Focus Stacking

I have found that I am very interested in Macro photography after reviewing this sub forum. However after a search I couldn't find anything on Focus Stacking and how and what it is. I beleive I have an idea but would rather get the information from the people in the know. So could someone kindly explain what Focus Stacking is? Also I'm wondering if a ring light would work well for Macro work?

Thanks in advance

Ringlight works well enough but creates an unattractive round reflection when used on shiny insects like Ladybirds and ants. Twin flash system is better or just use a flash gun like the 430EX off camera on a bracket.
Focus stacking creates greater depth of field even when using the optimum aperture which may be quite wide at higher magnification. Basically you take a series of shots of the subject at different distances either by moving the camera closer in small increments or by tiny adjustments of the focusing ring, the former works better for hand held work.

CombineZ is a popular focus stacking software but if you have a Mac Helicon will be your choice.

So what I'm getting is this. Take a series of photo's say starting at .09 of an inch then .10 then .11, etc. After having anywhere from 2 to infinity you stack them on top of each other using some program for this, so that the DoF is greater than just one photo and it makes for a clearer and sharper picture?

Jay B wrote in post #11782742
So what I'm getting is this. Take a series of photo's say starting at .09 of an inch then .10 then .11, etc. After having anywhere from 2 to infinity you stack them on top of each other using some program for this, so that the DoF is greater than just one photo and it makes for a clearer and sharper picture?

probably not sharper than a single shot but you wouldn't notice. The software is very easy to use. The guys who stack 70 or more shots tend to be using high magnification set ups and have special focusing rails that can be adjusted smoothly in steps of .1mm or less.
Best to start with 3 or 4 shots and look out for irregularities to clone out, normally around the borders.
Obviously you are not going to be shooting action shots, typical subjects are early morning shots of cold insects taken with natural light and a tripod.With fast charging flash you may get quite a few hand held shots to stack.
This guy typically does 15 shots and use Zerene software.
Kliton77 - someone to aspire to I think.

This chap often does 100 plus stacks of dead subjects in a studio environment again using Zerene:
johnhallmen

687 shot stack from tomatito rodriguez:

http://www.flickr.com …/29369066@N05/5​280935533/

and his set up - pushes the subject to the lens, camera stays still, once again Zerene the software of choice
http://www.flickr.com …137101903/in/ph​otostream/