Appreciate the thorough response! I’ve gotten the same impression from talking with others. It’s like “ehhhh it’s good, but there is much better/don’t really waste your time.” I don’t trust myself doing much electric besides daisy chaining and plugging things in so DIY is out of the question for me. The LED world is intimidating. I miss the simplicity of HIDs, but don’t miss the heat or energy spent!
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No doubt! There’s so many competing products because of how new LED tech is and how fast it changes, it’s definitely confusing and intimidating trying to find the best bang for your buck. Pick your price range and then try to narrow it from there. If I had the money and another tent, I’d buy a Timber Cypress… but they’re on the higher end of the price spectrum. You’ll definitely be glad you moved to LEDs once you get accustomed to them, there is a slight learning curve, especially coming from HPS/MH/CMH. There’s plenty of helpful minds around here though, always glad to help!
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Can’t have to many and we can compare the two.
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Don’t give me a heads up haha…
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I’ll hook you up when I make f6’s then 
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Playing around with some focus stacking again. This time I’m using HeliconRemote to control the focus stepping on the camera connected via USB. The results are pretty good, I didn’t do any touch ups on this shot of Sunshine Daydream, though it could use a couple. I’m still learning the software and hope to get better results by playing around some. Looking at pictures like the one’s erik.nugshots or others produce inspires me to keep trying… even though I know he’s using a couple thousand dollars more camera gear than I am 
Anyways… off to enjoy that SunnyD!
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That’s a nice pic of your SSDD! I’ve tried the manual method of focal stacking and it just sucks compared to onboard unless you have a remote shutter. Even then it’s a pain. There’s a few dSLR cameras that do onboard focus stacking and exposure stacking, and they’re not that expensive either! I think a Sony and an Olympus and Pentax and maybe a Nikon as well? I know Canon announced it, but I’m not sure if they put it on any models yet.
It makes a ton of sense that this should be built into all cameras and phone camera software since it results in exponentially better pics, especially landscapes and macros! It’s not a hard thing to accomplish via software or firmware, so you’d think it’s a no-brainer.
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Black Lime Reserve is one I’ve been dying to try. I saw I missed out on Useful’s F4s, but didn’t know he was doing F5!
I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for those!
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Just popping in to say I’ve enjoyed reading this thread immensely, I hope you continue posting your insights and the beautiful photos. Thank you.
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Great picture, how many images did you stack?
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Haha, yeah the manual way is tough, it was MUCH easier to use the software to control the focus on the lens, the only downside is you get slight distortion by moving the focus on the lens. It would be nicer to have a computer controlled automated rail that you could leave the focus the same on the lens and just move the whole camera closer through the depth of field you’re trying to capture. But that’s for future upgrades! I think a couple of manufactures do include the stacking option on some newer camera models, though I’ve heard it doesn’t compare to traditional methods.
It’s crazy to me that there’s not an option built into cell phone camera software that does this now-a-days. The newest cell phone processors are more than capable of pulling it off, it seems like you could almost integrate it into the native photo app. Especially with the depth mapping capabilities of the newest iPhone models, the phone could calculate how many shots it needs to take from the LIDAR map and go to work. The newest iPhone takes really good pictures too, would really love to see this feature!
Yeah it caught my eye when Aficionado first offered them, so I jumped on them when I saw Useful’s repro. Keep an eye on RIU for his drops. I think I’m just going to F2 every pack I get from now on too, so I should have a few to share once I pick up his F5’s.
Thanks for your kind words friend! Definitely planning on keeping this thread updated… it may slow down for a bit while I move, but I’m going full steam ahead once I get set up again.
Thanks! The SSDD pic is 41 images. The software really does all the work. Although there are points where the image gets blurry, or there’s some haloing, it definitely could use some touch ups to make it ‘publishable’. You can use Helicon to ‘blend’ the images together manually for touch ups, just takes a lot of time The un-compressed images really do look a lot better too, but the file size is 31.8MB, so definitely can’t host them here.
Here’s another shot of Archive’s Polynesian Thin Mint:
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That Helicon Remote seems like a cool app. Unfortunately my Rebel T5 doesn’t have wifi. I might try out the Helicon app next time I’m taking nug shots and see what I can get out of a small stack of shots.
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My Nikon D7100 supports wifi I think, but I don’t have the adapter. I just connected my camera directly to my computer via USB cable and the software detects the camera connection. I think the Rebel T5 is supported via USB, so that may be cheaper for you… give it a shot, I think you can demo the software.
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That Polynesian Thin Mint is so rich with trichomes it looks furry…
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I have no idea what these stack photos are . But I know your bud shots look amazing . I just got a new camera and it does apparently have a wifi option. I thought it was just so it could transfer pictures without being plugged into my lap top , or taking the card out of the camera and putting in my lap top .
Time to go read my manual lol
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In layman’s terms, I’m using my computer to control my camera, primarily controlling the focus of the lens in the two cases above, and taking a bunch of photos and using software to stitch them all together . The software allows you to manually set points of focus, the first one being where the subject you’re capturing is just beginning to come into focus, the very front of the SSDD bud in my case. Macro lens typically have a narrow DOF (Depth of Field), meaning the distance between the closest and farthest points in the photo that appear sharp in your image. So you can only get a certain area of the image in focus at one time. The second point you define in the software is the very end of the focus range, in my case the stem on the SSDD bud. The software calculates how many photos it needs to take, you click OK, and it takes control of the camera and takes pictures all the way through the DOF, 41 pictures in the case of the SSDD. Then another piece of the software takes those 41 images and uses some sort of computer magic to analyze each image/pixel and only keep the parts that are in focus, and putting all the parts together into one image.
You’ll get the best results with a macro lens, but I think you can demo the software for thirty days, if you want to try with the kit lens that came with your Rebel T7. You won’t be able to get the same result as above due to how your lens is built, but you may get some interesting results, maybe by trying to not get as close as I am.
Edit:
The wifi option will allow you to connect your camera to the HeliconRemote software instead of the USB cable I’m using.
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Here’s another stacked shot of Black Triangle. I’ve been curing in the fridge, at least this BT, and digging the results so far, seems to retain more of the stronger terps that are first present, like when you’re trimming. It’d be nice to have a dedicated fridge for storage and curing, plus I could keep myco stuff in there too. Maybe when I move I’ll pick up a cheap used one or something. The BT has a complex smell and taste super good in the volcano, especially after a nice cure. I may buy another f1 pack of BT, since Bodhi is makin’ some more, we’ll see… need to run through some F2s and see what is there.
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Excellent trim job👏🏻
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This Pura Vida F2 came out really good this round… it’s also been curing in the fridge and seemed to retain some of the sweet funk more. Found a surprise seed in this bud, no telling where it came from? I did find some late nanners on the SSDD nest to it, so maybe that’s the dad? Also found some late stamen on the two of the Black Lime Special Reserves, but doubt the pollen made it out of that tent, especially being in another room. Anyways, the high from this PV is sooo good! It always lifts my spirits and puts me in a good mood. Glad I’ve got a pretty decent stash to last me!
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Is that Black Triangle still smoking pretty heavy after curing for a bit?
How cold is the fridge you’re curing in? We have a little built-in wine fridge (we are not wine drinkers haha, came with the house) in the kitchen and I thought about keeping some jars in there. It stays right at 56 degrees. I wasn’t sure if that might be too cold. It also has a glass door, so I wasn’t sure if that might be a bad thing. It doesn’t get hit with direct sunlight or anything, but still… I thought maybe any kind of prolonged exposure to even indirect sunlight maybe might fuck shit up. I dunno.
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