Comments and critiques welcome.

Threw this shot together in an admittedly hurried manner just to try out StackShot macro rail.

Particulars:

D7000 // Tamron 180mm / f/8 / 1/250 shutter

SB700 / 1/2.5 power through umbrella

StackShot macro rail / 75 photos / 1.25mm travel

Russell Brown
Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. -- Jimi Hendrix
Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

75 shots! wow.. looks pretty good though.


how many shots would the 'average' stack take (yes depends on dof of subject - but in general is there a ball park figure?)


how's the tamron working out for you? the one gripe I have with mine is that the af function doesn't work with the D5100 it's not really a huge issue, but it does mean that I use it only for macro and never for other shots.. any complaints?

Honestly I don't have any idea about an average stack count since I just got started. Here is a photo I took the next day that I was able to give more thought to and find a better subject. This is 90 photos at 1mm travel. But you are right it is a function of the DOF and the overall depth of the area you want to cover. The StackShot I have has a 100mm rail. Therefore I have a maximum depth coverage of just under 4".

I really like the Tamron. The poor AF doen't bother me at all. Due to the extremely shallow DOF of most photos I definitely want to control the focal point. However I have used the lens to take some pretty decent portrait shots. Really nice bokeh. I think if I took the time to use it as a portrait lens more often I could develop the ability to get some good shots with it.

However I am so amazed by the macro capabilities that, since I get the Tamron, I rarely take anything but macro shots anymore.

One thing I realized I forgot to mention in the first post is that I am using Helicon Focus for the stacking software. The next challenge is going to be determining how best to set the HF options to achieve the best outcome.

Russell Brown
Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. -- Jimi Hendrix
Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Attachment #1, (jpg file)