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Home > TME Community > Features > Digital Darkroom > The Great Photo Finish: Unlimited Depth Part 2 - December 24, 2009
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The Great Photo Finish: Unlimited Depth Part 2 - December 24, 2009
Started December 24, 2009 @ 12:01am by Kel
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Kel
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Posts: 246 |
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| The Great Photo Finish: Unlimited Depth Part 2 - December 24, 2009 | December 24, 2009 @ 12:01am | In this second part of a two part episode of The Great Photo Finish Craig discusses field techniques, combined with post processing in Helicon Focus software, for creating landscape scenics with unlimited depth of field.
Click here to view the video.
"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." ~Ansel Adams | My Blog |
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| Fantastic!!! | December 24, 2009 @ 10:48am | Loved it...have the trial version...will purchase!
2 points...
Surely there is a shortcut to create a layer of a file versus copy all/paste...I struggle with this everytime!
Panos...a friend turned me on to Auto Pano pro
http://www.autopano.net/en/
Beats the pants off CS4...saves more of image...corrects exposure issues...love it...fast!
Thanks a ton Craig!!!
http://www.nedleary.com/ |
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Craig
Administrator
Posts: 697 |
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| shortcut | December 24, 2009 @ 11:36am | Hey Ned,
Yes there is a shortcut in CS4. In the tabs bar click on the file you want to copy as a layer. Hit "V" (shortcut) for the move tool. While holding down the command and option(mac) control alt (PC) keys drag the whole image on top of the tab (in the tab bar) of the image you want to move the new file into as a layer. Hold the grey box of the image over the tab until it highlights then drag the grey box of the image back down onto the image you have just highlighted..... and you have put one file into another as a layer.
Thanks for all of your support Ned....its deeply appreciated....Merry Christmas....Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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David H
Posts: 8 |
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| depth of field | December 24, 2009 @ 5:42pm | | Very good video. I have heard of Helicon Focus esp. in reference to macro imaging - this is even better!! Now, what happens when you want to do this in combination with high dynamic range? Good job, Craig. Hope to see you in Phoenix in March. |
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MikeH
Posts: 182 |
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| December 24, 2009 @ 7:22pm | Great video, couple of questions;
I'm using Canon's 16-35mm 2.8 on a 5Dmk2 and based on my "DOF Master" app it says at f11 @ 16mm the lens is sharp from 1.26 to infinity, are there degrees of sharpness? Would an image show improvements using bracketing focus or is this just a great lens?
Is it possible to combine exposure and focus as; underexpose say -2 focus near infinity, mid at ev0 focus mid and then focus very close with ev+1 or +2 depending light and then combine. I haven't tried this but it sounds like it might create more problems than it solves.
Happy Holidays, Mike H
Mike H
Website: http://www.photographybymeh.com |
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Craig
Administrator
Posts: 697 |
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| December 24, 2009 @ 7:43pm | Hey Mike,
Great questions.
I am going to address the combination of exposure and focus bracketing in an upcoming video...hopefully within the next ten days.
DOF is an extremely complex subject....what is really little understood is that DOF is only expressed by the final output and most DOF apps and calculators have a low standard for quality...usually acceptable sharpness in an 8x10 inch print.
In fact the standard is so low that in the past when shooting film you were taught to cheat the depth of field scale on the lens by at least one full stop to push towards a more critical sharpness.
If you do a test and compare stack focus at f8 to just stopping down to f11 (and hyperfocal focusing) and then check for critical sharpness in the range your app gives you at f11 I am almost positive you will see a huge difference.....one more thing ...if you are really going for overall critical sharpness you shouldn't stop down more than f8 because of diffraction....Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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Last Edit: December 24, 2009 @ 7:44pm by Craig | |
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JohnC
Posts: 763 |
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| December 24, 2009 @ 8:20pm |
Quote (MikeH)
Great video, couple of questions;
I'm using Canon's 16-35mm 2.8 on a 5Dmk2 and based on my "DOF Master" app it says at f11 @ 16mm the lens is sharp from 1.26 to infinity, are there degrees of sharpness? Would an image show improvements using bracketing focus or is this just a great lens? |
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I think you need to think of DOF separate from sharpness. While objects within that range might be acceptably sharp as far as DOF goes, other lens aberrations might conspire to make the image less "sharp" than expected. Any 16mm lens at f/11 should have the same DOF from a table/calculator, no matter the quality of the lens.
The older 16-35mm Canon lens is not known for its corner sharpness, so even if the objects at the edge are within the DOF, they may be soft. The newer II lens is supposed to be better, but I haven't tried it. I have the old one.
John Cornicello
Seattle, wa
http://www.johncornicello.com |
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JohnC
Posts: 763 |
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| December 24, 2009 @ 8:20pm | More great points (and of course, I have a link or two for additional info). A really important one is about the final output and the history of the DOF charts. There is a short article in the Zeis newsletter Camera Lens News No. 1 from 1997 (PDF available at http://www.zeiss.de/C12567A8003B8B6F/EmbedTitelIntern/CLN01e/$File/CLN1.pdf)
To boost what Craig said, this articles finishes with the conclusion, "Those who use depth of field scales, tables, and formulas (e. g. for hyperfocal settings), restrict
themselves – most probably without knowing why – to the
image quality potential of an average pre-World-War-II emulsion."
If anyone wants, I can list some links to more technical/mathematical discussions. Pretty dry stuff. In practical application, it can be pretty simple:
DOF is dependent on aperture and magnification. Focal length is not a factor. If you need more DOF you need to stop down (and risk softening from diffraction), or make the subject smaller (both on the film and in the final print).
I think there is much confusion because we've always heard that we can get more DOF by using a shorter lens. But that is half true, there is a second part to that statement. The second part is that this is true if you don't change the camera position. If you set up a camera on a tripod and use a 100mm lens to take a photo at f/8 and then you switch to a 24mm lens at f/8 without moving the camera yes, there will be more DOF in the image taken with the 24mm lens. But everything in the scene will be 1/4 the size (less magnification) and there is a lot of extraneous "stuff" in the picture now. The perspective is the same. The framing is different. And you will have to enlarge the image a lot more so you will be trading off image quality for the extra DOF.
If you switched to the 24mm lens and then moved in closer so that the subject is the same size as it was with the 100mm lens the DOF would be the same as with the 100mm lens. The magnification of the subject is now the same.
Anyway, I should be on my way to Mom's for dinner.
Happy Happy!
John Cornicello
Seattle, wa
http://www.johncornicello.com |
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| Bracketed exposure + focus blending with helicon... | December 27, 2009 @ 4:31am | This is exactly what went through my mind 5 minutes after digesting the video!
Very much looking forward to the next video for the most expeditious solution. While i currently do a lot of exposure blending in Photomatix...it may be time to start using my split grad filter to avoid over processing...
http://www.nedleary.com/ |
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Francie
Posts: 10 |
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| Wonderful Videos | December 31, 2009 @ 2:31pm | Hi Craig, I really look forward to meeting you and Marti at the Jekyll Island Workshop in February!
These were very helpful videos, you have a great teaching style, even as a relative newbie I was able to follow and understand the concepts.
Thank you so much for all that you and Marti generously offer through your website, I look forward to attending many of your workshops as I enjoy pursuing my passion for digital photography in my retirement.
Happy New Year, and see you in February!
An understanding and appreciation of Life - in all its forms - creates a sense of belonging - which in its turn brings peace. |
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Craig
Administrator
Posts: 697 |
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| thank you | December 31, 2009 @ 3:14pm | Hey Francie,
Thank you for your very kind words of support. We are looking forward to meeting you as well !....Craig
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” -Soren Kierkegaard
“The secret of life…is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” - Paulo Coelho, from The Alchemist
PPY
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assignment
Community Assignment #53
Picture Window
Due Date: September 16, 2011 |
Have you heard about the Backyard Shots Photography Guide "Street Portraiture with CraigTanner"?
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