Focus Stacking
Not currently planned
I know this has made the rounds on this forum over the years, but I'd just like to add a fresh request.
May we please have a fully integrated focus stacking tool?
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Well well, the same logic could apply to all added features. I was not that interested in AI masking. But I respect that others requested it and it is the new C1 functionality now.
I would very much appreciate simplifying my workflow with focus stacking. Today it is cumbersome. If I could have the full workflow in C1, I would be very happy.
You are not interested, fair enough. Your voice have been heard.
Focus stacking is one of the more active thread in the Feature Request space. Therefore, I assume that it would be welcome by more users.
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You already know the answers to all of your questions. This is not a fight, it's a simple feature request as is intend within the forum. You are embarrassing yourself.
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Today I use Affinity Photo for focus stacking. The level of user control there is zero, except of selecting which photos to stack from. That is fully sufficient for me. I don't wish for complex parametrization of Helicon Focus. The result quality I get today from Affinity Photo is fine for me.
What bothers me is the complexity of the workflow. Exporting from one app, importing to another and then the result back. If I can have a comparable result within C1 with couple of clicks, I will be happy. I don't care if it is internal functionality of C1, or if it is an integration with Affinity Photo. I just want a simple user experience.
I never said I see focus stacking of ultimate importance. At least I have a way already today. But, if C1 can simplify my life with focus stacking, I will very much welcome that.
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Please keep comments limited to the merits of Focus Stacking. If you don't need it don't bother commenting.
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@...
Just to be clear. I am interested in focus stacking. I am not interested in AI sharpening that could potentially create artifical elements not existing in reality. I am a hobby modeller and I need to produce sharp pictures of scale models (both mine, my friends and my customers) just the way they exist in reality.
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SFA, there is an easy answer to that. Anything below 100 % accuracy is not good enough. The moment someone finds out that the pics presented, not to say sent to competitions, are not true exact photos, they differ from the real scale model, they are retouched or even AI-enhanced, that moment my reputation is gone for good. The same goes for my friends and customers.
I am not against AI image generation, actually I subsribe to MidJourney, for example, but for the mentioned purpose of photographing scale models, there is no place for AI.
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@... – I too would like to see some great integration between Affinity Photo and Capture One. Perhaps we should hit the Affinity Photo boards and suggest that they work with CO to create some plugin features with Capture One.
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@... – See this post.
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/194900-capture-one-affinity-photo-plugin/
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Admittedly I'm a bit bewildered by the idea to let Affinity Photo do the job C1 describes as "not currently planned" (which reads to me like "we can't do it better than special apps" and I understand that well).
You realize what Affinity Photo is already able to do? For less than ¼ of the license costs the app already can do much more on multiple fields than C1 ever will be able to do. One has to ask how long the quality gap in RAW editing between C1 and AP will remain...
I just don't see what's in for Affinity? You expect them to do the work C1 is not capable to deliver? Walter Rowe how about financing this work and still justify C1's steep prices?
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JoJu – Affinity has promised digital asset management for years and has yet to deliver. Helicon Focus has a C1 plugin for Focus Stacking. If Affinity Photo provided that kind of interface for Focus Merging, HDR Merging, and Pano Stitching, then C1 could get rid of their own features that they clearly ceased to develop after promising to improve them. I would be OK with that.
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"Affinity has promised digital asset management for years and has yet to deliver." Correct. And no difference to what C1 dares to call DAM. It's management, Walter and C1 sucks here big time as well. For a large multiple of the price. Anyway, that is nothing what any company should prevent from developing a decent focus-stacking app or plug-in. Except of course, the energy and time going into an interface for old C1.
Which still would not result in any progress of a DAM on both sides, just saying. But if ever Affinity comes up with some kind of DAM, you could bet on Affinity's developers would not dare to forget implementing a decent search function, which apparently is "too much asking for" on C1's side of things. Btw. they are lacking of that feature for quite a longer while than Affinity is promising a browser or DAM.
I just like to know, what's in for Affinity? The benefits are all going to C1. But why not asking for it...
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JoJu – I could imagine for Affinity Photo it might be more opportunity to steal users away from Adobe. The integration between Adobe and Capture One is non-existent. If Affinity Photo took this on it might be at least a small win for them.
Keep in mind that the user base for Capture One is somewhere in the range of 260K licensed users supported by a staff of about 150 across development, management, support, etc. Adobe is a multi-billion dolllar company with ten times the user base supported by 30K staff? The two companies are in completely different leagues in terms of user base and employees. Adobe makes the vast majority of their revenue from publishing. Photography is a small fraction of their revenue.
I provide these stats only to build the picture (pun intended) that Capture One has to make much more discerning decisions about where to expend their resources based on what they believe will deliver the most value for their users.
Personally I believe Capture One needs to pay more attention to deficiencies that cast negative light on the company. These deficiencies may be costing them as much in reputation and users as new features might bring them. I 100% agree they need a major overhaul in DAM capabilities and core code. I sense their code base is woefully dated and needs major transformation and that this is why it is such a major challenge for them to tackle these long standing issues.
When it comes to Focus Stack Merge there are exceptional products out there. Encouraging those companies to provide plugins to Capture One might be a faster path to success. Given that Capture One has marked this feature as Not Currently Planned they must have determined that the effort won't bring the needed value to enough customers to warrant the investment.
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Plus that part where Affinity is a meh RAW editor (imo) but does quite well as a pixel editor - much like Photoshop and Lightroom.
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@...
I understand you prefer C1 to focus their development effort on implementing AI sharpening tool instead of focus stacking. Fair enough.
Feel free to create a new thread in Feature Requests for AI sharpening tool and promote your idea there. The topic of this thread is focus stacking, not AI sharpening.
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Hi guys,
While I truly enjoy the passion and engagement I'm seeing, let's keep this thread on the original topic of Focus stacking.
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My comment was to steer the conversion back to the topic, not a comment on feasibility, timing or otherwise.
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Hi Christian G,
https://support.captureone.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/7307154882205/comments/12732456793117
Please look at this process:
Hello, I'm a professional photographer and I work a lot with focus stacking for jewelry. I shoot with a Phase One IQ4 150mp. What I'm suggesting here is not a problem with the capture one but is a missing tool for using with the PhaseOne XF body.
What problem do you see this solving?
I will describe my workflow, I set my XF camera for focus stacking, open live view on capture one, focus in the near point, go to the camera and click the first botton, back to the capture one and focus the far focus point, go to the camera again and click the second Botton and then I can take the shot. When you have the camera high on a foba stand go and back is very annoying, especially when you take hundreds of photos like that per week. I imagine a dedicated tool on capture one where I can focus and choose the near and far focus point and take the shot without the need to touch the camera.
When was the last time you were affected by this lack of functionality, or specific tool?
I never found that functionality on capture one.Are you using any workarounds or other solutions to achieve your goals in Capture One?
I need to do it manually, but since this is the native software of a 50K camera I think this tool is very needed.Are you happy to be contacted further about this suggestion or request?
Yes, I will very happy to help solve that problem.Best regards,
César Oliveira
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