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In-camera focus bracketing: usable past 1x magnification?

Started Mar 21, 2022 | Questions thread
MacM545 Contributing Member • Posts: 780
Re: In-camera focus bracketing: usable past 1x magnification?

16GreenBeans wrote:

Hey all,

As someone interested in trying out macro photography around the 2x-5x level, from what I understand, focus bracketing seems pretty vital to ensuring a sharp, detailed photo.

As focus bracketing manually using a rail seems rather time consuming, I was wondering, would using an in-camera method of automatic bracketing be precise enough at such a high level of magnification? Say the kind found in newer fujifilm and olympus mirrorless bodies?

My thinking is that powerful focus stacking software like helicon or zerene, or even a focus stacking feature in a photo editing program like affinity photo, would be able to compensate for any major issues with sharpness and accuracy. For those with experience, does this hold true?

Also, this might be a stupid question, but has anyone had experience reverse mounting an enlarging lens onto the olympus 60mm macro? I found a good deal on a Schnieder componon 28mm f4 and am wondering if it possible to mount it while using the 60mm lens normally, as this would allow me to use the in-camera bracketing and stacking features.

Cheers!

GB.

It is possible to do such stacking by use of an automatic rail, which can be many times as expensive as a manual rail. You might also want to consider the fact that at such a high magnification, camera shake can be a real problem, especially with a high-resolution camera. So, it is important to use a sturdy setup. Macro Magnification can be problematic also because the range of focus is likely to be in the Millimeters; but it is possible to use autofocus with a single reverse-lens system by Novoflex. It's the reverse lens Autofocus Adapter. Stepping down the aperture is a technique that can help (but is essential) and might require a bright light source. One person who has used an Olympus 60mm macro for extreme macro can be found at Instagram (1of1 snowflakes) and Flickr (Ethan Beckler).  I don't instantly remember how he did it, but the equipment was listed somewhere in one of his posts.

 MacM545's gear list:MacM545's gear list
Sony RX100 II Canon EOS 500D Fujifilm X-T2 Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Fujifilm 50-230mm II +1 more
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