaks down when you are either using a longer lens or have something REALLY close to the camera. My recent Avalanche Lake show with the tree needed focus stacking to get all of the tree sharp - which was important to me because I thought the lines and details in the tree were critical for the shot. It does become a commitment though. I may need to give this a try to make life a little easier in the field.

 

[Ben Egbert]

What is your experience using the focus stack in the R5? Any tips to share?

 

[Jameel Hyder]

I wish the interface was designed differently. What I would have preferred was a near focus setting, far focus setting and number of shots. I haven't played with this in R5 yet, I should try this.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Agree with you Jameel, its a clunky interface and not well explained.

 

[Kyle Jones]

What is your experience using the focus stack in the R5? Any tips to share?

I just use the joystick to change my focus point and do it all manually still. I haven't tried the automated function since I don't trust it. Based on your testing I'll give it a shot.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I have tried that method but I have had trouble finding the best places to focus and then getting focus there. Of course I just recently found out how to make the joy stick control the focus point. I had been using the touch screen which is not too accurate.

 

[JimFox]

Ben,

With the Nikon, once I set my settings of how many and the gap inbetween, I haven’t touched that again. When I do use it (which is pretty rare I admit) all I have to do is select it and it takes the focus stack. It’s easy to do once you get the settings you like.

As for how fast it shoots, in a windy condition, that would be good. But for normal conditions, why not switch the camera to a low speed shooting mode? I have both a low and fast selection, of your R5 is the same just shoot a low speed so you know when it’s done?

How do you start the focus stack sequence on the R5? The shutter release button? Or the menu?

 

[Ben Egbert]

Jim I go into the menu and select my settings I don’t think they are saved, Need to look into that. Once selected and approved it’s ready to shoot. I can use my remote or the shutter button. I need to compose and choose near focus of course. Then take the image. I don’t recall having a slow or fast setting.

if I have 1/250 shutter and 5 images the whole thing happens in 5x1/250 plus another small bitfor the lag between shots which is nearly instant

 

[JimFox]

The speed is separate, I have a low and high speed selector on the Nikon. So for me it shoots at the speed based on which speed mode I am in. I am usually in Low, because with High speed, it’s faster then my finger, so in normal shooting it would take 3 or 4 shots when I meant for just 1.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

The shooting speed which controls at what speed (fps) the camera shoots at with the shutter pressed is not related to the shots taken with focus stacking. Focus stacking used electronic shutter and takes the sequences as fast as it can.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Right, its not separate shutter actuations, just one press and its done. The camera will take as many images as it needs to reach infinity with the selection's made.