Focus stacking/bracketing: Come on Sony give us a better and free App

[Austrokiwi]

I take  a fair amount of Macro photos and focus stacking is an important tool   I have for some time worked with Adapted lenses such as the Printing Nikkor 105mm F 2.8( A film scanner lens  optimized for 1:1 Magnification). Now to use the the printing nikkor I have to focus stack. I do this using the Cogniysis stack-shot.   It would be would be wonderful  to have an app that allows for focus stacking( up to 200 shots would be ideal) using the FE 90mm F2.8 lens as the focusing helicoid is much more accurate than a focusing rail.   Now Olympus can supply this facility for its Cameras but Sony can't. Yes I can go a pay for the app the sony has put out......but  I paid €4000.00 for the Sony A7rii plus the Fe 90mm F2.8   and Sony think its OK to charge me another €4.99 for an App that will allow my camera to stack a mere three images. Come on Sony Get real: your executives wouldn't accept going to a restaurant and paying $US$600,00 each for a meal only to be asked, after paying the bill,  to pay an extra US$5.00 for a plastic tooth pick. So why are you treating your customers in a similar fashion?

[JonathanStewart]

I've been saying this for over a year as well.  The focus stacking app seems like it would be so simple. Giving it for free would go a long way to win points as well. The goodwill will lead to more sales revenue than they'd lose by not charging for the app. 

[Austrokiwi]

I should add a clarification the bracket App  that Sony attempts to gouge more money out of its customers with isn't even a full stacking app.  That app does show it is well with in Sony capabilities to develop a full stacking app. At the very least for all its add on Apps Sony should provide to customers  a decent credit so that some of the apps are effectively free with their purchase.  

[Michael_j]

I agree with points raised above

 

I get impression that the apps are aimed just above the point and shoot level and the extra cost is justified in Sony eyes by the small margins on low end cameras. A credit to pay for apps would be a good starting point but more sophisticated apps would be even better.

[VTC]

I find it amusing an app is available for 5 bucks that accommodates what you need done but some are so cheap they refuse to purchase it after spending a few grand on the camera. Damn, get a second job to earn the money or put off buying toilet paper for a month and wipe with your bare hand THEN buy the darn thing.  Sheeeeeeesh, some people.

[Austrokiwi]

I find it amusing an app is available for 5 bucks that accommodates what you need done but some are so cheap they refuse to purchase it after spending a few grand on the camera. Damn, get a second job to earn the money or put off buying toilet paper for a month and wipe with your bare hand THEN buy the darn thing.  Sheeeeeeesh, some people.

Your telling me I read the app specs wrong and it actually allows me to take 200 photos  shifting the focus by 2um between each shot does it?  Thats what my current macro rig ( costing nearly €1000.00) does. Please go back and read both my posts properly. What I am asking for is an app like  that which Olympus gives their customers free, something that really does the job not the $5.00 plastic tooth pick they offer . I would even pay happily for an app that would allow the camera to focus stack using the focusing helicoid of the Fe 90mm 

[Guest all8]

I had an idea to write an app like this, but so far the Sony Programmers Interface does not include a way to control the focus position, which is a shame. But I just wanted to automate taking the shots, since the stacking seems to be a little specialized, I would rather do that on a computer, than leave it to some toy app.

 

What do you take photos of? It sounds interesting, is the 90mm FE good, or great   

[weinhous]

I take  a fair amount of Macro photos and focus stacking is an important tool   I have for some time worked with Adapted lenses such as the Printing Nikkor 105mm F 2.8( A film scanner lens  optimized for 1:1 Magnification). Now to use the the printing nikkor I have to focus stack. I do this using the Cogniysis stack-shot.   It would be would be wonderful  to have an app that allows for focus stacking( up to 200 shots would be ideal) using the FE 90mm F2.8 lens as the focusing helicoid is much more accurate than a focusing rail.   Now Olympus can supply this facility for its Cameras but Sony can't. Yes I can go a pay for the app the sony has put out......but  I paid €4000.00 for the Sony A7rii plus the Fe 90mm F2.8   and Sony think its OK to charge me another €4.99 for an App that will allow my camera to stack a mere three images. Come on Sony Get real: your executives wouldn't accept going to a restaurant and paying $US$600,00 each for a meal only to be asked, after paying the bill,  to pay an extra US$5.00 for a plastic tooth pick. So why are you treating your customers in a similar fashion?

 

Would this help?

 

https://www.cognisys-inc.com/products/stackshot/stackshot.php

[cly678]

Sony could have charged another $50 on the camera, which is around 1.2% more on the price of the body and have all the apps free, by charging $5 on an app for a $4000 camera, it certainly upset quite a few people, very bad customer relation and marketing SONY.

[VTC]

 

Sony could have charged another $50 on the camera, which is around 1.2% more on the price of the body and have all the apps free, by charging $5 on an app for a $4000 camera, it certainly upset quite a few people, very bad customer relation and marketing SONY.

 

 

Good plan. Penalize EVERYBODY who buys a camera by increasing the price so a MINUSCULE FEW people can get a free app. That's some stellar 'customer relation and marketing' genius thinking right there, boy howdy.

[Dr. Harout]

Zerene Stacker. You might try it for free for 30 days.

[Username]

   

 

Good plan. Penalize EVERYBODY who buys a camera by increasing

the price so a MINUSCULE FEW people can get a free app. That's some

stellar 'customer relation and marketing' genius thinking right there, boy

howdy.

   

Boy howdy ? Thaz Hotlanta ?  

   

But what you complain of is already normal and global. Digital 

devices are full of stuff that only a few users activate. Also, if 

the apps were built-in, they really should charge about 10,000 

percent markup on them, which would be about 2 cents, since 

the real cost of an app when separately retailed is almost all 

marketing and distribution, the app itself costing about .00005  

cents as a bare naked product when installed as default on all

units shipped [no marketing or distribution that way]. 

[Username]

I had an idea to write an app like this, but so far the Sony Programmers Interface

does not include a way to control the focus position, which is a shame. .....

   

OOoooohhh sounds like an opportunity for Sony to market their own 

special proprietary "Ultra Macro Zoom" optic WITH position reading ! 

Gotta wonder how they missed that ....  

   

More realistically, mebbe the position sensor belongs in a precision

focus rail, motorized or not, with selectable focus intervals/distances. 

[RedGin]

It would be good to have an alternative for Helicon Remote from sony. OR something that would allow Helicon team to support sony cameras.

[PaulG]

if you are using an A mount camera there is even less support than for the e mount. Although Sony have not said that they are letting A mount slowly shrivel with all new camera bodies, lenses etc etc being for E mount only. If you have A Mount such as A99 or A99II the smart phone apps are not compatible and i am sure that if they wanted they could write the software so it could be possible.