The Art of Focus Stacking - Matrix Software

Equipment for Macro and Close-up Photography
Common Macro Lenses
In the above photo are ten lenses commonly used for
macro and close-up work. Most, but not all, are Nikon
lenses. The one marked “J” consists of two lenses
stacked together to make higher magnification, as listed
below. For my work, the most-used lens is (I), the
Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 APO-Lanthar, a marvel of a
lens. The other incredible lens (IMO) is (C), the 60mm
f/4 APO lens from Coastal Optics. Any of the lenses
listed above would be good for macro and close-up
photography.
A. Micro-Nikkor 105mm F/2.8 VR Lens
B. Kiron (Lester A. Dine) 100mm f/2.8 Macro
C. Coastal Optics 60mm f/4.0 APO
D. Micro-NikKor 55mm P Auto f/3.5
E. Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 D Lens
F. Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/2.8 PC Tilt/Shift Lens
G. Micro-Nikkor 70mm-180mm AF f/.5-5.6 D
H. Micro-Nikkor 200m AF F/4 ED-IF Macro
I. Micro Voigtlander 125 F/2.5 Macro APO-Lanthar
J-1. Micro-Nikkor 105mm P F/4 Macro Lens
J-2 Micro-Nikkor 105mm P F/4 Macro Bellows Lens
Most close-up and macro photographers use lenses in the short
telephoto range, from 60mm to 200mm.
The Lens Is the Thing
Lenses are the heart of photography, IMO, and certainly
a good sharp lens is required for decent focus
stacking. And lenses can be expensive, to say the
least. Fortunately for macro and close-up photography,
where we must focus manually anyway, we can
use older lenses which are readily available at reasonable
prices.
The kind of lens you need depends on the kind of photographing
you intend to do. And while focus stacking
can be used for landscape and intermediate distance
photography, much of it tends to be done in close-up
and macro photography.
Speaking very generally, most macro and close-up
work is done with short telephoto lenses, rather than
wide angle lenses. Traditionally, the 50mm lens has
been set as the standard and any lenses smaller than
that (24mm, 35mm, etc.) are considered wide angle
lenses, while any lenses longer (105mm, 200mm) are
considered telephoto lenses.
You can do focus stacking with almost any kind of
lens (including wide angle lenses) with the exception
perhaps of fisheye lenses. And we should differentiate
between standard lenses and macro lenses. A macro
lens allows you to focus down to very short distances
from your subject, providing you greater magnification
and thus huge images of tiny critters like ants, as well
as flowers, leaves, etc. Standard lenses don’t usually
have a focus distance close enough to do macro photography,
so take note.
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