Automatic Exposure Blending with Enfuse (HDR-ish)

I say HDR-ish because there is not a true HDRi being created, but rather a final output image is being blended together from multiple exposures (using a fancy algorithm and what I suspect is some magical kung-fu).

First, though, a quick recap. I talked about creating HDRi's in my previous post about doing it entirely with F/OSS tools. The intention there was to create a single HDRi scene that contained more luminance data than could be captured with any camera in a single shot. The problem was, you had no means of visualizing this high range of data.

Focus Stacking Macro Photos (Enfuse)

I recently got a new camera to update my aging (gracefully!) Olympus E-P1. Deciding to stay with the µ⁴⁄_3^rds (or µ43^rds, or micro four-thirds - I just wanted to play with some HTML entity codes), I found a really tasty new Olympus OM-D E-M5 waiting for me for Christmas! In deciding which kit lens to go ahead and get with it, the Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ was a no brainer. Water-resistant (to match the camera), and a neat macro function!

This article is about focus stacking, for exposure blending, see here:
Automatic Exposure Blending with Enfuse (HDR-ish)

Well, I couldn't help but snap a couple of macro shots of my trusty Warhammer 40k Space Marine to play with this newfangled lens.

The problem, if you haven't done macro photography before, is that the depth of field will become razor-thin. You can alleviate it a bit by closing down the aperture a bit, but at some point you'll hit diffraction limits (and reduced sharpness).