Using SL2 LED info for focus stacking

[rga]

The top LED info, when the shutter button is halfway pressed on the SL2, provides the front and back circle of confusion distances for whichever lens and aperture you are using.
This information seems to be VERY off; way too conservative. I would like to use this for focus stacking, but would have to take way too many exposures focused at many points. Additionally the light would change require a reset of shutter speed.
Has anyone else tried/experienced this? I have used the auto focus stacking process for the GFX which fires off so fast that there is usually little light change that needs to be considered.
Any experience with this by other SL2 users? Thanks, Bob

 

[Paul2660]

It’s a big oversight from Leica. Focus stacking (I call it bracketing) is standard now on every camera in the same class as the SL2. I had hoped it would be added via firmware along with the ability to use the self timer with exposure bracketing. I picked up a used S1R which has the option and goes a good job. Similar to the Fuji GFX. Issue with trying to do it manually is time it takes to set the individual focus steps.

Paul

 

[pegelli]

Did you check the LCD screen data vs. an old fashioned dof table or a dof app like HyperFocalPro?

Normally the tables/app tools are based on the historic CoC criteria that something should be perceived sharp in a print when looked at from a distance about the diagonal of the print size.
However these days with digital and 100% pixel peeping you'll see that on your compter screen the areas that fall at the edges of the dof calculated that way are definitely soft and that people will start applying CoC criteria that are much stricter (smaller). In other words they start looking at the prints much closer or with a magnifying glass to determine the dof rather than the historic basis that was widely used in the analog area. It might be that Leica also applied smaller/more strict CoC criteria which indeed would lead to having to use more images for focus stacking if you want to use these stricter CoC criteria.

It's indeed a pity that the SL2 doesn't do it automatically like a lot of other high end cameras, but maybe they will learn it from Panasonic or another L-mount partner to implement it later in a new model.

 

[rga]

Thanks Pegelli. I will try to check it against PhotoPills, but the zoom makes it difficult relative to the focal length while actually shooting...