Focus stack of an alstroemeria flower (42 images)

I hacked two macrorails (one manual and precise and the other motorized but wobbly) together to make my Frankenstein-rail. Haven't had lots of time over the past few weeks due to a home improvement project that needed finsishing (cabinet to install a large Bosch combi steam/microwave/air/grill oven at eyelevel in the kitchen) but here is one of my first tests of the rail as it stands now.

I replaced double-sided tape and tiewraps with two-component epoxy, got a 220V adapter for my PentaxKP to avoid having to change batteries constantly because of excessive liveview usage and a longer cable so I can use the controller without inducing vibrations.

Shot on a Pentax KP with an Irix 150mm/f2.8 at an aperture of f5.6 and shutterspeed of 1/180th. I used a flash at 1/4th power manual setting through a Sto-Fen diffuser at 45 degrees and I let the whole setup become vibration-free between shots with a 6-second pause between exposures (also helped the flash keep up).

I did shoot raw+ but found the jpegs perfectly acceptable for stacking so I ended up using those. Post processing of the end-result output from Zerene (16-bit tiff) was in Digikam's built-in editor and final sharpening and NR in NeatImage. Click to see a larger image in Dpreview Gallery.

Thats lovely details Mike, nice

Not sure what you meant by two rails, was that to allow travel in two dimensions ? Sounds complicated 🤔

jim mij wrote:

Thats lovely details Mike, nice

Thanks! Apperciate it.

Not sure what you meant by two rails, was that to allow travel in two dimensions ? Sounds complicated 🤔

Here you are: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66737033

Literally the mechanical part of one rail hacked onto the motorized part of another. The above post on Dpreview documented the job.

ken_in_nh wrote:

Nice photo, but your setup sounds sooo complicated. Can't you move the plant to a sunny window and use natural light?

What did you find complicated? The rail, the flash or both? Of course I would, if I could. But Januari in the Netherlands is one of the bleakest, greyest, darkest and wettest months of the year so that makes the flash a must. Come spring, I'll go back to natural light.

Also, one of the first things I did when I started shooting macro stacks was ditch the rail. I found an app that allowed me to manually step the focus of my lens. Have you looked for one?

You're probably using a focus-by-wire camera (MILC?) and I'm using a DSLR. Besides putting an electronically controlled follow focus rig on the lens (which is meant for video, not macro) I cannot see an app controlling focus on my lens. I've always staid away from any camera which does not allow me direct control of the focus ring of a lens and cannot see myself using it. I also have absolutely no place for an app which controls my camera to begin with. Tried it, and the power drain from the BT/WiFi connection just empties my batteries faster than I can charge them. I'm just more of a hands-on type of person I suppose.

For stacking, rail vs changing lens focus is a complicated topic. Suffice to say that the experts I know say there's no right answer, and I've been happy with my results for years...

It's not that complicated, as you say there's no right answer. I've also been quite happy with my results for years so good on you too! It's just that motorizing a manual stacking rail is a lot of fun and produces good results.

newmikey wrote:

jim mij wrote:

Thats lovely details Mike, nice

Thanks! Apperciate it.

Not sure what you meant by two rails, was that to allow travel in two dimensions ? Sounds complicated 🤔

Here you are: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66737033

Literally the mechanical part of one rail hacked onto the motorized part of another. The above post on Dpreview documented the job.

I like your approach of using two things that don’t work to make one that does 👍, as it happens just before looking in dpr I was watching a review of another motorised rail, and that too didn’t work (it wobbles). I’m sorta glad my camera has inbuilt stacking and it’s only the faffing around on my ball head tripod that’s annoying to get that initial point aligned and in focus. Now it’s working for you I suggest a trip to the florist for more subjects…

Jim

jim mij wrote:

... it’s only the faffing around on my ball head tripod that’s annoying to get that initial point aligned and in focus.

getting a proper geared head? It will do wonders for accusracy and convenience. The ball head drove me crazy too until I purchased a proper 3-axis geared head. I ended up with the Benro Precision Geared Head GD3WH but there are more options out there. It's is just bliss to be able to adjust the field of view exactly without backlash or drooping. It's way more precise and convenient than I would have held possible. Best 150 buck I ever spent a few years ago.

newmikey wrote:

ken_in_nh wrote:

Nice photo, but your setup sounds sooo complicated. Can't you move the plant to a sunny window and use natural light?

What did you find complicated? The rail, the flash or both? Of course I would, if I could. But Januari in the Netherlands is one of the bleakest, greyest, darkest and wettest months of the year so that makes the flash a must. Come spring, I'll go back to natural light.

I’m in Suffolk, I thought our days were bleak

Also, one of the first things I did when I started shooting macro stacks was ditch the rail. I found an app that allowed me to manually step the focus of my lens. Have you looked for one?

You're probably using a focus-by-wire camera (MILC?) and I'm using a DSLR. Besides putting an electronically controlled follow focus rig on the lens (which is meant for video, not macro) I cannot see an app controlling focus on my lens. I've always staid away from any camera which does not allow me direct control of the focus ring of a lens and cannot see myself using it. I also have absolutely no place for an app which controls my camera to begin with. Tried it, and the power drain from the BT/WiFi connection just empties my batteries faster than I can charge them. I'm just more of a hands-on type of person I suppose.

might mean a phone app that uses wifi/Bluetooth to control the camera, eg I use the canon app to control my m6ii, it allows basic control and you can zoom to set a focus point. One of the issues with the m6 is the in camera focus stacking can’t use flash, hence my interest in automated rails.

For stacking, rail vs changing lens focus is a complicated topic. Suffice to say that the experts I know say there's no right answer, and I've been happy with my results for years...

It's not that complicated, as you say there's no right answer. I've also been quite happy with my results for years so good on you too! It's just that motorizing a manual stacking rail is a lot of fun and produces good results.

newmikey wrote:

jim mij wrote:

... it’s only the faffing around on my ball head tripod that’s annoying to get that initial point aligned and in focus.

getting a proper geared head? It will do wonders for accusracy and convenience. The ball head drove me crazy too until I purchased a proper 3-axis geared head. I ended up with the Benro Precision Geared Head GD3WH but there are more options out there. It's is just bliss to be able to adjust the field of view exactly without backlash or drooping. It's way more precise and convenient than I would have held possible. Best 150 buck I ever spent a few years ago.

Hah, yes, when I got the tripod I wanted a ball head for flexibility, then I discovered macro…

Very nice!

grsnovi wrote:

Very nice!

Thanks but I have to admit the original is 5648*3765 pixels as it is based on 24mp source images

Nice!

Dale

newmikey wrote:

I hacked two macrorails (one manual and precise and the other motorized but wobbly) together to make my Frankenstein-rail. Haven't had lots of time over the past few weeks due to a home improvement project that needed finsishing (cabinet to install a large Bosch combi steam/microwave/air/grill oven at eyelevel in the kitchen) but here is one of my first tests of the rail as it stands now.

I replaced double-sided tape and tiewraps with two-component epoxy, got a 220V adapter for my PentaxKP to avoid having to change batteries constantly because of excessive liveview usage and a longer cable so I can use the controller without inducing vibrations.

Shot on a Pentax KP with an Irix 150mm/f2.8 at an aperture of f5.6 and shutterspeed of 1/180th. I used a flash at 1/4th power manual setting through a Sto-Fen diffuser at 45 degrees and I let the whole setup become vibration-free between shots with a 6-second pause between exposures (also helped the flash keep up).

I did shoot raw+ but found the jpegs perfectly acceptable for stacking so I ended up using those. Post processing of the end-result output from Zerene (16-bit tiff) was in Digikam's built-in editor and final sharpening and NR in NeatImage. Click to see a larger image in Dpreview Gallery.