That is just beautiful, John. Lots of interest from f/g to b/g. Is that a multi-image pano or a pano by cropping?
Thanks for the kind words Ray. It is a 10 image stitch done in PS6. Canon 7D with Sigma 17-70 f2.8 Settings were 34mm f22.0, 1/15, ISO100. I had the camera in portrait mode for this pano.
Thanks for the extra info, John. Of course, I meant to say "by cropping". Original post has been corrected. Portrait mode is the preferred method for landscape panos. I must get my pano head out and calibrate if for my Canon cameras.
What sort of pano head do you have Ray. I just do the "spin the camera on the tripod" trick. I know that it's not the most accurate to do a pano, I still have to research pano heads to see if I can justify the expense.
For accuracy, especially if you do multi row panos, you need to spin around the nodal point of the lens. For single row you can get away with spin on the tripod head and the softwares will handle it. I had the same problem as you in that I needed to justify the expense for the number of times I would use it. The brand I have is FOTOMATE but I have also seen them branded as FOTOFANS. THis is the one I have: https://www.linkdelight.com/index.php Search for: FOTOMATE 360 degree Panoramic Tripod Head Gimbal Bracket Kit They are quite well built and can also be used as a gimbal. They come in a neat aluminium case.
Is/are scales on the slide accurate enough for focus stacking? If so then that is another reason to justify the dollars.
John, I have something similar only in a X , Y movements and I have had some good results but it all comes down to trial and error in there use.
John, I don't think that it was designed with that in mind. Maybe with care it might do the job but it's not something I have given any thought to because I have a Manfrotto 454 Micro-Positioning Sliding Plate (Macro Focus Rail) for that purpose. It works well and is reasonable value for money. You do need precision for focus stacking and the Manfrotto 454 provides that. Just my two cents worth!
Many years ago I bought a cheap XY slide for doing focus stacking. The thing was so flimsy it couldn't take the weight of my 7D with a 17-70 lens on it. I have a camranger which allows me to do focus stacking very easily.