focus-stack vs FocusFusion

focus-stack is a free desktop program that combines photographs taken at different focus settings into an image with extended depth of field. For each pixel, it selects the sharpest source image, a method documented for uses such as microscope photography. The tool can resize and rotate stack images to align them, or alignment can be skipped or adjusted. Outputs include a focus-stacked image, an optional depth map, and a 3D preview based on that map. Input formats supported by OpenCV include JPG, PNG, and TIFF, while the filename extension determines output format. Processing controls cover denoising, consistency filtering, batch size, and thread count. OpenCV’s OpenCL interface provides GPU acceleration when available, with an option to disable it. Binary packages are listed for Windows 10, Ubuntu 20.04, and Mac OS X. The project is MIT licensed; Linux builds require OpenCV 3.0 or newer and basic build tools.

FocusFusion is a free Windows application that combines photographs taken at different focus distances into one image with greater depth of field. It provides depthmap and wavelet focus-stacking algorithms, automatic alignment, and manual retouching. Depthmap expects images ordered front-to-back or back-to-front and can struggle with translucency or complex overlaps. Wavelet accepts images in any order, but may increase noise, create artifacts at sharp luminance transitions, or reduce alignment quality. Processing uses at least 16-bit precision per channel. Supported inputs are TIFF up to 48 bpp, 16-bit-per-channel JPEG XR, and classic 8-bit JPEG; RAW files are not supported. A clone-based retouching tool offers adjustable brush size, hardness, and opacity, with cloning at 16-bit quality. FocusFusion requires Windows 10, an SSE4.1 CPU made after 2008, and at least 8 GB of memory; 16 GB is recommended for deeper stacks or larger DSLR images. It is distributed through the Windows Store.