Focus bracketing ... includes 1 super tip for Fuji shooters!

[@tonyb2760]

I found this to be one of the best explanations of focus bracketing and it's settings on youtube. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

[@cwaynefox]

Thanks. Glad you found it helpful.

[@patrickmclean9663]

Thanks Wayne. This is the best Fujifilm gfx focus stacking video out there. I was driving myself crazy trying to use the auto setting. Your mentioning the need to return back to the beginning settings before taking the shot solved the problem. Your explanation was very clear.😅

[@cwaynefox]

glad it helped. It was driving me crazy for a while.

[@jdh_images]

Great - thanks for doing this.

[@dshannon9189]

Thank you very helpful as I'm just starting to explore more options with my fujifilm camera

[@cwaynefox]

Glad you found it helpful.

[@f8PixelMagic]

Fantastic explanation.

[@cwaynefox]

thanks!

[@WallImages]

Outstanding work Wayne: thanks so much for going to all of this research to help demystify the Fuji 'steps'. Great suggestion for assigning stacking set up to one of the custom settings. The autostacking tip is new to me and a real time-saver.

[@rupertgibsonphotography1465]

Excellent video, many thanks for taking the trouble and effort to provide such a comprehensive and well explained tutorial.

[@cwaynefox]

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@andrewgifford7740]

Great video Wayne, thanks for such a constructive walk through. I have the GF 63mm which has external focus; the field of view changes a little depending on the focus point. Any tips on composing or using in-camera settings, when using an external-focussing lens, so the batch of photos taken will result in the desired composition? E.g. I wondered if you should compose wider and crop the final stack of images in post, or whether it's better to compose as you want, and then select particular focal points that are closer/wider... Hope the makes sense, and either way, many thanks once again. I think I need to re-watch this video a fair few times to absorb!

[@cwaynefox]

Are you referring to the image size slightly changing because of the slight change in focal length as you change focus? The stacking software resizes all images so everything lines up before it merges them. In the process I suppose you might lose a sliver from the outside of the image, depending on which shot in the stack is your final composition. It’s so minimal I've never tried to compensate for it, I suppose if the final crop is ultra critical, then shooting a fraction wider than you need and doing a small crop in post processing seems a good solution.

[@andrewgifford7740]

@@cwaynefox Yes, that was my question. Thanks Wayne, you’ve answered this. (On the GF 63mm especially when working close up with a macro adapter the jumps between the focal points can feel large, with a shift in field of view, but I’ll have a play and allow enough room around the intended composition to then crop in post after the stacking). Hope you enjoy getting to know the system and thanks again for sharing the learning.

[@SteveMcClanahan]

Excellent detail on the topic. Thank you!

[@cwaynefox]

Your welcome.

[@BobPeterson-vl2bl]

I needed this! I will have to try it myself and get comfortable with each Manual and Auto. I just couldn't get the Auto A and B to work at all. I kept trying to set A point, then OK, and then set B point, then OK. What step setting would you use for landscape shots, not close up or macro work? Thank you.

[@allanmacdougall8334]

Brilliant information Wayne and very well explained! Many thanks 👍

[@cwaynefox]

Very welcome

[@danieleniccoli3871]

For landscape work and assuming I am using a 16 wide. How many steps as a starting point should I try?

[@NigelDownes-fi2pk]

Hi Wayne, Many thanks for focus bracketing video, which was very good. I have the same camera and have found that because (as you mention) 'OK' sets the focus point for both A and B, it's not actually necessary to touch the focus ring to focus at all - instead simply use the AF button for 'A' and then press OK, and then use it for 'B' and then press Disp/Back button. (Alternatively, you can use a combination of both if for some reason you can't autofocus on both near and far elements.) Additionally, it also doesn't matter if 'A' is the closest or further focus point in the image. My question is that I noticed you used the rear command wheel to zoom-in and check for sharp focus before taking the shot. My GFX100s doesn't currently do that. I've trawled my instructions but can't see how to set it up to do so. Could you advise how, pls? Thanks, Nigel

[@JocelynSimard]

Good explanation sir. What is the set-up you have on the hot shoe of the camera? Thank you

[@cwaynefox]

That’s an Accsoon SeeMo amzn.to/3T4DXdv . I’ll have a video about it this week sometime.

[@f1remandg]

I also have to comment on the latter part of video, when you start to adjust the aperture, the old rule of thumb, is that the smaller the aperture f32 f22 the greater the depth of Field, however this dos depend on the Lens size, so wide lens the sweet spot will be different as will the softness at the edges, I remember 50 plus years ago learning* how to photograph a wild animal at the zoo using depth of field to remove the bars and mesh of the wires as it made them disappear, something that I have seen on any KZbin and is very effective if you get the right pose!

[@cwaynefox]

yeah, tough to do, because at wide apertures it’s hard to get more than just the eyes of the animal sharp with current cameras and resolution. Just no forgiveness like film. the problem with going to small apertures is they introduce some serious diffraction, a much bigger problem with digital sensors than with film because of the incredibly small sensels on the chip (much smaller than the grains of silver in the film). With most lenses, softening from diffraction begins to show as early as f/8 and by f/22 the image can become pretty “mushy”. Now sharpening does help visually alleviate some of it, but micro detail can be diminished or lost. For most not a problem - wont’ see that on a phone or a computer. Start making 70-90” prints, and there will be subtle differences. That’s why for me a focus stack is preferable to shooting at f/22 when feasible. Granted sometimes the only option is f/22 and the results are still good.

[@lidiatheblackrose7798]

Can you use flash with focus bracketing?

[@cwaynefox]

Sure. Be best if the flash has a manual control mode so it’s consistent each time.

[@lidiatheblackrose7798]

@@cwaynefox Thanks. It's a big Factor in macro photography and some companies like Canon disable flash in bracketing.

[@cwaynefox]

@@lidiatheblackrose7798 I don’t think the Fuji cares if the flash is attached, it will trigger it if it is. The key would be to set your Interval long enough that the flash has time to recycle between each shot and it has enough power to get through all of the shots.

[@lidiatheblackrose7798]

@@cwaynefox ah ok. I know that Canon forces electronic shutter to bracket and that doesn't trigger flash. I run mine 1/128 to 1/64 so it's not super demanding. Thanks for the help 🙏

[@fabricegagnebin524]

Hello Did you succeed shooting and doing focus bracketing in connected mode to a Mac (with the Gfx100s)??

[@cwaynefox]

I haven’t tried this tethered.

[@RandyPollock]

Explained quickly lol...but after going back I got it. Needless to say valuable information. I shoot the X-T3 and X-T5 (also have an IR X-T2)

[@cwaynefox]

Thanks for the feedback. I find it hard to balance being timely and not dragging things out yet making sure I explain it well enough to be useful. Always a challenge.

[@steveh1273]

Thank you, but you moved through the camera settings in two different ways, drive button, then you used the menu(?) function to get to focus bracket. You did these moves very fast and I replayed many times without fully understanding what you did (Do you have to go through both the Drive button AND the Menu button each time you want to focus stack?).. I have a GFX 100S, but haven't used the focus bracket feature yet. There is way too much to learn and still retain the knowledge for use in the field when you need to act quickly. I'm also confused about electronic front curtain and electronic shutter (ES) why they make a difference. Sorry about my confusion, I appreciate your effort.

[@cwaynefox]

Sorry it seemed rushed. The drive setting simply tells the camera what to do when you push the Button. Do you want to shoot a single shot? A burst? Some type of bracket? That setting is is unchanged until you explicitly change it. So if you set up a bracket, it will shoot a bracket every time until you use the drive setting to change it back to single shot. However it is stored in the custom settings, that’s why using c-6 for a focus bracket is so convenient. Just move to c6, shoot the bracket, and then back to A,S or M, which ever you tend to use. In the case of a bracket (any type, not just focus bracket) the camera will proceed to use whatever settings have been set up the last time the bracket settings were setup. Those settings are also retained, so if you the last time you shot a focus bracket you did an auto bracket from 3 to 7 feet, if you tell the camera to shoot a focus bracket with the drive setting, then push the button, that’s what you will get. Typically how most operate the camera (as I did initially), is set the drive button to shoot a focus bracket, then go to focus bracket settings to set up what they need for the bracket, shoot the bracket, then set the drive button back to single shot. My method as I described in the video with with the tip makes it easier because for most focus brackets a default setting of 999,9,0 will work perfectly, so using a custom setting means you can setup your bracket just as quickly as setting up a single shot. Hope that helps.

[@steveh1273]

@@cwaynefox Thanks for the reply!