Can any camera keep both foreground and background sharp in macro photos?
Asked 3/15/2018
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I’m photographing very small plants at close range. In my test photo I can focus on the plants in the foreground, but the background plants go out of focus. Is there a camera that can focus on multiple depths at once for macro photography, or is there another way to get more of the scene sharp? I’m new to photography, so simple explanations are appreciated.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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Sure. There's something called a light field camera, or plenoptic camera. It captures a much lower resolution than a normal camera, but it also captures additional information that allows it to be refocused after the fact. And to a very limited degree, dual-pixel RAW in the Canon 5D Mark IV allows refocusing after the fact, but not by very much.
That said, I think what you're really probably asking for is for more of the photo to be in focus, rather than focusing on multiple things. In that case, the solution is to use a smaller aperture, focus stacking, tilt-shift lenses, or move to a wider-angle lens and move closer to the subject, as others have said.
Originally by user25054. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user25054
8y ago
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Not in the way most cameras work. A normal lens focuses at one distance (a single focus plane), and depth of field determines how much in front of and behind that plane looks acceptably sharp.
For macro photography, depth of field is very shallow, so this is a common problem. To get more of the subject sharp, the usual options are:
- use a smaller aperture (higher f-number)
- use focus stacking: take several shots focused at different distances and combine the sharp parts
- use a tilt-shift lens in some cases
- use a wider-angle lens and move closer, if that suits the composition
Some cameras offer in-camera focus stacking or focus bracketing, which makes this easier. Certain Panasonic and Olympus models are known for this feature.
There are also unusual systems like light field cameras, and Canon’s dual-pixel RAW allows very limited refocusing after the shot, but these are not the normal solution.
So the practical answer is: no standard camera focuses on multiple macro depths at once; for macro, use more depth of field or focus stacking.
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