Focus Shift Shooting with the Nikon Z7

This week I'm showing you how to focus stack a landscape photography image using the focus shift shooting feature on the Nikon Z7 camera. I'm in my local area capturing a field in the golden hour light, and I'm using this really handy tool to automate the process of changing focus between my shots. Later in the video I show you how to stack the images together using Photoshop, to create a photo that appears to have greater depth of field than it usually would when taken in one shot.
Nikon Z7
Camera Amazon link:
amzn.to/3lv26Hw
NIKKOR Z 50 mm f1.8 S
Lens Amazon link:
amzn.to/3uXd0Zz
00:00 - Intro
02:48 - Accessing the Focus Shift Shooting Feature
05:28 - Taking the shot
06:26 - Exporting from Lightroom and stacking in Photoshop
12:03 - The final image
12:13 - Summary and outro

[@jonmorgan-parker4209]

I recently purchased the Z7ii and I’m blown away with it and the 24-70mm F4 lens! Watching videos like this creates a lot of confidence in my journey to Landscape photography! Having upgraded from the Canon Eos 50D! ❤

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Jon, it's really great to hear that my video has been some use to you. The Z7 has been fantastic for me, so I'm sure you'll love your Z7ii. The 24-70 f4 is brilliant too, particularly for landscapes where you don't need a particularly wide aperture. Thanks for watching. 😀

[@richpaul8132]

I have the Z7-II and D4S. I've been shooting Nikon Pro-Body cameras since the late 80's (from the F4 to F5 on to the D2x & D4s), so when I bought the Z7-II, (before the Z9 release), I also bought the extended grip/battery case and of course, the FTZ adaptor. I actually prefer the D4S over the Z7-II but that's simply because I don't really like (or maybe, 'need') all the extra 'bells & whistles' and gadget-settings. I think it's a bit superfluous and more for those who like playing around with in-camera processing. Still, I must admit that lately, I find myself reaching for the Z7-II when I only bring one camera to a location or unknown, "potential photo opportunity". After I watched your video, I decided to check if my D4S had any built-in Focus Stacking capability and was very surprised to see that it didn't! I know that I can do it manually, but I was just surprised that it wasn't a built-in function to that camera. The Focus Stacking technique is something that I had vaguely heard about but thanks to videos like yours, I'm convinced that I must add the technique to some future expeditions. I guess my decision to bring the Z7-II more often instead of the D4S is due to the faster full-frame focusing and metering characteristics of the Z7. But now I have to also consider the Z7-II's ability to use the Focus Stack function as yet another reason! I'm not a videographer but I do occasionally try my hand at shooting some videos, (not very good at it, though), and the Z7-II definitely has it over the D4S in that category. However, even though I've only had the Z7-II outside 2 or 3 times, I plan to sell it and all the accessories so I can buy a Z9. If anyone's interested, I have all the original boxes and paperwork for the Z7-II and the accessories. The shutter count is only 2045 as of 7-10-23. Thanks for the video! Rich

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks for sharing. It is a very useful feature - I'm not sure when they started introducing it, but it seems to be present in all the latest high end mirrorless Nikons. I was thinking about selling my Z7 too, but going for the Z8 rather than the 9. You do get the extra battery life with the Z9 though. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@conraddeetjen6715]

Very thorough. One video and I'm ready to focus shift. Thank you.

[@Robert-Bishop]

That's great, glad to hear it Conrad, thanks. 😊

[@powerking73]

Such a great explanation on stacking. I've never used it on my Z6II......I'll try it surely now....thanks

[@Robert-Bishop]

Glad it was useful, thanks for watching. ☺️

[@RauriBarron]

Really well put together video mate. Super thorough from start to finish, and what a great feature of the Nikon cameras. Congrats on one year mate 🥳, you’ve done such a great job and created a super valuable channel, keep it up and here’s to the next year 🍻

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Rauri. I appreciate that. Is there any similar function on the Sony's?

[@sandraflickstein4377]

Excellent video. Easy to follow and informative.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks very much Sandra, that's great to hear. 😊

[@paulcookphotography]

Great tutorial Robert, very well explained. I use manual focus stacking on a lot of my photos, especially when photographing trees. I usually focus stack it at least 3 or 4 different places from top to bottom! Congratulations on the massive growth of your channel. Amazing channel and very well deserved! Hope you are doing well, have a great week!

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Paul. I often miss a small spot of focus, where one or two images more would have really helped to complete total focus from front to back. That's why I was so pleased to find out about this feature on the camera. Can't believe I've had it over a year and never knew about it! Yeah, channel seems to be going well. Not going to lie, it's a lot of work, as I'm sure you'll know, but I really enjoy doing it. 😊

[@susanmclauchlan9358]

Thank you.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks for watching. 😊

[@B-Grateful]

Thanks for sharing such a lovely video 💖💖💖💖 Very Nice Photography 🎵🌹🌹🌹🌹🎵👍

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thank you. 😊

[@GJPhotograph]

I've had my Nikon z6 ii for almost a year and never paid any attention to this feature. I have my U1-3 setting and I just go, so I'm setting this to U1. Thanks for the awesome vid!

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks for watching Gary. Glad it was some use. 😊

[@AndrewWaltonPhotography]

Well explained Robert. Easy to understand and without too much jargon (apart from 'Wheaty things'). Congratulations on breaking 900 subscribers.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Haha, cheers mate. I'm still not 100% what the crops are! 😆

[@jimstirling7223]

@@Robert-Bishop I believe that the wheaty things are barley , thanks for the video

[@JasonLorette]

This was really straight forward and useful, have to try this on my Z6II.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Great, thanks Jason - glad it was of some use. 😊

[@jamesss1953]

Thank you for this - very clear instructions

[@Robert-Bishop]

Great - I hope it was useful. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@jamesss1953]

@@Robert-Bishop it was more on the post processing that I needed; but I’ve sent a link to another photographer who has only ‘just’ bought the D850 and hadn’t heard of focus shift . It was worthwhile for me also as I’ve just sold my D850 and bought the Z7 II (slowly getting used to it).

[@LetsClickPhotography]

Good tutorial Robert 👍🏻

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks for watching Dave. 😊

[@raybrown4699]

Really enjoyable video. Well explained. I've just retired and look forward to getting out more with my Z7.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks for watching Ray. That sounds great, enjoy! 😊

[@JeremyPayne]

Love the images mate and great video Rob. I use this feature on my Z6 too. Cheers mate.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Jeremy. Can't believe I haven't used it until now - so useful! Thanks for watching mate. 😊

[@laurelb8372]

Well done, might try this on my macro lens. Thank you

[@Robert-Bishop]

Of yes, it's excellent for macro. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@malkeeble1791]

Thanks mate, great video and information. I have the D780 and that has the focus shift function.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Ah great, I've heard a lot of good things about the D780. Thanks for letting us know. 😊

[@BS2Dos]

👍👍

[@paulkennedycreativemedia]

Love these kind of images. Really moody. Works well with that kind of “grass” “weeds” 🤪 almost at the 1K fantastic work bud.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Paul. Yeah, it would be a fantastic milestone to reach. 😊

[@SandraJsAdventuresOutdoors]

Wonderful explanation Robert, that is a handy feature on that camera. Technology is amazing for sure. :)

[@Robert-Bishop]

Much appreciated Sandra. I do like the technology side of photography, although I'm also trying to make sure I don't forget the art and and emotion that can go into it. I think there's a good balance to be found somewhere. 😊

[@SandraJsAdventuresOutdoors]

@@Robert-Bishop I agree, the camera is no good if the photographer doesn't have the passion for doing what they love.

[@AndrewHamiltonPhotography]

Great spot and subject for the tutorial with some beautiful light and cloud interest to create a lovely image. This is one I do actually know how to do !! But I watched anyway to make sure I was doing this right. Bit of a tongue twister that tho 😂 did you have to do many retakes ? And awesome growth Robert - smashing 1k very soon !

[@Robert-Bishop]

Haha, I always have to do multiple retakes! 😆 The word 'subscribers' is one I always stumble over actually. Yeah, can't believe I'm in sight of 1k. I can remember when I first started and thinking what a huge number that seemed to be! Great fun to get out and do it every week though. Really appreciate your support as always. 😊

[@neilmackey9626]

REALLY nice job, Robert! Greatly appreciate your time and efforts to put this together... I just traded my D7500 for a Z5, and while I've done manual focus stacking (landscape and macro) with the D7500 with some nice results, this is my first experience with focus shift shooting (FSS). I haven't played around with it yet, wanting to get "educated" first so your video is great primer! Couple of questions along those lines: 1. In the menu on my Z5, for focus shift shooting, the very last item is something called "Starting storage folder". (I know you were shooting on a Z7 but from what I can tell, there are no differences in FSS menu/options between the two bodies). Selecting that gives the options of "New folder" and "Reset file numbering". I take that to mean that you can save the sequenced photos to something other than your main folder where are your all photos are that you've taken correct? LOL...I mean no biggie, but there are times when I did the ol' "hold one finger to indicate the start photo and two fingers to indicate the end photo" in a sequence so when I imported them, I knew what ALL the photos in the stacked series were. Are you familiar with this option and if so, what is YOUR preference...separate folder for FFS images or "mainline" them in the main photo folder? 2. I thought I read somewhere that in FSS, the saved images were saved in .jpeg only. In the Ps portion of the video, your images show .NEF so it appears that it DOES save those sequenced photos in RAW, correct? Of course, one has to have that option already selected; I usually shoot in RAW+JPEG Fine, so think I'm covered there. LOL...the Z5 uses SDXC and SDHC cards, there are TWO slots and those cards are relatively cheap, so storage is no concern! 3. I'm sure there are/will be "purists" who will say that ceding control of the camera over this process is NEVER better than doing things yourself manually. Have you had enough experience with FSS, or done comparisons between an FSS sequence and a manual focus stacking sequence, of the same composition, to offer an opinion on whether FSS is actually a viable option, yielding a good result, or simply some technological "snake oil"? 4. Finally, it would appear that the only way to determine how many shots you might want to take in an FSS sequence will depend on the overall dimensions of the composition, DOF and just developing a "gut feeling" from experience, correct? Cheers!

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Neil, congrats on the upgrade. 1. To be honest, I'd completely overlooked this feature. I had a little play with it earlier and I can confirm it organises each set of images into their own folder. It's a great way to keep your image organised into groups, so I'll definitely be using it in future - thanks for bringing it to my attention. 2. Yes, it will save the images in NEF format. Or NEF and JPG if you have it set up that way. 3. I would say that the camera can make much more precise intervals between shots than a human can. It's not autofocus as such, it just simply takes a series of shots and moves the point of focus between them. So it's not like it can miss focus or anything that would make the process inferior to doing it manually. 4. The camera will keep taking shots until either the focus point reaches infinity or it reaches the maximum number of shots you set (whichever happens first). If you haven't set the number of shots high enough, it's possible it will stop before focus reaches infinity, so in this case, yes, it's just about experience and knowing how many shots to set. Aim for more than you think you need, if in doubt. I hope that helps - have fun with the Z5 and thanks for watching. 😃

[@neilgrant1927]

Many thanks Robert. Very clear. I have just bought the Z7 ii. Focus stacking is new to me.The inital focus at the sart, how is it best set. I have difficulty with AF. Is it best to use MF for the start point, and then back to AF before pressing start?

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Neil. I just set it the initial focus with AF, but using MF is fine. In what way are you finding AF difficult? - is the camera struggling to find focus?

[@terrynewmanphotography]

Really useful video Robert. Had my Z7 for couple of years and only had one real try at focus stacking but manually not using the in-built option. It’s timely too as considering one of the just released Z macro lenses. One question I have is how you choose the aperture? Do you pick the best/sharpest aperture for the specific lens? I also ask because in the field you said you were using f/8 but your images for stacking were f/5.6. Also what made you choose 50mm lens?

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Terry. I was making a guess that the lens would be sharpest around f8. Thing is, the focus shift feature automatically stops taking images when focus reaches infinity and at f8 this was happening a bit too soon for demonstration purposes. I opened up to 5.6 and that gave me a few more shots for my stack. Probably should have explained that in the video, but sometimes you get distracted with the photography and forget! I originally wanted to do this video with my macro lens, but that doesn't autofocus on the Z body, so I chose the 50mm as I could use the wide aperture to create a shallow depth of field.

[@fravolousfilm]

May I just mention how fascinated I am by the quality of the audio in your videos? Which mic are you using? :) Your vides are so helpful and informative, absolutely love your work!

[@Robert-Bishop]

Many thanks, it's a Rode Lavalier Go mic. I use it with the Rode wireless receivers into a Sony ZV-1. Thanks for watching and the kind comments. 😊

[@patcook6006]

More! I like the idea and I've played around with it some, mostly in macro. What I can't seem to refine is the combinations of number of shots and focus step width. Are there "rules of thumb" for deciding number of shots and step width? I'm sure the use in macro and landscapes is different. Any suggestions for guidelines on the two?

[@Robert-Bishop]

Hi Pat. I don't know that there are any agreed upon rules of thumb out there, and it does depend on quite a few factors like your lens and the aperture you're using. You'll certainly need a lot more shots for macro, compared to landscape. You can sometimes get away with 3 or 4 shots for landscape, where you might need over a hundred for macro! It depends on the lens you're using too - a wide angle would generally require fewer shots than something longer. For the step width, I'd say play it safe to start with. Take a lot of shots and use a small step width (1-3). The only downsides to this approach are that you'll have a lot of images to look through and they'll take up lots of hard drive space, but you can delete intermittent shots if you find they are unnecessary. Once you've got an idea of how much the focus changes between these small steps, you can start to increase the step width until you find that a portion of your scene is not in focus. So no easy answer I'm afraid, just a lot of experimentation! Thanks for watching. 😊

[@patcook6006]

@@Robert-Bishop Yes, I knew I was facing a lot of experimentation and I was guilty of being a bit lazy! Thanks for the tips to shorten the process. Mostly I'll be using the 105mm 2.8f for macro. I tried a couple of sets on the 35mm and then tried it with the 105mm and realized these are two different kinds of universe! Thanks for the help.

[@MacroTh3ory]

I love my Z7. But where it falls short for me is the lack to hand hold and press the shutter release to start the focus shift. I like doing 4-10 focus stake shots. I don’t prefer moving my body to generate the movement of the shift. I want to hold still (no tripod) and Burst away. The problem with focus shift of the Z7 is I cannot look through the view finder and when my starting focus point is found, start the focus shots because looking through the view finder only shows the menu. And once started, the view finder stays blacked out so you cannot maintain your position and you are forced to use a tripod with this feature. 90% of the shots I take, using a tripod is impracticable as the live insect would be well gone by the time I got it set up and positioned. For now I’m using the Helicon Focus Stack ring. It gets the job done. But since it’s an 8mm tube, I’m no longer able to focus to infinity.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Yes, a tripod is a must - I've never considered using the feature without one. I think the Z9 can shoot without blacking out the viewfinder, although I'm not sure whether you can assign a button to start the focus stacking sequence. I usually try to photograph insects when the temperature is cool. They're usually still though to be able to set up the tripod. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@Aaronjoppoj]

Can you put the focus shift onto a custom button instead of menu diving to 'start' (i.e. one button press to start the stack with whatever settings were chosen previously) cheers

[@Robert-Bishop]

I don't think you can directly add the start function to the button. I'm not 100% sure, as I don't have my camera to hand, but you may be able to add it to the custom 'My Menu' and then you can assign one of the custom buttons to access the top item in that menu.

[@Aaronjoppoj]

@@Robert-Bishop thanks Robert, I'm still on my trusty first camera d3200 and thinking about finally making an upgrade. I have everything crossed for a mirror less d500 tier apsc as mainly do wildlife.. we will see.

[@3082frank]

Thanks for the tutorial but I am not sure if you used manual or auto focusing. 🤔

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Francis. Sorry if I wasn't clear - I was using autofocus to set the initial focus point. Then the camera automatically works out the subsequent focus points. 😊

[@3082frank]

@@Robert-Bishop Thank you so much for the reply Robert. Awesome looking forward to trying this method.

[@golfsafetyexpert3478]

Hi Robert do you have a magic fix if shooting a seascape with moving water?

[@Robert-Bishop]

Nothing magic unfortunately - that's a tough one! If your software isn't blending the frames well enough, you'd have to do it manually with layer masks and using a paint brush to mask the appropriate parts in each layer. Alternatively, if you're able to compose your scene so that you can create your image from just two images, you can use one image that has your water in focus, and then perhaps the sky and background in your second image. That will be much easier to blend and you could just use a gradient on the layer mask. Perhaps I'll do a video on this at some point.

[@golfsafetyexpert3478]

That would be very interesting not just for seascapes but windy conditions in the foreground and fast moving clouds - always end up with artefacts unless the stack is blended and then one image masked in - shame no magic formula but one can only hope - subscribed so must be good! Thanks

[@Robert-Bishop]

@@golfsafetyexpert3478 Many thanks - much appreciated. :)

[@teenanorthey4210]

I'm getting an error message "this option is not available at current settings or with the camera in its current state." Do you know what setting I need change??

[@Robert-Bishop]

Hi Teena, focus shift shooting isn't available when you have certain other settings enabled. For example if you have the timer setting activated (2s or 10s etc) then FSS won't be available. Check all your settings and try turning things off until you can use FSS. Hope that helps. 😊

[@daviddexter3831]

I'm having problem as the focus seems to work but the focus point is not changing. Any thoughts?

[@Robert-Bishop]

That does sound odd David. What value are you selecting for the focus step width?

[@daviddexter3831]

I tried 3 and 5. Should I go higher for landscape?

[@daviddexter3831]

@@Robert-Bishop also thanks for replying.

[@Robert-Bishop]

@@daviddexter3831 And how many shots are you setting? Does it complete all of the shots, or stop early?

[@theviking8556]

How it is no matter what settings I use the most images I have managed is three?

[@Robert-Bishop]

It probably means your focus is reaching infinity after three shots. Are you setting your initial focus on the nearest subject? If you have a low step width number, you should definitely get more than 3 shots (assuming you set the number of shots to more than 3). Also, what lens are you using?

[@theviking8556]

Thanks for the reply Robert. The lens I use is a Tokina 17-35 f4 FX. I've been out in the local Pine forest this morning, I can see quite far into the forest. So I started at 10 images and went through the focus step width and only managed one image. So I went up to 15 then 20 images with the same result. Could it possibly be the subject? Cheers Robert.

[@Robert-Bishop]

@@theviking8556 Is your aperture set at a high f number? If so, try setting to f/4.

[@theviking8556]

Hi Robert, I was at f6.7 but I will give f4 a try. Thanks for your help.

[@Robert-Bishop]

@@theviking8556 Generally, if you have enough depth of field in your shot, you don't need to focus stack, so I'm guessing you already have a deep depth of field and that's why the camera is stopping after 1-3 shots. Stacking really becomes useful when doing things like macro photography, as you can be working with very shallow depths of field and can't get all of your subject in focus with one shot. To make it work with landscape you need to make your depth of field very shallow, so yes, try f/4 and also shooting at 35mm. If you have lenses with even wider maximum apertures or a longer focal length, they will work even better. 😊