Remote Pro

Focus Stacking

Focus Stacking

Focus stacking increases depth of field by taking a series of photographs with different focus settings and combining them, using the in-focus areas from each image. This technique is useful for macro, close-up, landscape, and product photography where depth of field is critical and the subject is stationary.

The live view display in Remote Pro makes it simple to automate the process of taking a focus sequence via a script, with no need to touch the camera and the mirror staying locked up throughout — minimising the risk of camera shake.

 

What You Need

  1. A Canon DSLR that supports live view (e.g. Canon EOS 40D or EOS-1D Mark III).
  2. Remote Pro for Windows and a USB cable connecting your camera to your computer.
  3. A sturdy tripod.
  4. AutoHotKey — a free scripting tool.
  5. focus_stacking.ahk — an AutoHotKey script included in the Remote Pro installation folder (usually C:\Program Files\BreezeSys\Remote Pro for Windows).
  6. CombineZM — a free program for combining images. Commercial alternatives include Helicon Focus.

 

Taking the Photos

  1. Mount the camera on a tripod and select manual exposure mode.
  2. Compose the shot, roughly focusing on the subject.
  3. Connect the camera to your PC via USB and run Remote Pro for Windows.
  4. Press Ctrl+L to activate live view.
  5. Use the mouse wheel or cursor keys to focus the lens on the nearest part of the subject.
  6. Double-click focus_stacking.ahk to run the script.

The live view window appears and a sequence of shots with incremental focus settings is taken automatically. Do not touch the computer during the sequence.

By default, the script takes 30 images. To change this, either edit the script in a text editor or run it from the Windows Command Prompt with the number of images as an argument, e.g.: C:\> focus_stacking.ahk 15

 

Combining the Images

  1. Run CombineZM and select New from the File menu.
  2. Locate the folder containing the images, select all of them, and click Open.
  3. Wait for CombineZM to load the images (this may take a few seconds).
  4. Select Do Stack from the Macro menu to combine the images (this may take several minutes).
  5. Save the result via Save Frame/Picture As from the File menu.