Focus Stacking

Capture images for a deeper depth of field

Focus Stacking captures a sequence while moving the connected camera body's focus through a close or macro subject. Use it when one normal photo cannot keep enough of the subject sharp from front to back.

The app captures the source images for the stack. Use your preferred focus-stacking editor later to combine those source images into the final image.

Page controls

  • Slices is the number of focus positions in the run. It accepts 2 through 199 slices.
  • Step is the manual-focus drive distance used between slices. It accepts 2 through 999.
  • DelayMs is the wait time in milliseconds used during the stack sequence. In Legacy SDK Full run, the app waits after each still capture finishes and again after each focus movement. In Unified Nikon Z SDK v2 Full run and preview modes, the app waits after each focus movement before the next slice.
  • Run mode chooses Full run, Preview with images, or Preview only.
  • Start begins the Focus Stacking run.
  • Cancel requests cancellation of the active Focus Stacking run.

The Slices, Step, DelayMs, and Run mode values are saved with the current profile. The controls are disabled while Focus Stacking is running.

Before you start

Focus Stacking requires live view. Turn on live view first, then manually focus on the nearest important part of the subject before selecting Start.

The workflow moves focus farther from the camera after each slice, then tries to return focus to the starting near position when the run completes or is cancelled.

Use the camera's current exposure, aperture, image quality, storage destination, and other body settings before starting the run. For many close-up subjects, a sharp aperture such as around f/8 is often a better starting point than using the smallest aperture available.

Choosing slices and step

Slices and Step are intentionally empirical. Subject distance, lens behavior, aperture, sensor size, and subject depth all change how much focus movement is needed.

Start with a modest slice count and a conservative step value, then use one of the preview modes to see whether the focus movement covers the subject. If the run does not reach far enough through the subject, increase Slices or Step. If the run jumps past important detail, reduce Step.

Preview modes are the intended fast setup path. They let you test the range before committing to a slower full still-image run.

Run modes

Full run captures full-size still images through the normal Shoot and Path save pipeline. Use Full run when you are ready to capture the source files that will be sent to external stacking software.

Preview with images saves the current live view frame at each slice. Use it for a fast draft stack when you want saved preview files without waiting for full still-image capture and transfer.

Preview only moves focus through the same sequence while you watch live view. It does not save images. Use it to quickly check whether the selected Slices and Step cover the subject.

All modes require live view and manual-focus drive support from the connected body. Full run also requires normal still-capture readiness.

Running Focus Stacking

  1. Connect the camera.
  2. Turn on live view.
  3. Manually focus on the nearest important part of the subject.
  4. Set the camera exposure, aperture, image quality, and storage destination.
  5. Open Workflows/Focus Stacking.
  6. Set Slices, Step, DelayMs, and Run mode.
  7. Select Start.

The app shoot/status area reports progress, such as the current slice, focus movement, waiting between slices, returning focus, cancellation, or completion.

Focus Stacking does not autofocus before each slice. The workflow uses the manual-focus drive commands from the current focus position.

Saving with Path

Full run saves full-size still images through the normal camera capture path. Preview with images saves live view frames through the active Path.

Focus Stacking works well with Path templates that use the group timestamp token. Use @GRP when all images from one Focus Stacking run should land in the same generated folder.

For example:

c:\images\focus-stack\@GRP\@GCT4

Each Focus Stacking run receives a fresh group timestamp when it starts. Counter tokens advance after each successfully saved full still image or preview image.

Use @UGRP instead when the run folder should use Coordinated Universal Time. Open the Path help page for the full token reference and more destination examples.

Cancelling

Select Cancel when you want to stop an active Focus Stacking run. Cancellation stops pending workflow commands and interrupts preview or capture delays.

If focus has already moved outward, the app tries to return focus by the completed movement amount when the camera is ready and the provider allows it. If a full still capture has already started, the camera may still need to finish the active capture or transfer before the cancellation cleanup can run.

After cancellation, wait for the app shoot/status area to report that the workflow has ended before adjusting settings or starting another run.