StackShot Report

[Craig Gerard]

I've noticed that a number of members are now using the StackShot.

Originally introduced in the thread HERE

Would those members who have access to a StackShot consider reporting their experiences for the benefit of others considering such a purchase?

Have you been using them with tabletop setups, vertical and/or horizontal arrangements; in the field with the battery pack, etc.....?

Craig

[ChrisLilley]

I would be interested in usage reports too.

I mailed them to confirm compatibility with European voltage/frequency (yes) and shipping (50 bucks) but there are still some questions in my mind regarding stability of an arca-style clamp added to their top plate, and the accuracy and precision of the 10μm minimum step size.

[Enoplometopus]

I've noticed that a number of members are now using the StackShot.

Originally introduced in the thread HERE

Would those members who have access to a StackShot consider reporting their experiences for the benefit of others considering such a purchase?

Have you been using them with tabletop setups, vertical and/or horizontal arrangements; in the field with the battery pack, etc.....?

Craig

I have ordered and received a stackshot unit and compared it to my (very small and simple) manual setup with a small linear stage. Both setups illuminated with the same Novoflex gooseneck and ping pong diffusor. Unfortunately I have not yet done direct comparison shots yet (just received it a week ago), but I have first experiences as a result of several sessions. The setup is stationary:






Both setups sit on a granite base lying on a similar sheet of rubber, they are both operated with the same camera (EOS 5 Mk II) in live view mode, with the same Nikon E Plan 10/0,25 LWD 160/-



Here one shot of the very simple manual setup first, to show the stability of the base and aluminum attachment. This shot consists of 48 stacks:







Here's the stackshot unit. I screwed it on a 10 mm thick aluminum sheet (identical with the manual setup) which has been glued on the granite. On top I use the Novoflex "Balpro" bellows.



To see the quality of the setup, here are three pics. They might not satisfy the experienced photographer, but I am just starting photomicrography...


Medium sized fly, full body lenght without wings 7,5 mm, 85 stacks, no cropping


Medium sized fly, full body lenght without wings 7,5 mm, 125 stacks, only 20 % cropped away on the right side



Small fly, body lenght 2 mm, 110 stacks, 50 % cropped away at the bottom,



The first two shots are from a common fly (the indention in the eye is physically present and has been caused by my somehow rough method of specimen collecting ;-), and the third shot is a Drosophila fruit fly. Especially the last one was a shot that seems to reach the limits of the stackshot unit.

General impression of the StackShot unit:
It is relatively easy to understand and follow the instruction. At first I had problems in getting a sharp shot, but later I found out that my setup requires a long "resting time" between the movements. 0.5 seconds was way too short to avoid camera movements. But it is hard to say whether it was caused by the stack shot unit or my setup. Once I choosed a "resting time" of 4.0 seconds between the movements I instantly got sharp results which I specifically saw with the strong magnification of the 2 mm fly.

First you do some simple general settings like the speed the unit is supposed to move. Then you start your session. Once you have choosed the suitable general mode and defined relevant adjustments like the start point and end point of movement, you just push the button and the machine does the rest. It will first go to the start point (and won't hit it precisely, but good enough) and then it does all the shots. (But you better don't step on the floor while it operates because depending on your individual setup this might heavily influence the sharpness of the result). I have only tried it with a 10 x objective, and the step size of 0.01 mm seems to be big enough for this. For 20x this step size might still be sufficient, but for 40 x it would probably be too large.

Though I always want to have a manual setup beside it (just in case the electronic controller would quit), I don't want to miss the unit any more; it's extremely convenient. I have ordered a second motor unit that I will soon attach to my compound microscope to work vertically. If that will work fine as well (as I expect), I might order a second controller unit for it to have a second setup.

Recommended buy...

Cheers, Daniel

[Pau]

Wow, you have some good equipement!
Thank you for the information about StackShot.
Apart of some stacking artifacts, the pictures look excellent, but the last one whith its long anthenae cant't be Drosophila

[Enoplometopus]

Wow, you have some good equipement!

Not really – I need a much better linear stage for the manual setup...

Thank you for the information about StackShot.
Apart of some stacking artifacts, the pictures look excellent, but the last one whith its long anthenae cant't be Drosophila

Yes, I admit that "Drosophila" was a wild guess. It was small and black and just looked like what is sometimes jumping around on rotten fruits. But I caught it flying. If I recall exactly, the flies propagating on fruits are even larger. This one just had a body lenght of 2 mm.

I didn't know that the family Drosophilidae has 19 genera, and the genus Drosophila alone has around 1,200 species! I thought those tiny black flies are all the same...

[Enoplometopus]

Here are two more pictures taken with the stackshot unit to show the capabilities:




fly eye, taken with Nikon E Plan 10/0,25 LWD 160/- on EOS 50D, step size 0,01 mm, 125 stacks,

the second picture shows a crop of the first one








The same fly, taken with Canon MPE 65 mm on EOS 50D, step size 0,03 mm, 109 stacks, objective set to 2:1,

Cheers, Daniel

[ChrisLilley]

My stackshot arrived today (yay!) after spending ten days in Customs (sigh).

So far all I can say is that it appears well made, came with good quality and easily replaceable cables (mono RCA for shutter, low impedance SVideo for control) and the control unit looks comprehensive.

The base of the unit has a long arca-style plate machined into it and the top has a captive 1/4" bolt which easily fits onto an arca-style clamp.

Now I need to work out some sort of specimen holder.

[Craig Gerard]

When using the StackShot on a Canon 50D in 'Live View Mode' it is necessary to set the number of "Pictures per Step" to #pics:2 (see note 3.3.1 in StackShot Manual).

StackShot defaults to one picture per step. You may, however, increase the number of pictures ("#pics") taken at each step. This gives you the option of doing exposure bracketing, mirror lockup, or other camera effects.

Obviously Live View Mode on the Canon 50D is classed as "other camera effects."

At first, I had difficulty with communication between StackShot and the Canon 50D. The solution was to make sure the remote shutter release cable is firmly in place on the DSLR.

It is good to have problems at first. It encourages one to read the manual with specific intent and you discover other features at the same time

......................................

Regarding the top plate. On first impressions, I have some reservations about that aspect of the StackShot. The supplied plastic knob is difficult to tighten and I don't have a great deal of confidence in it.

It would be good to see that top plate completely swapped-out, replaced with an Arca Swiss compatible clamp. In the meantime, I've attached a Novoflex MiniConnect; but this adds to the height profile and still relies on that knob for connection to the StackShot.

*later note: I've attached an AS clamp to the top of the StackShot. The attachment bolt goes through the AS clamp and screws into the thread on the top plate of the StackShot. It still only provides one point of connection, but it appears to be a better solution than one that uses that knob.




Craig

[Craig Gerard]

Another thought,

The camera attachment platform needs some form of alignment or registration markings. These can be done using a lead pencil; but it would be good to have an on-axis reference etched into the plate. When a camera, bellows, or tripod collar is mounted we could then be certain it is squarely aligned with the axis of the rail. This is especially important when focus stacking.

The control box is a clever bit of gear with many features. You will quickly become familiar with its various configerations and button press sequences.

The StackShot is a gorgeous piece of precision equipment wth many positive attributes.


Craig

[ChrisLilley]

The camera attachment platform needs some form of alignment or registration markings. These can be done using a lead pencil; but it would be good to have an on-axis reference etched into the plate. When a camera, bellows, or tripod collar is mounted we could then be certain it is squarely aligned with the axis of the rail. This is especially important when focus stacking.

I agree. Recently I got an arca clamp fairly securely attached to the top plate, using a plumbers-style adjustable spanner on that plastic knob only to find that the orientation was slightly off.

The contrast between the stability and precision of the bottom of the stackshot (140mm long, stiff, arca rail, with three 1/4" and two 3/8" tapped holes) and the top (oddly sized, narrow captive screw with a plastic knob, narrow slot that only fits the supplied knob, resulting in a loosely attached camera or clamp which twists readily under normal manipulations of setup and focussing) is marked, as noted here.

The control box is a clever bit of gear with many features. You will quickly become familiar with its various configerations and button press sequences.

The StackShot is a gorgeous piece of precision equipment wth many positive attributes.

It is indeed a nice, all-in-one solution and overall is well made and finished.

The control box is clever, it makes a shot fairly easy to set up. I tend to use it in the mode where you pick a step size, a start position and an end position and then it takes however many shots that works out to be. The number of shots which will be taken is displayed once the stack starts running (e.g. shot 7/130)

Repeating the exact same stack (for example after adjusting lighting position slightly) is also very easy.

Running a modified stack is not possible (e.g. same stack but with a different start position, or a different step size). You need to set it up again from the beginning. Due to the lack of any scale for judging the platform position, or any way that I could see to save start and end positions to return to them later, its harder to make a modified stack than it needs to be.

In terms of precision, I find it great at the lower magnifications which I do tend to use (1x, 2x, 4x) but was saddened to find that the typical step size for a 10x .25 objective is near the finest step limit for the device (10 μm) and that objectives with higher magnification, or better 10x objectives with higher NA, are beyond the capabilities of the current StackShot.

On the other hand they do sell additional motors fairly inexpensively, so the same controller can be used to drive more than one set-up.

[Craig Gerard]

The ability to save user presets is another useful feature.

Yes, that top plate needs some work. A good replacement/substitute for that knob might be something like one of the 'longer' Novoflex coupling pieces.

It is a screw that you can tighten with a coin.

Here's an example:
Novoflex MiniConnect Coupling piece 1/4". It has an extra long thread of 8mm. (the other side has a slot for the coin)


*Later Note: the Novoflex connector mentioned above is too short by approximately 2mm


Craig

[Craig Gerard]

Cognisys have added an Arca Clamp mount option for the StackShot Rail.

Details Here

Craig

[ChrisLilley]

Looks like a very useful replacement, plenty of mounting holes, and its lower profile with less of a cantilever, too.

Now to work out which clamps fit it.

Edit: ordered the replacement plate and a spare motor from Cognisys, and a RRS B2-Pro/L: 80mm clamp with dual mount from RRS.

[Craig Gerard]

Chris,

Sounds like a good combination

Craig

[Craig Gerard]

I was sent an email recently linked to a discussion on dpreview regarding the StackShot (possibly V2? or for an alternate application).

Need to read the whole thread to get the gist of the discussion.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readf ... angemode=1

Craig