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Focus Stacking On The Olympus TG Series Camera

The document discusses focus stacking on Olympus TG cameras. Focus stacking takes multiple images while shifting the focus between shots and combines them to increase depth of field. On Olympus TG cameras, focus stacking mode can be selected in microscope mode by pressing the selector ring. This allows the camera to automatically capture and merge multiple images into a single photo with a greater depth of field than a single shot.

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233 views3 pages

Focus Stacking On The Olympus TG Series Camera

The document discusses focus stacking on Olympus TG cameras. Focus stacking takes multiple images while shifting the focus between shots and combines them to increase depth of field. On Olympus TG cameras, focus stacking mode can be selected in microscope mode by pressing the selector ring. This allows the camera to automatically capture and merge multiple images into a single photo with a greater depth of field than a single shot.

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dianfeng.envista
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Focus Stacking on the Olympus TG 4, 5, 6

If you use the Olympus TG series of cameras (e.g. TG4, TG5, TG6) and use the microscope mode
to take close-up photographs of, for example, heavy corrosion, metal fracture surfaces, etc., you
would have noticed that the camera has an extremely shallow depth of field, meaning only a part
(often only a small part) of the surface is in focus. See Figure 1, below.

Using this camera's focus stacking feature, it is possible to get virtually the entire depth of field in
focus.

What is Focus Stacking

Focus stacking is a photography technique to achieve a greater depth of field (DOF) than a single
image can achieve. Here's the breakdown:

What is Depth of Field?

Depth of field (DOF) is the portion of an image that appears sharp and in focus. It's influenced by
several factors, including the aperture (f-number), focal length, and distance to the subject.

How Does Focus Stacking Work?

1. Capture Multiple Images: You take several photographs of the same scene but shift the
focus point slightly between each shot (the Olympus TG camera does this for you
automatically). This means focusing on different parts of the scene in each image:
foreground, middle ground, and background.
2. Combine the Images: Using special software, you blend these images into a single final
image. This software will automatically identify and merge the sharpest parts of each image,
resulting in a composite image where everything is in focus. Again, the Olympus TG
camera does this automatically in the camera for you when it takes the photo.

Benefits of Focus Stacking:

• Increased Depth of Field: Compared to a single image, focus stacking allows for a much
larger image area to be sharp and detailed.
• Sharper Results: You can achieve sharper images than simply using a smaller aperture
(which can also introduce diffraction, affecting sharpness).

See Figure 1 & 2, below. In my example of focus stacking (Figure 2), the stacked image isn't quite
100% in focus. That is mainly because I was holding the camera by hand, and my hand was not
completely steady. Ideally, you would want the camera mounted on a tripod or at least resting on
something so it is as stable as can be. Nevertheless, Figure 2 is vastly superior to Figure 1.
Figure 1. Olympus TG4. In microscope mode but without focus stacking – only a small part of the
image is in focus.

Figure 2. Olympus TG4. In microscope mode and using focus stacking, most of the image is in
focus.

How to Focus Stack on the Olympus TG Cameras

1. Set the camera to Microscope mode (figure 3)


2. Press the left side of the selector ring (figure 4) and keep pressing it until 'Focus Stacking'
is selected (figure 5).
3. Take your photo while holding the camera as steadily as possible. Note it will take 1-2
seconds to take all the images to the camera, which has to be steady the entire time. The
internal camera software takes another second to generate the image.
Figure 4 – Select 'Microscope' mode. Figure 5 – press the left side of the selector ring

Figure 6 – Keep pressing the left side of the selector ring until 'Focus Stacking' is selected.

You will probably see another option called Focus Bracketing. This is, essentially, the same thing
except that the camera does not automatically combine the images – with this option, you can
download all the image slices and combine them using other image editing software (e.g.
Lightroom).

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