HDRI Community

Guys, hot off the bakery... I can't believe my eyes. Promote Control can now do Focus Stacking. Yes, limited cameras etc, but it's a start:

http://picasaweb.google.com/promotesystems/20110720FocusStackingOnPromoteControl

Here's two pics, first one is one of the series shot with a 5DM2 50mm @F1.8, the second one is a result of 7 exposures done in full auto using Promote Control.

I'm still working on it, but I need a few questions answered now:

1. How many of yall focus stackers are on Canon vs Nikon? I know some cameras from both are technically capable of focus stacking.

2. Can you tolerate tuning focus stacking on camera LCD?

3. What about the case where camera doesn't have Live View (like 1DM3) - can you tolerate peeping through the viewfinder while setting up your focus stacking?

4. How critical is the sequence speed vs reliability? Yes, that's a valid question - like with many other things, focus driving protocol is a mess and we cannot control how successful it is (or not).

Huh. I'm excited

I'm sorry, Arty - the mammoth thread was fun to watch evolve, but breaking news like these just get buried in there.

You can keep easy track of multiple threads just by clicking the "Notify of replies" on the bottom of the panel. When you additionally setup an email rule, they're all collected in a folder and you have an easy track record. Alternatively, you can just subscribe to the RSS feed of the "General Talk" forum....

Freaking awesome Arty   I wonder if you guys looked at how Magic Lantern implements focus racking to do your focus stacking.  Reliable seems more important to me, but then I do not need to be on and off a set within a few minutes.  Maybe two modes for focus stacking
a.  focus stack reliable = I have enough time to do focus stacking a reliable way.
b.  focus stack fast = They are going to kick my but if I stay on the set more than three minutes.

I no longer access to both Canon and Nikon and will need to make a choice. ( No longer at Giga )  Most likely Canon even though my last Gig used Nikon.

Blochi, thanks for moving this to a new thread so that I can quickly find it

Castillonis wrote on 07/21/11 at 11:02:25:


Hmm, we will take a look at ML effort too. Thanks!

I am new here and would like to start by saying hello to everyone. My name is Greg, and although I've been taking photos for some time, I don't have a lot of experience with HDR.

I recently purchased a Promote Control and downloaded the beta firmware to try the new focus stacking feature with my Canon 7D. I cannot get the focus stacking to work with the 7D, and I just wanted to share my experience with others. Also, I hope others will share what their experience is with various Canon cameras that have Live View.

On the 7D, I can focus at the start point, and I can get the lens to move forward and set an end point. When I hit start, the Promote moves the lens back to the starting point, but then at the very end the camera re-focuses wherever the focus point is set. For each subsequent photo in the stack, Promote moves the focus point and the camera then re-focuses to wherever the focus point is set. All photos in the stack end up focused on the same point.

I sent a message to the folks at Promote through their support system, so they are aware of the 7D's behavior with the beta firmware. I'm sure they will find a solution in due time, so now I'm just wondering what other Canon cameras with Live View work with the beta firmware.

I appreciate hearing about other people's experience.

Great work on the firmware, Arty. I now believe my issue was an ID-10T error.

It's a 5D2. I'm going to try it without the separate shutter release on the off-chance that has any effect, as soon as the weather here in Smallville clears enough to allow shooting.
This config worked well before the beta.

Quote:


It's only needed to hold Mode while connecting, and Promote Control must be off before starting this process. Holding Mode button down all the time won't hurt, but is not required.