How many are too many (shots)?

Shooting in macro mode, techniques, tips & tricks
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rushless
Posts: 7
Joined: 10.03.2015 20:49

How many are too many (shots)?

Post by rushless »

Hi Board,

Here's my setup:

Canon 6D
Canon 180MM Macro
Windows 7 with Heilicon Pro subscription
StackShot USB

My subject:
Flowers, very small, around one inch in size

My Question:
How many are too many shots for Heilicon??

I'd test this myself more over time but it'd take a long time to answer this question with stackshot (I'm shooting with natural light, so longer exposures).

Is there a general rule of thumb when determining how many images to stack for best results?

I've had StackShot for one day and since then I've gotten way better results, and have tried from 20 to 100 shots and sometimes it seems like less is more.

I'd post examples but my subject matter is only legal in Colorado, Washinton, Oregon and DC.
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Stas Yatsenko
Posts: 3841
Joined: 06.05.2009 14:05
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Re: How many are too many (shots)?

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

You can use DOF calculator (from Helicon Remote or online) to get rough estimate of step in mm/inch for StackShot.

I would suggest to make a stack, render it and see if all parts are in focus. Then, select every third image in the same stack (Use pop up menu over source image list) and render stack again. If you see interleaving stripes of focused and blurred areas, then the original step is correct. If you still see no blurred areas, it means that you can increase the step by factor 3 and repeat the test again.
rushless
Posts: 7
Joined: 10.03.2015 20:49

Re: How many are too many (shots)?

Post by rushless »

Thanks for the reply, I have tried some depth of field calculations. I didn't know remote had one though!

I've done the testing and it varies from subject to subject.

Shooting flowers for example, often the lowest end of the testing range works best. I actually was shooting a stack of flowers yesterday and it took 15 mins to capture with a stackshot (I was in the higher end of testing # of shots) and when I compiled I ended up with an accidental timelapse of the flowers wilting. I was pretty surprised. Suffice it to say that was too many shots.

That example aside (where the subject is technically, moving), it's very hit or miss. The software handles objects very differently depending on their composition. I'm having to test range for each subject and each lighting position, was hoping there were some tips on working faster.

Thanks again for info!
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