But would it make sense to export as DNGs instead of TIFFs and then use Helicon, which can deal with raw files? I guess, if you always are adjusting the files in lightroom first, using the raw files is kind of obsolete, because these are necessarily just that “raw”. I am tempted to go with Helicon, because of that. I know that Zerene Stacker does not accept raw files, but Helicon does. However, if you have GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and some expendable income I can easily imagine a tilt/shift lens in your future.Is there a reason, why you are always exporting as TIFFs ? My quick advice is to stick with focus stacking, or at least until you can verbalize a concrete reason to purchase a tilt/shift lens. As always, what’s best depends on your style of shooting, your subject matter (architectural work almost demands using a shift to avoid keystoning), and what you want to do with your images. Tilt/shift lenses also allow you to use both tilt and shift simultaneously the newer t/s lenses allow these movements to be in the same axis or at 90 degrees to each other. No big deal if you keep the resulting image small but certainly noticeable in a large print. As to shift - sliding the lens left-right or up-down - this effect can be accomplished in software by warping or distorting an image, but with the result of stretched pixels and the need to crop off part of the original image capture. There is no software option that duplicates what a tilt movement does in a single frame. ![]() Use a tilt to position the plane of focus across a field of flowers, and a medium aperture works to cover the entire scene. But using tilts means you can fight the wind, to get the shot in one frame rather than trying to put together several frames. Nikon’s 19mm, while a superb lens, is about the same price at a D850 body. ![]() As I said above, they allow you to reposition the plane of focus. ![]() Tilt/shift lenses do not give you more depth of field. Just in passing, both Helicon Focus and Zerene Stacker, the two most popular focus stacking software programs, yield much better results that does Photoshop’s “auto-align, auto-blend” option. Focus stacking works best where there is a smooth transition of the subject you want sharp in the final composite image. The resulting stacked image often shows an obvious halo around that close object. Another problem happens when you have one frame with a close in-focus object positioned against a distant out-of-focus background, which has to stack with the reverse, the close object now out-of-focus but with an in-focus background. Software can fix some minor movement problems, but try photographing on a windy day and you’ll end up with a blurry stack. The first is subject movement from frame to frame. But, as always, there is a catch…or I should say, several catches. You’re basically getting a lot more depth of field, a lot more of the scene in focus, without resorting to small apertures and the resulting diffraction problems. These shots must then be combined using software (my choice is Helicon Focus as it has a RAW IN – DNG OUT mode). To do focus stacking you take several images with your camera mounted on a tripod, all at the exact same exposure, but at different focus distances into the frame. ![]() Nikon, for example, offers 19mm, 24mm, 45mm, and 85mm tilt/shift lenses. On the other hand, a tilt/shift lens is a specialized fixed focal length lens that permits changing where the plane of focus is positioned. Focus stacking can be done using any lens. Focus stacking is a means of gaining sharp depth of focus (more near-to-far sharpness in the photo) while shooting at prime apertures. Here’s the short answer: these are two very distinct techniques. I’ve received several emails asking about the differences between focus stacking and shooting with a tilt/shift lens.
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