Beginner New to Focus Stacking and need some help please

[ndwgolf]

Yesterday I did my first focus stacking at home using my Hasselblad X2D II and 2 different lenses XCD 135:2.8 and 90:2.5v tethered to Phocus (Hasselblad Software). I got some good results using HeliconFocus to do the final stacking.
This morning I was excited to try another project and that was taking a close up photo of my Nikon ZF with a Thypoch lens attached. I used the same X2D II camera but this time the XCD 135:2.8 with a 9mm extension tube (close focusing adapter)
The Phocus software calculated that I needed 12 small size images to cover the whole camera and after letting HeliconFocus do its thing I got a nice image except when I looked closely the name of the L bracket at the bottom is not sharp so I am guessing I am doing something wrong as the start of the focus stack was the name on the front of the lens and the finish point was the eye piece of the EVF (the Leofoto name is somewhere in-between those two points)
Camera settings were ISO100 F11 1/125 with a large soft box lighting it.

Any tips or advise would be much appreciated

 

[Gav.]

I don't stack, but looking at the angle you're shooting at I'd say you need more frames to be able to reach the logo, the whole base of the camera looks soft.
Due to your camera angle the last point of the focus stack should be the end of the Leofoto plate on the RH side of the image as this is furthest from your sensor.
You've tipped your focus plane so it's slicing though the subject at an angle and not covering front to back as you may think it is.

 

[ndwgolf]

I don't stack, but looking at the angle you're shooting at I'd say you need more frames to be able to reach the logo, the whole base of the camera looks soft.
Due to your camera angle the last point of the focus stack should be the end of the Leofoto plate on the RH side of the image as this is furthest from your sensor.
You've tipped your focus plane so it's slicing though the subject at an angle and not covering front to back as you may think it is.

Thanks Gav
I actually had another go using the in camera software instead of the Phocus software and took 30 frames instead of the original 12 ( that 30 number was a guess)……. This time everything was sharp.
I would be interested to know if there’s a formula that I could use so that it’s not hit or miss?

 

[Gav.]

There will be, you'd need to know distances (subject and focal length), DoF/ fstops to work out focus steps, allowing around 25% overlap etc... I think there are focus stack calculators online. I can't recommend any sorry.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

You would just overshoot, perhaps by a lot and then discard everything past the furthest point you need.

Now this example is easy. If you ever try anything with closest and furthest parts overlapping - good luck.

And i am not really happy with state of stacking software from early 2010s, including what is available inside Photoshop today, so much so my ai agent is working on one

 

[sk66]

so I am guessing I am doing something wrong as the start of the focus stack was the name on the front of the lens and the finish point was the eye piece of the EVF (the Leofoto name is somewhere in-between those two points)

The leofoto logo is not in-between. It is when measured along the lens/body axis of the ZF, but not when measured along line-of-sight to the Hasselblad's sensor. In terms of DOF (stack requirement) the top of the ZF and lens is very nearly all on the same plane.

 

[sk66]

It's something like this... the white line (focal plane) is drawn perpendicular to the taking lens axis.