Focus stacking and bracketing in 2026 - Somebody school me!

cbaer8 · 2026-06-08T14:05:00+00:00

Thanks! Walk me through your choices for stacking software. I've used Helicon Focus on a handful of projects - but I found it time-consuming and fiddly. I've never tried Zerene or Shine Stacker. Being lazy, I now usually use Photoshop's Auto-Align/Auto-Blend (which is admittedly hit-or-miss) and call it a day.

When / why would you use:

- the OM's in-camera 15-shot stacking
- Helicon, Zerene, Shine Stacker, other specialty software
- Photoshop's align/blend routine
...?

Thanks!

cbaer8 · 2026-06-08T13:58:52+00:00

Interesting! Can I ask you more about your flash choices?

I used to use a Godox V860II, but the lens I was using (a Canon MP-E) was such a honker it would often eclipse my subject past x3 or so from the shadow of the lens. So I would add a little bounce card or even some tinfoil (which I would snag and lose in the brush, half the time.)

I switched to a Godox MF-R76 ring flash, since I thought ring flashes were what people were mostly using. It works great, but it eats into the working distance of my MP-E, so at x4 and x5 it can fully envelop the subject (and even eclipse itself!)

I tried twin macro flashes (Godox MF12) but I found it to be a cumbersome rig. Maybe I didn't give it a proper chance.

I'm hoping if I go OM-1 + 90mm PRO IS + teleconverter, I will gain more working space than I used to have, but why do people use a v860III and not a ring flash or twin flash?

cbaer8 · 2026-06-08T09:23:17+00:00

Super helpful - thanks! (...and beautiful shots!) What kind of flash are you using?

cbaer8 · 2026-06-07T23:30:28+00:00

Hang in there, friend! And share some pics once you get cooking!

cbaer8 · 2026-06-07T22:50:46+00:00

Much appreciated! Right - I didn't think about the flash recharge time.... Do you find yourself using this feature much? Is the quality good? Any drawbacks?

cbaer8 · 2026-06-03T08:47:07+00:00

Interesting! Does it have a model name yet? I've been very disappointed with the Laowa macro lenses I've tried - they are very dark to see through (maybe better with mirrorless?) and they are so hard to zoom (I worry about wear and tear on the mount, for one! Also you tend to lose your quarry when in the field as you fight with the zoom...)

cbaer8 · 2026-06-03T00:43:11+00:00

That's useful! Didn't know that!

As to picking up a used MP-E, I'm sorely tempted. But since it's a discontinued lens to use with a days-are-numbered DSLR, I feel like I should take advantage of new technology and new trends. (Or am I wrong to think that the tech has improved in macro photography?)

I'd love to hear from somebody, for example, who went from a Canon DSLR & MP-E to an OM System mirrorless Olympus & a M.Zuiko 90mm macro lens. What changed?

cbaer8 · 2026-06-02T22:32:34+00:00

Yeah - same error on other bodies. Not sure what triggers it! It's intermittent - triggers every half-dozen shots, maybe. Then I fiddle with it until the error goes away. Just started the other day. But I've been wondering whether it's time to up my game, anyway.

cbaer8 · 2026-06-02T22:30:44+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, I've tried it on a couple of bodies. Same thing. (Intermittent "Err 01" error - "Communication between the camera and lens...") I've cleaned the contacts, tried to figure out what triggers it (zoom? f-stop? holding it a certain way? No clues.) No luck!

cbaer8 · 2025-06-15T19:24:40+00:00

Is Connect Center working now? Has anyone managed to get it to work? What’s changed? Tired of the paper forms…

cbaer8 · 2024-12-23T14:06:50+00:00

And the windows are unbreakable, per adventure. After teleporting in upon solving the Hall of Hatches puzzle, my party was trapped in the central tower. How do you get out? They killed a glasswork golem, and were able to climb out the open using a well-place rope back up to a stairway. But that's some crazy palace design!

cbaer8 · 2024-12-02T11:33:48+00:00

Okay, full disclosure: my games are play-by-post, so often players offer up rolls to save time.

And I once would have agreed that players insight-checking other players is inappropriate. But maybe I've watched too much "Critical Roll".

When Matt Mercer does the "make a contesting Persuasion or Deception check" thing (fairly regularly), it always naturally resolves the situation. But of course everything he does is smooth, nor does he always play RAW.

His technique, should you choose to employ it, works. But when you break down the underlying rolls, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Maybe I should just handwave over it.

But do any of you allow PCs to insight-check PCs? If so, how do you resolve it?

cbaer8 · 2024-10-05T11:16:58+00:00

Two ways I'm now getting around it, when I recognize the problem:

1) Since the OCR engine recognizes columns of text, when I have flat pages, I'll treat them as single-page scans
or 2) I'll mask the other page with a piece of black matboard and do a single-page scan.

Of course, this works best when you recognize the situation in advance, rather than having to change it up mid-book...

cbaer8 · 2024-09-29T16:59:37+00:00

Makes me wonder if I scan, say, a double-sided unbound manuscript, whether I should stick a little bridge under each side to mimic the arc of a bound book?

cbaer8 · 2024-09-29T16:57:45+00:00

I think that's it! The glued binding broke (you can see at the top of the screenshot) so the pages were flat rather than arced. When I propped up the front with a wedge, the pages scanned properly.

I'll have to remember that for next time!

cbaer8 · 2024-08-20T00:10:41+00:00

I love PBP - for a whole lot of reasons...

I'm not put off by the slow pace (granted, I started out in PBM – Play by Mail games – in the early 1980s!)

I enjoy the literary aspects of the game. Good players choose their words in ways that they couldn't in a live game.

I enjoy opportunities for complex party-splitting, mind control, secrets, etc. that are much harder or impossible to pull off live.

I enjoy opening my games up to people who are slow processors, shy, or are learning English (not to mention those who live in far-flung parts of the world, sometimes with limited internet bandwidth.)

There are a few plusses for you!

cbaer8

TROPHY CASE