CombineZ

CombineZM
	CombineZM running on Windows XP
Developer(s)	Alan Hadley
Stable release	CombineZP / 6 June 2010
Operating system	Windows
Type	Digital image processing
License	GPL
Website	CombineZM/ZP home

CombineZM (CZM) is an open source image processing software package for creating extended depth of field images. It runs on Windows XP and 2000. CombineZM is based on CombineZ5, a program which runs on older versions of Windows and is no longer maintained. It is superseded by CombineZP.^[1]

CombineZP is designed to blend the focused areas of several partially focused digital photographs in order to create a composite image with an extended depth of field (DOF), created from the in-focus areas of each image.

Short tutorial

install the downloaded program form here
click on "NEW" and select all images which compose the subject and click "Open"
when all images are opened in CombineZP, select in the scroll menu "Align and Balance Used Frames (Quick)" and click on "GO"
when the previous command is completed, select in the scroll menu "Align and Balance Used Frames (Thorough)" and click on "GO"
when the previous command is completed, select in the scroll menu "Pyramid Weighted Average" and click on "GO"
when the previous command is completed, click on the button on the right of the button "GO" (the button called "Shrink/Expand Active Rectangle") and click on "SAVE", write a quality of 100 and click on "OK"
to close CombineZP, click on the cross at the top-right and at the question "Did you wish...", click on "No" (even if you have saved the image)

Limitations

Does not support 16 bit images
Images must be in height order (closest to furthest, but can be flipped within the application)

Illustration

Macro image created with CombineZM. All parts of the spider are in focus.
13 images of variable focus were captured and composited in CombineZM to create this image of a jumping spider.