Macro Focus Stacking

[Richard Crowe]

This is a nine exposure focus-stacked image of a Royal Coachman Streamer fly which is about an inch and a half long. I shot it with an A7iii and a Venus/Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro Lens and merged the images in Photoshop 2020. I used a Minolta focus rail and focused at the nine points via the use of Sony Focus Peaking. I shot the images at f/11 and 1/25 second using ISO 640 and tripped the shutter with a 3-second delay...

ILCE-7M3    ----       f/1.0    1/30s    ISO 640

 

[Richard Crowe]

This is done with a single exposure at a 1:2 ratio and f/16...

ILCE-7M3    ----       f/1.0    1/30s    ISO 640

 

[Kirkp]

So the second photo is set for f/16 to provide additional depth of field, and thus avoid focus stacking?

I notice that the increased depth of field makes the background texture more visible, which could be considered a distraction from the subject. That’s obviously an artistic choice, not necessarily a criticism.

I wonder what the black dots are in the background. Very small apertures make sensor dust much more visible. Could it be that?

I’ve never tried focus stacking. These two images help me understand why I should take the time to learn how. Thanks.

 

[Petrochemist]

The stacked shot is definitely better but not by all that much, in this case.
What aperture did you use for the stacked shots?

The black dots are indeed sensor muck, two of them still being visible in the stacked shot. My sensors sometimes gets as few spots as that when I've just done a more thorough job of cleaning them - usually they're worse - one of the disadvantages of a full spectrum conversion!