How to Use Focus Shift (Stack) with Nikon Z 9, Z 8, Z 7, Z 6

In this video I walk you through how I used Nikon Z 9's Focus Shift feature to create 50 images of a house fly. I take all those images into Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to create the resulting image that is sharp throughout the entire fly.
It's a great feature of the camera that really lets you in on all the details.
Filmed on Nikon Z 8 with Z 24-120mm f/4
Photos taken with Nikon Z 9 and Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Micro lens
Lighting: Nanlite FS-300B
Microphone: Sennheiser MKE 600
0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Focus stack setup
1:19 - Lighting explanation
2:56 - Minimum Focus Distance
3:38 - Pre-focusing explanation
4:24 - Pre-focusing demonstration
5:58 - Focus Shift menu demonstration
8:35 - Camera Settings
9:10 - Inside Adobe Lightroom
9:45 - Inside Adobe Photoshop
12:01 - Focus-stacked images
12:23 - Outro

[@davidwilliamhay]

Nicely done! Thank you so much!

[@randyschwager2515]

Great info! Thanks!

[@kellaslowery8426]

This is so cool. I hope you channel grows

[@taku_kumabe]

Thank you kindly for that! Much appreciated!

[@ericerickson6537]

Excellent

[@alphat4551]

Well done! Thank you.

[@taku_kumabe]

Thanks for dropping by and watching!

[@georgedavall9449]

Simply Masterful! Very informative and the way you edited in the ‘cartoon fly’ and brushed it away, very nice. It always adds to the value and enjoyment, when watching a well produced video presentation! I would venture it is the software causing the ‘blurred’ areas, but just my thoughts. Happy Shooting!

[@taku_kumabe]

Many thanks for the kind words! Much appreciated.

[@patricklindahl868]

The incremental value of the focus shift between each photo varies very much between what lens you are using. Your lens, Z MC105mm, make very small increment steps, while if you would use a Z 24-200mm (set to 105 mm) and using the same focus step width , the focus point is shifting in about 4-5 greater steps. In your case (with the Z MC 105 lens) you could easily had set it to 4, while using the zoom lens setting 1 is required to reach the the same end focusing point after 50 shots.

[@taku_kumabe]

Yes that’s true. Great point. There’s no one sure way to figure out what the best step width is for every lens (as far as I’m concerned) so it’s a matter of trial and error to see if your results are to your liking. If not, try with another setting.

[@patricklindahl868]

@@taku_kumabe There's one rule of thumb: Expensive lens and macros: small steps, "cheaper" lenses: greater steps! I have compared Z 24-70 f4, 24-200, 70-200, 105 and one F-mount 60mm f2,8. The first two makes greater steps, and the last three makes small steps. If this has any impact on more accurate focusing, having 3-4 as many steps, I have no clue. I haven't figured out any way to test this.

[@hans6304]

Thank you gents for the info.

[@georgedavall9449]

Excellent

[@V1ZFN]

Gotta try that

[@sekaf4125]

Well done.. I have the Z8 and learning how, just upgraded from D850

[@taku_kumabe]

Thanks very much!

[@samcarter4681]

Thanks. Great stuff. Next skill set to develop for me. One correction. Focus distance is measured from subject to film plane/sensor plane. Located at the top of cameras is a circle with a line running through it. That is the sensor/film plane to aid in manually measuring and setting the lens focus. Still... great information and again, thank you.

[@taku_kumabe]

Thanks Sam. You are correct about the sensor plane and I had thought I corrected myself about that but it looks like I never did. My bad. Cheers!

[@bosco1234]

Thank you for the tutorial! :) Got a question. Since Z9 is free of mechanical shutter, there won't be any vibration at all. Will you consider shooting at a higher aperture (F16), lower ISO at base 64, and adjusting the shutter speed to the correct exposure? From my rough calculation, your shutter speed will need to compensate for another 3.3 stops, which means about 1/8 of a second per shot, which doesn't seem like an time issue while waiting, since 50 shots should be over in a while? I've got a Z8 now, learnt how to shoot using D850 years ago, but I needed a revision. Seeing what I can learn from online!

[@taku_kumabe]

It doesn't hurt at all what you're suggesting. You might end up using larger steps with a higher aperture, that's all. Just make sure to not move the camera during the exposure, especially if you're doing this outside.

[@Ritopecki]

Thanks ❤

[@taku_kumabe]

You're welcome 😊

[@sharonhaasbroek7464]

Thanks

[@taku_kumabe]

No problem!

[@victorb4774]

How do I use focus shift on a Z8 or Z9 with less than a 1second delay?

[@lizkiddle2591]

Really useful, thanks. Please can I ask a technical question? I’ve just brought the 105mm lens, to use on a z8, a beginner at macro. I’m struggling to get objects as small as a fly to fill the frame and have any part of them in focus, either in MF or AF. Had you cropped the photos before combining them? I feel like there’s something obvious I’m doing wrong, but no idea what…..

[@taku_kumabe]

Hi! Yes, these were cropped. I mentioned in the video that all lenses will have a minimum focus distance, which is the closest distance a lens can get to a subject before not being able to focus on it anymore. The 105mm lens you have has a minimum focus distance of 0.29m from focal plane (indicated on the body of your camera with a circle and line going through it). This means you can't have your camera any closer to the subject than 0.29m, otherwise you won't be able to focus properly. I hope that helps!

[@MarioKilian]

Perfect Video, the only issue is i dont have Photoshop or Lightroom. 😆, but at least now i know how to do it. Thank you.

[@taku_kumabe]

You’re very welcome!

[@davecostello8537]

I believe you can use the Nikon software to process the stack.

[@michaelmckeag960]

Editing the stacking errors in Photoshop is a tedious chore, but the experience does provide motivation for investing in a dedicated macro stacking application such as Zerene Stacker.

[@taku_kumabe]

True. But the amount of editing varies I would think based on the subject and step used. I haven’t used that program but sounds interesting!

[@torbjornwiken]

Great video! For editing i highly recommend Helicon Focus stacking software, It is far more accurate then Photoshop and can save a lot of time :)

[@taku_kumabe]

I've heard of that but haven't had the chance to try it out yet. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@gailbarsh2997]

Do you use Manual exposure mode or Aperature priority for focus stacking? Does it make a difference?

[@taku_kumabe]

I would use manual exposure so you have full control of all settings. You don't want the camera to be changing your shutter speed on you in Aperture mode. This way you will know exactly what exposure you are getting for every single image.

[@gailbarsh2997]

@@taku_kumabe Thank you!

[@rachelhusband9890]

Does it take the 50 shots all at once, or do you have to press the shutter 50 times? (presuming you've set it to 50 shots). Hoping you just press it the once and it does the rest for you. Thanks

[@taku_kumabe]

When you press the shutter button, it will take 50 shots automatically based on the interval you set it to in the settings.

[@rachelhusband9890]

@@taku_kumabeThats weird. I can't take them from the shutter button. I can only do it by going into the Focus stacking set up screen and pressing 'START' on the menu screen. Not a problem as have to enable it anyway so I'm in that screen but does make me wonder why the shutter doesn't work (or i couldn't get it to). Either way it works now and its a very cool function. Also followed the rest of your video, auto stacking in PS and auto align and that worked perfectly.

[@deepotterphotography6228]

Great stuff, Taku! It’s a shame after all this that you’re left with small details that aren’t in focus. I’ve not used the focus stacking feature on the Z9 for macro, but I have for landscapes with mixed results like yours. So, I have to wonder about which element of the process is at fault for the blurred areas: the camera or Photoshop. I’ve always suspected the latter.

[@taku_kumabe]

Excellent question and I would presume the latter as well. I did try and find properly focused areas on another layer and found them so that leads me to believe Photoshop had some difficulty analyzing the details. This might be less obvious on a landscape image though, thankfully.

[@helmag.3520]

First of all, thank you for this clearly structured video. Regarding the blurred details, a comparison with Helicon Focus might provide some information. Many macro photographers use this special software. About the Z9/8: unfortunately, focus stacking cannot be used with burst mode, although the AF would be fast enough. What a great update it would be 🎉 to be able to stack freehand...

[@hiboostsupra5965]

Isn't the min focus distance measured from the plane of the image sensor, not the front of the lens? I've been able to focus my 105 much closer than 11" from the end of the lens.

[@taku_kumabe]

Yes it is. My measurement was a bit off in this case which I corrected on the video with some text…admittedly I should have written from sensor plane at that time. Cheers.

[@hiboostsupra5965]

All good, thanks for the response and the helpful video!

[@amaimani]

The minimum focus distance on the lens is 0.29 as I can read it on my lens. Please verify

[@taku_kumabe]

Yes that is correct. I wrote that in the video captions. 👍

[@gordonl8171]

How did you save the finial image?

[@taku_kumabe]

You have to bring those images into Photoshop or another graphics program to combine them. Photoshop will do it automatically for you, which makes things easier.

[@DCGerry]

Just a nick pick, the Nikkor Z105mm is a Macro lens not a Micro lens. Micro means not visible to the naked eye.

[@scotimages]

Nikon called it a micro, although it is a macro.

[@DCGerry]

I don't think so@@scotimages

[@DCGerry]

It says Macro right on the box @@scotimages