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Nice instruction video. When I do focus stacking I set the self timer to 2 seconds after pressing the shutter button rather than set a timer for each shot.
Thanks for this useful tutorial as a new A6700 owner. I have a question - is there any way to determine exactly how far the camera refocusses for each of the step settings 1 to 10? For example, I have been using the Photopills Macro Calculator to calculate exactly what I need to do if for example I want to photograph a flower and ensure sharpness from front to back. The calculator gives me excellent results in conjunction with my macro rail. If I want to shoot a flower with my macro lens using focus bracketing, how would I determine which step setting to use, and how many steps. It seems a bit hit and miss with the A6700. Any ideas? Thanks, Martin
Thanks for explaining focus stacking-it is a cool feature, a bit of a hassle so I'd love to see more examples of how you have used this in photos. I looked online---the Zerena stacker is $189.00 USA dollars for "prosumer" $89 for basic (don't know what is eliminated) and $39 for students. I would love to see a follow-up video with some examples of how you use stacking in various scenarios (I know you mentioned macro for example. Thanks so much again for this cool feature.
A good example is a bowl of fruit. By stacking, the problem of digression which cause blurring at a small aperture (i.e., f22) is eliminated. I use Helicon Focus to stack images.
Hello, I want to use focus stacking in studio photography. However, I will need 1.5 seconds for the flashes to charge. Is there a setting to extend the time between photo shoots? Thank you
There is an option to make the stacking manual , tinker around and you will find it , it is hoevere a bit trickier to manage in outdoor situations but since it is a studio you will be fine i guess .
Thanks for the video. I am using it on the a7CR and notice that regardless of the settings I use, focus bracketing does not stop automatically when it has reached the last focus point as described by Mark Galer when he did his video on this from the a7r5. Maybe that is just a feature for the a7r5? From what I read, the camera should stop if it reaches the final focusable spot in the scene if it hasn't reached the total amount of images in the settings. Can you confirm if you have seen your 6700 stopping before the total of images has been taken? ThX!
There are all kinds of processing bells and whistles involved with image stacking which is just too much finagling to implement in a camera. Get Helicon Focus stacking software.
Yes, in fact it is already set up out the box. Focus works with either the Shutter or the rear focus button. But you can customise both to your liking.
Smooth tutorial and demo. I was going to ask about IBIS, but you addressed this at the end of the vid. Looks like image files must be in JPG. Is this a requirement of the camera or app? I’ve used focus stacking in Lightroom and found that the program choked on more than about 12 images in a stack. Cheers!
Hi thanks for watching, Zerena Stacker uses jpg or tiff files. You would do any editing/ correction to raw files in LR before loading into Zerene Stacker and then stack to finalize the image. The good thing about Zerena STacker is you can have 1000's of images to stack and it wont choke.
I also have the A6700, but I found that the interval of each shot in FOCUS BRACKETING mode is too long. So it's somehow very difficult to capture a moving object like a live insect in macro images.
That is well explained. But I think as long as you need an external program and the camera doesn't create the finished image itself, this is not yet sufficiently developed.
Great tutorial. I want to ask if I can do this bracketing with a manual lens. Because I tried with the laowa 65mm macro lens and I get the notification that the lens is not supported or that the lens is not attached correctly or is not supported
To do focus bracketing with a manual lens, the best method is to move the camera. For that one could use a manual slide, or a computerized one like StackShot. Issues come into play like "focus breathing". Just get an auto-focus lens and then use the a6700 focus bracketing.
@@thomasbutler-k6c Not sure whether I may be misunderstanding you, but the situation is the complete opposite of what you appear to be saying. A slide can't suffer from focus breathing because you don't change the focus, you move the sensor. And an auto-focus lens used with focus bracketing certainly won't overcome focus breathing; in fact, depending on the specific lens, it may introduce it.
If you implement auto-align in Photoshop for example, yes. However, handholding in macro with multiple images is far from recommended for a good output.
you don't need to set the final focus point, just the start. The camera will auto stop when it reaches the final "object" in the scene, or at the final number of shots you have selected in the options.
This only works with Sony autofocus lenses where the camera can electrically control/advance the focus. Still need a focus bracketing machine like StackShot for anything that does not use an autofocus lens. Of course, the end result of focus stacking is comparable to a tilt/shift lens or a view camera where the focal plane can be tilted and shifted. I have a Canon tilt-shift lens on my Sony a6400 and by tilting ,I can get the image in ONE FRAME with no stacking...puts the focal plane across the near and far object at the same time.
That all depends on your use case - tilt/shift wouldn't work in lots of scenarios including the example in this video. It's nice that the result is achieved without post-processing, but tilt/shift is far more limited in it's scope. It doesn't actually increase depth of field - rather it facilitates a graduated change in the focal plane across the frame, which is not the same thing. It can work well for some architectural shots and possibly for certain landscapes, but wouldn't be any use at all for, say, macro.
@@davidf6326 But with tilt lens, I can set the focal plane from front to back of the subject and have them all in focus. Example being the deck of cards. Not much depth is needed, but with a subject like a bowl of fruit; this is a problem solved by a small aperture with lots of light or focus bracketing. I have a Canon 24mm tilt/shift II with Metabones FD to e-mount adapter and the a6700 in addition to a FD to e-mount with a 100mm Canon and 10x micro objective....need to do some more fun tests! Back in the 1930s, i.e., prior to electronics in cameras, this would have been accomplished with a view camera using its inherent tilt/shift of the focal plane.
You go too fast to follow sometimes. I've rewatched 'focus bracketing' section (approx 2:45) at least a dozen times and still can't march where you go with what I see on my camera. PLEASE slow down and show each step clearly. Now have to go find a different video that I can follow. 😞
If a mobile was used to click this pic without selecting anything to focus on, the image would have everything in focus. Why can't cameras do the same?
smart phones and action cameras have what is called fixed focus. the lens is placed exactly at a set distance from the cameras sensor so that "everything" in shot is pretty much in focus. Now, if something is very close to the lens, i.e under 12inches it is usually out of focus on a fixed focus camera. So the above video would still aplly. On Mirrorless and DSLR cameras the lenses have adjustable focus. Now somewhere in the range of the lenses focus will be that "everything" in focus sweet spot. its referred to as focus to infinity. But finding it can prove problematic with adjustable focus lenses, and anything under 12inches would still need a different focus point.
@@TheCameraManReviews Thanks for the explanation. I recently bought a 6700. Coming from a smartphone I am finding it challenging to use as I never had a camera before. This is my first time.
@@gagan.dee.p you will get it, take your time and absorb as much info as you can. My first recommendation to anyone would be to change out the Sony kit lens 16-55mm and get a lens that is capable of next level photos (i would recommend the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 e mount). then u can start to push the boundaries and start leveling up your photography and Videography. What will happen over time is, the more u use the camera and its settings, you will push past what a smartphone is capable of and you will start to think to yourself "how did i make do with just a smartphone" . It will take time and taking in information, but persistence will pay off.
@@TheCameraManReviews Sadly I bought my 6700 with the above-mentioned kit lens. Wouldn't Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 be better as it's also stabilized and doesn't cost too much over Sigma 18-50 F2.8
@@gagan.dee.p YEah the Tamron 17-70 F2.8 is also good! I prefer the Sigma but just because of its smaller size. If you can get the Tamron for a good price then perfect!
97% of viewers are not subscribed to my channel which means UA-cam doesn't recommend my channel for future viewing. Please consider subscribing, it shows me you are interested in my content and drives me to produce more videos . Thank you all!
DOWNLOAD ZERENE STACKER HERE: www.zerenesystems.com
Cause if we subscribe UA-cam will not recommend your video 😅
Fantastic job explaining this.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks! The best focus stacking tutorial for the a6700 that I've seen so far. Clear and concise.
Thank you for all the 6700 videos! Just got one and they are SO helpful 😊
Nice instruction video. When I do focus stacking I set the self timer to 2 seconds after pressing the shutter button rather than set a timer for each shot.
I use the app on the phone for triggering the shots; no contact with the camera body.
Great vid. Consistency is key
Very good demonstration!
Nice video. Thanks. Cannot use this with extreme macro pics though. Helicon Focus is comparable to Zerene. I have it and it works great.
Do i Need to tack a tripod with a6700 (landscape) or can i shoot handheld and the software aligns them properly?
Tripod
Thanks for this useful tutorial as a new A6700 owner. I have a question - is there any way to determine exactly how far the camera refocusses for each of the step settings 1 to 10? For example, I have been using the Photopills Macro Calculator to calculate exactly what I need to do if for example I want to photograph a flower and ensure sharpness from front to back. The calculator gives me excellent results in conjunction with my macro rail. If I want to shoot a flower with my macro lens using focus bracketing, how would I determine which step setting to use, and how many steps. It seems a bit hit and miss with the A6700. Any ideas? Thanks, Martin
Thanks for explaining focus stacking-it is a cool feature, a bit of a hassle so I'd love to see more examples of how you have used this in photos. I looked online---the Zerena stacker is $189.00 USA dollars for "prosumer" $89 for basic (don't know what is eliminated) and $39 for students. I would love to see a follow-up video with some examples of how you use stacking in various scenarios (I know you mentioned macro for example. Thanks so much again for this cool feature.
A good example is a bowl of fruit. By stacking, the problem of digression which cause blurring at a small aperture (i.e., f22) is eliminated. I use Helicon Focus to stack images.
How can you make the focus bracketing link up with the flash? Also can you make it shoot at a faster fps?
Hello, I want to use focus stacking in studio photography. However, I will need 1.5 seconds for the flashes to charge. Is there a setting to extend the time between photo shoots? Thank you
That is a very good question, I will check and get back to you. Off the top of my head its no, you may need continuous lighting.
I will wait for your answer. thanks@@TheCameraManReviews
There is an option to make the stacking manual , tinker around and you will find it , it is hoevere a bit trickier to manage in outdoor situations but since it is a studio you will be fine i guess .
Does it work in concert with a flash? Like, will a flash fire every frame throughout the bracket?
Thanks for the video. I am using it on the a7CR and notice that regardless of the settings I use, focus bracketing does not stop automatically when it has reached the last focus point as described by Mark Galer when he did his video on this from the a7r5. Maybe that is just a feature for the a7r5? From what I read, the camera should stop if it reaches the final focusable spot in the scene if it hasn't reached the total amount of images in the settings. Can you confirm if you have seen your 6700 stopping before the total of images has been taken? ThX!
Can this camera trigger a flash while in bracketing mode?
Hello. Can the a6700 make the stacked image automatically? In the cam, like Panasonic g80 for example. Thanks!
Not that I know of
There are all kinds of processing bells and whistles involved with image stacking which is just too much finagling to implement in a camera. Get Helicon Focus stacking software.
does the A6700 have a setting for back button focus..?
Yes, in fact it is already set up out the box.
Focus works with either the Shutter or the rear focus button. But you can customise both to your liking.
Brilliant! thank u
Pleasure.
Thank you
Smooth tutorial and demo. I was going to ask about IBIS, but you addressed this at the end of the vid. Looks like image files must be in JPG. Is this a requirement of the camera or app? I’ve used focus stacking in Lightroom and found that the program choked on more than about 12 images in a stack. Cheers!
Hi thanks for watching, Zerena Stacker uses jpg or tiff files. You would do any editing/ correction to raw files in LR before loading into Zerene Stacker and then stack to finalize the image.
The good thing about Zerena STacker is you can have 1000's of images to stack and it wont choke.
Helicon Focus supports RAW if that is important to you!
Excellent! Thanks
Hello, does focus bracketing work with any lense that has AF?
Yes
I also have the A6700, but I found that the interval of each shot in FOCUS BRACKETING mode is too long. So it's somehow very difficult to capture a moving object like a live insect in macro images.
Yes, unless the insect is still, that is going to be a problem.
Is it possible to connect a flash while doing focus bracketing and let it sync with it? I heard it could be done with the OM system camera :)
That is well explained. But I think as long as you need an external program and the camera doesn't create the finished image itself, this is not yet sufficiently developed.
Great tutorial. I want to ask if I can do this bracketing with a manual lens. Because I tried with the laowa 65mm macro lens and I get the notification that the lens is not supported or that the lens is not attached correctly or is not supported
no, you'll have to do it manually, this is only for AF lenses. laowa 65mm have manual focus and camera can't control it
To do focus bracketing with a manual lens, the best method is to move the camera. For that one could use a manual slide, or a computerized one like StackShot. Issues come into play like "focus breathing". Just get an auto-focus lens and then use the a6700 focus bracketing.
@@thomasbutler-k6c Not sure whether I may be misunderstanding you, but the situation is the complete opposite of what you appear to be saying. A slide can't suffer from focus breathing because you don't change the focus, you move the sensor. And an auto-focus lens used with focus bracketing certainly won't overcome focus breathing; in fact, depending on the specific lens, it may introduce it.
I have an a6700 and a lens with af but i can‘t choose focus bracketing it‘s grey in my menu. What can i do? Why do I have this issue?
You need to be in one of the manual modes, turn your top dial from Auto to either P, A, S, or M. it will then highlight it. 🙂
@@TheCameraManReviewsI actually am in manual mode could it be some other setting i did wrong? Thank you for the quick answer btw. :)
@@TheCameraManReviewsI tried all 4 of these.
@@realpredator1502 what lens are u using?
@@TheCameraManReviewsI tried with sigma 70mm art f2.8 and sony self18f f1.8
Can I use this technique for handheld shots primarily on macro phogtography? Great content btw!
If you implement auto-align in Photoshop for example, yes. However, handholding in macro with multiple images is far from recommended for a good output.
Thats pretty cool
Is this stacking process possible in Photoshop or not?
Yes😊
Not clear how you set the start focus point and the final focus point... How? 😢
you don't need to set the final focus point, just the start. The camera will auto stop when it reaches the final "object" in the scene, or at the final number of shots you have selected in the options.
Isn't this feature in the Sony a6400 camera?
Unfortunately not. 😞
@@TheCameraManReviews you can do it with an app over bluetooth
I have my number of shots limit @103 and it takes the 103 every time. Thats too many for me. Im thinkin 24.
This only works with Sony autofocus lenses where the camera can electrically control/advance the focus. Still need a focus bracketing machine like StackShot for anything that does not use an autofocus lens. Of course, the end result of focus stacking is comparable to a tilt/shift lens or a view camera where the focal plane can be tilted and shifted. I have a Canon tilt-shift lens on my Sony a6400 and by tilting ,I can get the image in ONE FRAME with no stacking...puts the focal plane across the near and far object at the same time.
That all depends on your use case - tilt/shift wouldn't work in lots of scenarios including the example in this video. It's nice that the result is achieved without post-processing, but tilt/shift is far more limited in it's scope. It doesn't actually increase depth of field - rather it facilitates a graduated change in the focal plane across the frame, which is not the same thing. It can work well for some architectural shots and possibly for certain landscapes, but wouldn't be any use at all for, say, macro.
@@davidf6326 But with tilt lens, I can set the focal plane from front to back of the subject and have them all in focus. Example being the deck of cards. Not much depth is needed, but with a subject like a bowl of fruit; this is a problem solved by a small aperture with lots of light or focus bracketing. I have a Canon 24mm tilt/shift II with Metabones FD to e-mount adapter and the a6700 in addition to a FD to e-mount with a 100mm Canon and 10x micro objective....need to do some more fun tests!
Back in the 1930s, i.e., prior to electronics in cameras, this would have been accomplished with a view camera using its inherent tilt/shift of the focal plane.
You go too fast to follow sometimes. I've rewatched 'focus bracketing' section (approx 2:45) at least a dozen times and still can't march where you go with what I see on my camera. PLEASE slow down and show each step clearly. Now have to go find a different video that I can follow. 😞
I do apologize, can I recommend the pause button?
@@TheCameraManReviews You can also slow down the audio. Go to Settings and try Playback speed to 0.75 for example.
My camera will do hand held focus stacking and processed in lightroom
If a mobile was used to click this pic without selecting anything to focus on, the image would have everything in focus. Why can't cameras do the same?
smart phones and action cameras have what is called fixed focus. the lens is placed exactly at a set distance from the cameras sensor so that "everything" in shot is pretty much in focus.
Now, if something is very close to the lens, i.e under 12inches it is usually out of focus on a fixed focus camera. So the above video would still aplly.
On Mirrorless and DSLR cameras the lenses have adjustable focus. Now somewhere in the range of the lenses focus will be that "everything" in focus sweet spot. its referred to as focus to infinity. But finding it can prove problematic with adjustable focus lenses, and anything under 12inches would still need a different focus point.
@@TheCameraManReviews Thanks for the explanation. I recently bought a 6700. Coming from a smartphone I am finding it challenging to use as I never had a camera before. This is my first time.
@@gagan.dee.p you will get it, take your time and absorb as much info as you can. My first recommendation to anyone would be to change out the Sony kit lens 16-55mm and get a lens that is capable of next level photos (i would recommend the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 e mount). then u can start to push the boundaries and start leveling up your photography and Videography. What will happen over time is, the more u use the camera and its settings, you will push past what a smartphone is capable of and you will start to think to yourself "how did i make do with just a smartphone" . It will take time and taking in information, but persistence will pay off.
@@TheCameraManReviews Sadly I bought my 6700 with the above-mentioned kit lens. Wouldn't Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 be better as it's also stabilized and doesn't cost too much over Sigma 18-50 F2.8
@@gagan.dee.p YEah the Tamron 17-70 F2.8 is also good! I prefer the Sigma but just because of its smaller size. If you can get the Tamron for a good price then perfect!
raise your aperture value and voila, no post processing needed, you're welcome!