10-18-2020 07:53 PM
Is there a definitive explanation of the Focus Increment setting in the R5's focus stacking feature? For example, if I set the focus increment to 10 does that mean that the R5 will shift focus by more than the depth of field? If not, why not shoot with a focus increment of 10 all the time? After reading everything I can find I don't understand why the focus increment setting exists. Why do I need it? Thanks for any information you can point me to.
10-22-2020 08:37 PM
The R5 lets you set the closest focus point but not the farthest. For a landscape shot that is not a problem since the farthest point is almost always infinity and the camera will stop when it reaches infinity. For macro you must select the closest focus and the number of exposures. Unfortunately, Canon doesn't provide a hint as to how to calculate the number of exposures.
10-22-2020 09:45 PM
@Bazsl wrote:The R5 lets you set the closest focus point but not the farthest. For a landscape shot that is not a problem since the farthest point is almost always infinity and the camera will stop when it reaches infinity. For macro you must select the closest focus and the number of exposures. Unfortunately, Canon doesn't provide a hint as to how to calculate the number of exposures.
Thank you. I use a dedicated program on my laptop, Helicon Remote, that makes it really easy. So, from your explanation I understand your frustration. I'll set point A and point B then see what the number of shots will be, which obviously depends on your aperture. I'm impatient and sometimes lower the shot count by 1-3 knowing that will increase the distance between focal planes and reduce my quality just a bit. Still I don't have a workhorse laptop so processing time takes a while for a 40-80 shot stack. I process big stacks in Helicon Focus and smaller 5-20 shot stacks in DPP4. It's a fun hobby for sure.
Thanks again for the reply,
FD
10-25-2020 09:36 PM - last edited on 10-25-2020 09:40 PM by Mike
I found some useful information on the focus interval at (link removed due to Canon Forum Community Guidelines)
03-27-2023 05:58 PM
This focus bracketing needs some work. In the setup needs settings to select nearest focus point and then the farthest focus point you want in the setup menu would help in confining the images within the two settings. As for the focus increment needs some better way to figure it out not this mysterious setting that it is now. The number of shots would not be needed when there is a near and far in focus range setting then the increment sorted out(by some smart people) the number of shots will automatically happen to fit the focus range you set. For me macro shooting I don't need to infinity so having a setting to end the shooting is needed and same for other photography where you want the background out of focus.
This just trial and error thing when using different lenses can get daunting. So a way to set in the focus bracketing menu, lens focal length used and camera aperture the firmware would do the calculation for us to fit in the focus range you set I mentioned earlier.
02-06-2025 02:35 PM
From what I can tell, the Focus Increment setting is literally a circle of confusion [blurriness] setting. On FUJFILM GFX bodies which have settings from 1 to 10, the number you are choosing is the actual size of the circle of confusion in um. (So "1" gives a circle of confusion of 1 um.) Other manufacturers don't make it so easy. For example, Nikon's settings are much coarser. Their "1" setting results in a circle of confusion of 7 um. I found this thread while searching for information about Canon's CoC sizes relative to their Focus Increment settings. Knowing this information along with the pixel pitch of your camera's sensor provides a theoretical "best setting", with lower settings being unnecessarily precise and larger settings resulting in some reduction in sharpness.
There is a relatively easy way to come up with the ideal Focus Increment setting with just a little testing. There is a great article on this topic on the Lensrentals blog by Jim Kasson. (02-16-2023)
Unfortunately, Canon forces you to use electronic shutter when using the integrated focus bracketing feature which can reduce IQ in many situations. FUJIFILM really sets the standard.
02-06-2025 04:27 PM
I have Helicon Remote which Canon could do in the firmware where you set the near and farthest focus points then the number of shots are figured out for me. There is a fine adjustment if you need to. There is a formula that does this number of shots to be taken between the near and far set for the in focus range. So Canon could set it up with this formula like Helicon Remote and reduce the number of testing to get a close number of shots needed. So most of the time I will use Helicon Remote but when I don have the tablet with me and have to use the in camera focus bracketing, I end up shooting to many which I guess is ok if you have enough storage. Plus Helicon Focus sees the lens being used so uses this in the calculation as well. So, Canon put in the firmware this extra settings, near focus set, far focus set, with the already existing focus increment and then the calculation will set the number of shots needed. If the lens is unrecognizable you enter in the focal length. I have the Wemacro rail which uses start and end points then the calculation for number of shots needed with the camera's aperture and focal length taken in to account. Canon, others can do it I am sure you can too, just do it.
02-06-2025 04:35 PM - edited 02-06-2025 04:37 PM
The Increment setting controls how far your focal plane travels. The objective is to overlap DOF so that the least out of focus, or better yet, the most acceptable portions within the DOF will overlap to create a seamless in focus overall image. The distance between planes will change with aperture and distance.
This is a post I made a couple of years ago that explains this, and goes into post processing, or retouching the stack (near the bottom of the post). Getting good results from your stacks doesn't stop with getting the shots and running them through a post processor.
I started stacking years before it became available as a camera feature, but the same rules and concepts apply, although in camera is a bit simplistic in comparison to what I had been doing with the 5D IV and Helicon. In camera is OK, but it requires more work and knowledge of how distance and aperture effect DOF so you can get your increment properly set. Using dedicated software gave me an advantage when I started trying out the the in camera stacking of the R5 and R6 🙂
Newton
02-06-2025 05:35 PM
Thanks. I get the how it works it is just Canon leaves you to figure out how many shots, where as the Helicon Remote and Wemacro rail does this automatically of which I have. So if they can do this why can't Canon put this in their firmware for focus bracketing. Set near focus and far focus points and with the increment setting the number of shots are set automatically, simple. I have done a lot of testing which is very time consuming and still the number of shots is kind of a shot in the dark, you need to test for all the parameters and set up a chart. This is unnecessary if Canon would add to the firmware like the Helicon Remote has makes it so user friendly. I find the default increment setting for the Canon R6 at 4 is low 6-7 seems so far ok for me with aperture 8-10. If I put the NiSi filter magnifier on the 100mm macro increment 5 so far ok, with aperture of 8-10. I did focus stacking with my Canon 40D and a cheap manual focus rail and I had my unfocused spots and usually more shots than needed which is better than not enough. Manually is easy but the distance to advance(increment) was still tricky with such small DOF.
02-06-2025 06:18 PM
“ Thanks. I get the how it works it is just Canon leaves you to figure out how many shots, where as the Helicon Remote and Wemacro rail does this automatically of which I have. So if they can do this why can't Canon put this in their firmware for focus bracketing. “
There are simply too many unknowns to be able to automate the process. The differences in lenses, size of the subject and other factors make it impossible to do.
The cameras are barely able to see and focus on what you want in Intelligent Auto mode. It always picks out the objects nearest to the camera.
The number of focus stacking shooting scenarios is endless. I suggest that you play around with it to get familiar with how it behaves.
02-07-2025 11:08 AM
The thing is Wemacro, Helicon Remote can do it plus others so it is doable. They get the info from the camera, lens, focal length, aperture, many other things. If this isn't seen you can put in the parameters. Most of the time I will use them but times I don't have the tablet with me it would be nice if Canon implemented it in to the camera like they can.
01/27/2025: New firmware updates are available.
12/18/2024: New firmware updates are available.
EOS C300 Mark III - Version 1..0.9.1
EOS C500 Mark II - Version 1.1.3.1
12/05/2024: New firmware updates are available.
EOS R5 Mark II - Version 1.0.2
09/26/2024: New firmware updates are available.
EOS R6 Mark II - Version 1.5.0
Canon U.S.A Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.