Continued.......from original post
For anyone that's interested:
When photographing frames to stack (like the above example) I shoot entirely manually. That means manually controlled pop-up flash at around 1/250s at f/14. I hand-hold all my shots, leaning on whatever is handy. I'm not steady enough to shoot frames for stacking if there's nothing to lean against (a fence, a tree or as last resort a stick).
I quickly decide (using experience) on how many frames I think I'll need to cover my subject from front to back (2 - 6 shots). Next I focus and shoot the nearest part of the subject (frame 1). For wild stacking I prefer to move the camera rather than use the lens focus ring, so I move the camera into the subject pressing the shutter as the selected bit of anatomy pops into focus (frame 2). I repeat until I've shot all the frames (frames 3+).
The amount of movement between frames is tiny and I find the easiest way of controlling the point of focus is to press my eye into the eyepiece and allow the camera to gradually move forward against the resistance of the hand holding the camera.
I always shoot front to back in case the subject decides to move or do a runner mid way through. The nearest couple of frames generally make an acceptable image (see the example 4 frames in this post) so I know at least I'll have something worthwhile.
Prior to using ZS (or CombineZP) I check the frames in Photoshop by loading them all into different layers and flicking between them. If alignment is poor then I manually rotate and roughly align all the images and use "Save as" to create a set that I'm confident will stack ok. This process isn't always necessary and when it is, it usually takes far less time than one might imagine.
Finally, I have compared results of Zerene Stacker with CombineZP (using from 2 to 6 frames) and to be honest there is very little difference in performance. However ZS is VERY easy to use - just drag in your frames and select Align and Stack from the menu - and you're done. ZS also offers an alternative stacking method for subjects with a lot of overlapping hairs or bristles (or stamens in the case of flowers).
Bruce
