2. D850 Online Manual
3. Other Shooting Options
4. Focus Shift Photography

During focus shift, the camera automatically varies focus over a series of photographs. This feature can be used to take photos that can later be copied to a computer and combined using third-party focus-stacking software.

Focus Shift Photography

1. Select Focus shift shooting.

   Highlight Focus shift shooting in the photo shooting menu and press 2 to display focus shift options.

   

   

   

2. Adjust focus shift settings.

   Adjust focus shift settings as described below.

   • To choose the number of shots:

     

     Highlight No. of shots and press 2.

     

     

     Choose the number of shots (max. 300) and press J.

     We recommend taking more shots than you think you’ll need and winnowing them down during focus stacking. More than 100 shots may be required for photographs of insects or other small objects, while only a few are needed to photograph a landscape from front to back with a wide-angle lens.

   • To choose the amount the focus distance changes with each shot:

     

     Highlight Focus step width and press 2.

     

     

     Press 4 to reduce the focus step width, 2 to increase. Press J to proceed.

     A value of 5 or less is recommended, as higher settings increase the risk that some areas will be out of focus when the shots are stacked. Try experimenting with different settings before shooting.

     Close-ups

     Because depth of focus is reduced at short focus distances, we recommend choosing smaller focus steps and increasing the number of shots when photographing subjects close to the camera.

   • To choose the interval between shots:

     

     Highlight Interval until next shot and press 2.

     

     

     Choose the number of seconds between shots and press J.

     Select 00 to take photos at approximately 5 fps (release modes S, Cl, Ch, and Mup) or 3 fps (release modes Q and Qc). A setting of 00 is recommended when shooting without a flash; to ensure the correct exposure when using a flash, choose an interval long enough for the flash to charge.

   • To enable or disable exposure smoothing:

     

     Highlight Exposure smoothing and press 2.

     

     

     Highlight an option and press J.

     Selecting On allows the camera to adjust exposure to match previous shot in modes other than M (note that exposure smoothing only takes effect in mode M if auto ISO sensitivity control is on). Large changes in subject brightness during shooting may result in apparent variations in exposure, in which case it may be necessary to shorten the interval between shots. Off is recommended if lighting and other conditions will not change during shooting, On when photographing landscapes and the like under variable lighting.

   • To enable or disable silent photography:

     

     Highlight Silent photography and press 2.

     

     

     Highlight an option and press J.

     Select On to silence the shutter during shooting.

   • Choose start folder options:

     

     Highlight Starting storage folder and press 2.

     

     

     Highlight options and press 2 to select or deselect. Press J to proceed.

     Select New folder to create a new folder for each new sequence, Reset file numbering to reset file numbering to 0001 whenever a new folder is created.

3. Start shooting.

   Highlight Start and press J. Shooting starts after about 3 s. The camera takes photographs at the selected interval, starting at the focus distance selected at the start of shooting and progressing out toward infinity by the selected focus step distance with each shot. Shooting ends when the selected number of shots has been taken or focus reaches infinity. To end shooting before all shots have been taken, select Off for Focus shift shooting in the photo shooting menu or press the shutter-release button halfway or press the J button between shots.