Combining Focus Stacking with Panoramas
I am gradually starting to combine focus stacking with partial
panoramas in order to get close focus plus a wider angle, in
essence approximating medium-form macro or close-ups.
The result is in reality a somewhat different animal than straight
focus stacking. For one, focus stacking itself is a compromise, an
“impression” of the subject. The mechanical part of focus stacking
by definition loses definition much like a JPG file is a compressed
or approximation of the RAW or TIFF file. Because focus stacking
is a sampling technique, that means that something is sampled and
something else is left out.
When we combine focus stacking with the blending or merging of
stitching panoramas, yet more is lost. The resulting stacked
panorama really is a breed unto itself, a technique all its own. What
is gained?
A stacked panorama can give us detailed focus and at the same
time the breath of what a wide-angle lens provides or that perhaps
a medium-format might provide. I have many wide-angle lenses but
none of them give me the detail I can get by stacking a partial
panorama, at least so far.