The Art of Focus Stacking - Matrix Software

Equipment for Macro and Close-up Photography
Macro and Close-up Equipment
This section will be a painful read for many of you.
Equipment is expensive, and it seems that all beginners
start out trying to cut corners and end up paying
more for their stuff than professionals because they
buy the cheap stuff, are unhappy with it, and end up
getting the good stuff too, thus buying twice. I certainly
did this and regret it to this day.
All the pros advised me to just buy the good stuff right
off, but I did not listen. After all, I knew best, and was
not sure that this more detailed photography stuff was
something I would really get into, so I bought cheap,
and then bought it all again. The smart money buys
the good stuff and, if you don’t like photography, you
can actually sell the good brands and get some money
back.
I cringe when I come across some of my early tripods
that I bought trying to save a dime and then ultimately
found clumsy, heavy, and ugly. They are worth nothing
and sit unused (and unsalable!), taking up storage
space. Therefore, I am only going to tell you about the
good stuff and why it is worth the money. You make up
your own mind and follow your own budget. As mentioned,
I didn’t listen, and it cost me plenty, not to mention
the suffering and discouragement of using poor
equipment, which is priceless.
Tripods Are Key
The long and the short of it is that you need a tripod
to do accurate focus stacking. I know there are a few
photographers out there who claim to focus stacks
handheld, but that is why there are few of them.
Personally I would not (could not) do focus stacking
without a good tripod. You not only need a tripod, you
need a GOOD tripod. I bought three cheap ones before
I had the common sense to get one good one.
The cheap ones are in storage. As mentioned, I can’t
even sell them, so do yourself a favor and get a decent
tripod.
And, if you are a hiker or woods-walker, get a light
tripod, preferable one made with carbon-fiber legs on
it. A good tripod becomes like a third arm to a macro
shooter. I seldom hit the fields without one.
These Photographs
Pictured here is the primary Nikon equipment I use
most of the time: Nikon D3s and Nikon D3x bodies,
each shown here with a Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5
APO-Lanthar lens, a Markins Q3 Ball-Head, MC-30
Remote Release, and setting on Gitzo carbon-fiber
tripods GT2531 (3-leg) and FT1228 (4-legs and center
column). These tripods and ball heads are as light as
possible, yet sturdy enough to hold the quite-heavy
nikon cameras and lenses.
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