Category Archives: Focus Stacking

Handheld Focus Stacked Landscape

This article features some handheld focus stacked landscape test images captured with M.Zuiko PRO 7-14 f/2.8 and PRO 12-40 f/2.8 zoom lenses. Many photographers prefer to use tripods for their landscape photography, while others (like me) would rather shoot everything handheld if possible.

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Praying Mantis at Night Test

This article features a selection of praying mantis at night test images that were captured handheld using in-camera focus stacking and the M.Zuiko 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens.

Sometimes Mother Nature provides a photographic test opportunity which represents a significant challenge. Such was the case yesterday night when a praying mantis decided to perch on the glass panel of my kitchen’s patio door.

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Frog Test Images With MC-20

This article features a small selection of frog test images captured handheld with the M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter. This posting expands on a recent article that featured some pond images also captured with this teleconverter.

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Blossoms From a Distance

It can sometimes be a challenge to photograph blossoms such as water lilies… from a distance… and still get the entire flower in focus. Often we don’t have the physical access needed to get close to subject flowers. As a result we can be forced to use a longer focal length telephoto zoom lens for our compositions. This can create depth-of-field challenges.

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Close-Up Flower Images

This article features a selection of close-up flower images captured handheld using the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 zoom lens along with a pair of extension tubes. In-camera focus stacking was used for all images.

Many photographers have an interest doing close-up photography from time to time, but find it hard to justify purchasing a dedicated macro lens. Using extension tubes with a zoom lens can be a good option for many people as this type of combination can provide a good deal of flexibility.

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Frogs with 2 Tubes

This article features some close up images of frogs captured handheld with 2 extension tubes and the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 zoom lens. As photographers we sometimes only consider a macro lens when planning to do some close up or macro photography. We forget that fitting a good quality zoom lens with extension tubes can create a very flexible and capable set-up for close up photography.

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Shooting Style

Before investing in camera gear it is critical that we have a clear understanding of our shooting style, as this helps us avoid making gear purchase mistakes.

In a previous article, I recently let readers know that I would not be
purchasing the M.Zuiko PRO 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS lens. I received a few emails from readers requesting more information and explanation.

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HHFS Frog Images

This article features a selection of handheld focus stacked HHFS frog images that were captured at the Royal Botanical Gardens using an M.Zuiko 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens. As noted in a previous article, my E-M1X was set to 10 focus stacked frames with a focus differential of 4.

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Slow Shutter HHFS

This article discusses using slow shutter speeds with handheld focus stacking (HHFS), and shares some new macro snake images captured with shutter speeds from 1/20 to 1/4 of a second.

Yesterday I visited a special frog display at the Royal Botanical Gardens… which also happened to have a trio of water snakes in one of the exhibits. The event gave me the opportunity to get some practice time in doing handheld in-camera macro focus stacking. Continue reading Slow Shutter HHFS