I used CamRanger to remotely control my Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera with an Apple iPad 3 (with retina display). The camera was set for manual exposure and One-Shot AF. I used an aperture of f/5.6 with my Canon 100mm macro lens; I think I’ll use f/8 next time.
Apple iPad 3 (with retina display) | screenshot of CamRanger app
The CamRanger app for Apple iOS can be used to set the focus point by tapping on the iPad screen. I focused on the toy dragonfly in approximately 10 places and tapped the “Capture” button to take a photo. The following photo shows one of the resulting images, focused on the head of the dragonfly.
ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/200s | Manual White Balance (Flash use)
Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to create a “focus stack” composite image. As you can see, most of the toy dragonfly is in focus but there are some places that are slightly blurry/ghostly. The obvious solution: Focus on more places (that is, take more pictures), although that might be unnecessary using an aperture of f/8 or smaller.
Composite image created using Adobe Photoshop CC 2017.
Going forward, my plan is to progress from manually setting the focus point by tapping on the iPad screen to using the automated focus stacking feature in the CamRanger app. Baby steps, Bob!
Tech Tips
The following equipment was used to shoot all of the photographs in the focus stack: Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera, in manual mode; Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro lens (set for automatic focus); Canon 580EX II external flash, off-camera, in manual mode; Canon 580EX external flash, off-camera, in manual mode; and a Yongnuo YN-622C-TX E-TTL II Wireless Flash Controller for Canon plus a two-pack of Yongnuo YN-622C II E-TTL Wireless Flash Transceivers for Canon. Additional backlight was added to the scene using a Nissin i40 external flash unit (off-camera, in SF mode).
Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to create the focus stack and post-process the composite image.
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
January 7, 2019 at 11:31 am |
[…] Another foray into focus stacking […]
July 21, 2019 at 4:59 pm |
If you use the automated focus stacking with CamRanger, let’s say 10 shots in medium increments, will CamRanger actually change the focus ring on the camera? Or is it a software thingie doing the focussing without the focus ring of the camera moving… Would love to know this.
Thanks for your tutorial!
July 21, 2019 at 6:37 pm |
Thanks for your question, Catherine. The answer is the latter — the focus ring doesn’t move physically. Not all Canon lenses can be controlled in this way. The following blog post may interest you as well. https://waltersanford.wordpress.com/2017/04/10/more-focus-stacking-with-camranger/
July 21, 2019 at 11:57 pm |
Thank you so much… I shoot Nikon, did some more testing this afternoon and found the answer. It is like you say, the focus ring on the camera does not move. It’s like magic. It’s hard to find answers sometimes on silly questions like that. It’s still hard to wrap my head around on this marvel that the camranger is. I looked for days and days on the internet for my answer, but you finally came through. Thank you soooooooo much. I am so happy now. Happy shooting to me, lol. For technically challenged people photography can be harrowing. Thanks again!
July 22, 2019 at 10:35 am |
Glad to help!