04-11-2020, 08:48 AM
I use Affinity Photo to stack my macros. Earlier attempts with HeliconFocus and HeliconRemote were a bit quirky, so I hesitate to pay 200 $ for a lifetime license. I hear Zerene stacker is slow but rather good when it comes to fusing problems which usually come from shiny highlights. Sometimes these are rather annoying as they affect the contrast of some objects behind which I have a hard time to eliminate.
I agree with BC, the better way is changing the lens' focus and use either internal stacking routines, or HeliconRemote. But with manual focusing lenses the best way to go is using a macro rail - and a lot of good macro lenses are manual focusing. The difference between a Nikon Micro Nikkor 105 or 60/2.8 and a Laowa Apo 2:1 were massive enough to use the macro rail instead the in-camera routine which is so poorly implemented in every brand: No matter if Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus or Canon - at least for the standard macro lenses in their systems should be a LUT for each aperture which calculates the step size. And we also need an improvement of the handling. Starting- and endpoint are necessary to set up. And I think with focus-by-wire lenses this should not be impossible.
I agree with BC, the better way is changing the lens' focus and use either internal stacking routines, or HeliconRemote. But with manual focusing lenses the best way to go is using a macro rail - and a lot of good macro lenses are manual focusing. The difference between a Nikon Micro Nikkor 105 or 60/2.8 and a Laowa Apo 2:1 were massive enough to use the macro rail instead the in-camera routine which is so poorly implemented in every brand: No matter if Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus or Canon - at least for the standard macro lenses in their systems should be a LUT for each aperture which calculates the step size. And we also need an improvement of the handling. Starting- and endpoint are necessary to set up. And I think with focus-by-wire lenses this should not be impossible.