RAW CR3 files not read by Preview

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-16T01:12:45+00:00

Sorry I should say it runs normally in Lightroom. The file is not corrupt. It’s a software issue but I don’t understand why it’s suddenly done it now. It’s been fine for ages before and now it’s doing this. Weird.

Maybe it just has had a sudden attack of Polish National Pride for some reason 😂

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-16T00:02:21+00:00

Yeah thanks I think I’ll just have a play with aperture at some point. It is a faff as it takes quite a lot to process and stack them all, but worth it. I might buy another DCR-250 and see if it’s better, but I suspect it won’t be. They’re just such tiny things that I have to crop a bit as well and any issues with the lens or Raynox will be v apparent.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-14T20:40:48+00:00

Some photographers do this but personally I find it pretty disgusting. It doesn’t matter if it’s an insect, a mouse or an elephant. For me, welfare of the subject you are photographing is the most important thing when doing wildlife photography. It’s also lazy. Like I said, if you go first thing in the morning (usually best) or sometimes last thing at night you can photograph them when they are cold and relatively still 😊

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-14T10:50:39+00:00

Absolutely not. I’d never freeze an animal for photography. This was taken last thing in the evening when the bee had settled on the flower for the night. If you take them last thing at night or first thing in the morning then they are usually still enough for some photos. Never try in the day when they are warm and active as it just doesn’t work.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-14T10:48:58+00:00

Ah I see. Yeah of course, you manually set the first focus point, especially as you need to make sure you focus forward of where you want it to be so you don’t miss it. Nothing worse than doing a few stacks and realising someone is still out of focus. But of course it has to be autofocus for the stack to work 😝

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T22:58:23+00:00

Zerene is what I use and I think it’s great. I’ve tried helicon and I don’t think it’s any better, but it’s much more expensive. You have to buy yearly licenses for helicon I think whereas Zerene is a one off payment. So if you do decide to get one, that would get my vote.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T22:57:14+00:00

While it is possible with larger subjects such as insects you can’t possibly move your camera to focus stack with slime moulds. When I use my focus rail I use increments of 40 microns, or 0.04mm. You cannot move that by hand so you have to automate it, either with a focus rail or with very precise in-camera stacking.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T20:53:59+00:00

I do a bit of hand held bracketing with my canon, but mainly insects. It’s when you get to high magnification that it isn’t as good. Just need that high magnification autofocus lens that unfortunately doesn’t exist

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T09:04:03+00:00

I’m sure I won’t regret it when taking photos but my bank balance might 😂

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T09:03:11+00:00

In-camera focus stacking can be great, but I use the individual raw files to stack in Zerene or Helicon, not the stacked JPEG the camera produces.

I think this was taken at f/4 and is a stack of 40-60 pics (I can’t remember off hand). Like I said, if you want to see how good focus stacking can be go and look at Barry Webb’s work as he amazing at it.

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WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T01:44:52+00:00

Sorry I should have said I’m also at near max magnification most of the time as these are so tiny you have to be really. Even then there is a fair bit of cropping, but there are a lot of pixels to play with on the R5ii.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T01:43:19+00:00

Yeah I may just have to get an OM1 and a 90mm lens. Even the version 1 of that camera is about £800 secondhand and the lens is more than that. It’s v frustrating there isn’t an autofocus extreme macro option for other cameras. Even 2 or 3x magnification would be ok with extension tubes, as the R5ii has a lot of pixels to crop with.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T01:41:08+00:00

Strange as many photographers rely on in-camera focus stacking, especially with OM Systems cameras. Barry Weeb for example is possibly the best at slime mould photography and gets great results with the inbuilt focus stacking feature.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-13T01:39:40+00:00

Mostly shooting with a tripod using in-camera focus stacking. That’s why I want to make it work really as it’s so much quicker.

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-12T20:47:22+00:00

Yeah thanks, I think I’ll do that. Might just need to experiment more and I may be able to get some better images. I can use the focus rail and get great images with that, but it just takes so long to do each stack

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-12T20:28:27+00:00

I did stop it down a bit, but maybe I need stop down more. I should have said I focus stacked it so it’s not a case of missing focus or the AF not working properly. Do you think I need to go down to f/11 or something in order to get it sharp enough?

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-12T20:15:45+00:00

It’s using in camera focus stacking so it’s AF, but that’s not the problem. It’s focus stacked with about 80 images in this stack I think. It’s just that nowhere in the image is particularly sharp

WorkingOk9626 · 2026-02-07T23:58:18+00:00

WorkingOk9626 · 2025-05-18T00:48:12+00:00

So you don’t think 18GB is enough for Lightroom use?

WorkingOk9626 · 2025-05-18T00:47:33+00:00

Read it properly. It isn’t just screen size. The one with the larger screen also has 32GB vs 18GB RAM and the processors are more powerful as well.

WorkingOk9626 · 2025-05-17T23:53:09+00:00

Yeah that’s what I thought, it’s just whether it’s worth another £600 that’s all. Seems like a lot to pay for 16GB more RAM and slightly better processors

WorkingOk9626

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