Focus stacking changes

[rickpoole]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this...

Finally got some time to try focus stacking with ML.  Got some really great results after figuring out how to get it working correctly and it saves a tremendous amount of time compared to manual focus stacking.  Had to read the docs a few times to figure it out.  I do have a few suggestions to make it easier to use and less frustrating.

The first issue I ran into was trying to move my 10x viewing spot around while trying to set the ending focus point.  I have to get out of the ML menu, move the position, zoom in/out as needed, then go back into ML.  That wasn't too bad but it would be much faster if I can zoom the display in/out and move the viewing point around while in the menus.  Setting the starting point was more difficult when I had to be zoomed in 10x to ensure proper focus.  This requires exiting the ML menu, moving the viewing point and zooming back in then going back to the ML menu.  The problem arises when you start moving the focus setting (for setting the starting point) if you are not in the right place you can't see the part of the image you want for the starting focus point.  If you exit the ML menu and come back in when you try to go back to the Set End Focus Point it always rezeros it.  Since you can't zoom in and/or move the viewing point around while in the set focus menu item you only have one shot to get the starting focus point correct.  If you mess it up or can't see the part of the image you want you have to start over.  Plus, if you accidentally hit the wrong button, or press the multicontroller up or down vs left or right it zeros the focus point and you have to start over.  I'd suggest two separate menu items for the start and ending points and an ability to exit and go back to either to fine tune the settings.  Plus it would be tremendously time saving to be able to move the viewing point around and zoom in and out while setting the starting and ending focus points.

Once you do have everything setup and start taking the picture the message showing which image it is taking and the total number of images is displayed for such a short time it is very hard to read.  Could you make it stay visible 2-4 times longer?

[Marsu42]

I do have a few suggestions to make it easier to use and less frustrating.

It isn't frustrating for me because I do it otherwise: I use focus peaking to see what's in focus, mf to the end point, then follow focus to the start point. In both cases I try to *overshoot* some frames to be on the safe side and throw out the couple of unneeded ones afterwards in camera or postprocessing. As for the message: Focus stacking is slow as it is (when the scene changes the shot is broken), I guess that's why the message is only displayed for a short time.