CombineZP vs PlaneFuse
CombineZP
github.comPlaneFuse
github.comSide by side
| Figure | CombineZP | PlaneFuse |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Focus Stacking Software | 8.5 (#3) | 7.7 (#13) |
| Integrations | The opened repository and product pages do not list integrations. | The maker says Linear DNG exports can be opened in Capture One or another RAW developer; no other product integrations are listed on the pages reviewed. |
| Intended users | The product page describes CombineZP as suited to Windows users doing close-up or macro focus stacking. | The maker describes PlaneFuse as software built by a photographer for photographers, with workflows for landscape, macro, and product photography. |
| Purpose | The repository preserves CombineZP, whose original code was made by Alan Hadley and shared under the GPL. | PlaneFuse is focus stacking software for macro, product, and landscape photography. |
| Stacking methods | The product page names Do Stack and Pyramid Maximum Contrast among its stacking methods. | It offers PMax, DMap, weighted average, and Slab focus stacking methods. |
Plans
In their own words
CombineZP
CombineZP is a Windows focus-stacking program that combines focused regions from multiple photographs into an image with greater depth of field. Its documented methods include Do Stack and Pyramid Maximum Contrast. It provides quick and thorough image alignment, with rotation correction in thorough alignment. Batch processing can stack images, and users can adjust memory use for image sets that demand more from the computer. Macro parameters are editable for additional control over close-up stacking. JPEG is the documented output format. The program is free and the repository identifies its license as GPL-3.0. The repository preserves code originally created by Alan Hadley and shared under the GPL; it contains CombineZ5 and combineZP directories, a README, a license file, and an installer. The README refers to a compiled Windows x86 version 1.0, updated January 27, 2012, in a file named combinezp.msi. The repository says it is kept for posterity, lists no published releases, and a microscopy tools page describes the software as not maintained. Windows is the listed platform; a third-party microscopy tools page also says it works with Wine on Linux.
PlaneFuse
PlaneFuse is free focus-stacking software for macro, product, and landscape photography. It combines frames captured at different focus distances using PMax, DMap, weighted average, or Slab methods. Alignment options include translation, similarity, and perspective; it can reject poorly aligned frames and thin redundant brackets. For RAW stacks, it fuses frames from the same camera and sensor mode in scene-linear RGB and exports a re-editable Linear DNG. The process requires irreversible demosaicing. Its local browser workspace has deep zoom, source and result comparisons, a live histogram, and a reorderable job queue. Non-destructive retouching can work with source frames or results; exports include TIFF, PNG, JPEG, Linear DNG, and depth maps. NVIDIA CUDA and Apple MPS acceleration are supported, with CPU fallback and tiled processing if GPU memory runs out. PlaneFuse also offers command-line and local HTTP and WebSocket interfaces for scripting and batch work. Processing stays on the computer without uploading photos. The software is free for personal and commercial use; initial setup requires Node.js and uv.