The Art of Focus Stacking - Matrix Software

Equipment for Macro and Close-up Photography
Depth of Field Preview
How wide open or not your lens diaphragm is determines
your depth of field. If the lens is wide open
(smallest aperture number, like F/2.8), you have the
most light-gathering ability for that particular lens, but
your Depth-of-Field (DOF) will be razor thin. In other
words, aside from the one plane that is in focus, everything
else is out-of-focus. When your lens is closed
down to the smallest apertures (highest aperture number,
like f/22), you have the least light coming into the
lens, but the greatest DOF.
When you look through the viewfinder of your camera
for a preview of a shot, the lens is always forced wide
open, so you get a very bright image, which is needed
to focus properly. However, when you actually take the
photo, your lens will be automatically stopped down to
the actual aperture you set and the photo taken. That
actual aperture may be so small (and dark) to your
eye that you could not see well to focus, which is why
the viewfinder always shows the lens wide open.
However, especially in focus stacking, you can need
to know how much DOF field you already have. If you
already have enough DOF, perhaps you don’t need to
focus stack for this photo. Some of the better cameras
have a Depth-of-Field (DOF) Preview button which
can be a great help, especially in close-up and macro
photography where you want to know how much of
that bug or flower actually is already in focus.
When you look through the viewfinder of the camera
and focus on your subject, you can see where your focus
is, of course, but not how much more (the DOF) of
the object is also on focus. Pressing the DOF Preview
button on a camera stops the lens down to whatever
aperture you have set and allows you to see (although
often in dim light) exactly how much of the total object
is in focus – your depth of field. So while not a showstopper,
a DOF Preview button is VERY helpful to the
close-up photographer.
Mirror-Lock-Up
Cameras with a mirror-lock up are to be preferred
because it allows you to lock the mirror up before the
shot. Otherwise the slap of the mirror can cause vibrations
that resonate through the camera body and blur
the image you are trying to take.
Ready to Rock
Given all the above equipment, you have what you
need to hit the trails and stack photos. You might also
want to decide how much ‘stuff’ you want to carry with
you through the woods and over hill and dale. Things
get really heavy fast after a mile or so. And I am talking
about what you want to carry ASIDE from your
camera, ball head, lens, and tripod, which you will
probably want to have with you at all times.
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