I have read
https://forum.dxo.com/t/focus-stacking/18052
From any who focus stack macro images, are there any revisions to the above topic, eg, “better” applications? Ideally, I am looking for an application that can handle raw files and produce, ideally, a raw file.
It’s impossible. A RAW file is what the sensor has recorded. A stack is the result of a post processing.
But you could process your RAWs in PL with just optical corrections and denoising, then export as a linear DNG wich gives you the same post processing possibilities as a RAW.
After that, you can use any stacking SW.
I did not read the article. However, ON1 Photo Raw will do this for you. You can open your camera’s raw files in ON1. You can then perform a focus stack or HDR or Pano. The file created is a .onphoto file (sort of like .psd).
Export this file to DNG and it opens perfectly fine in PL8 (as long as the base raw file is compatible with DXO)
Hope this helps.
Tom
You can also use Skylum’s Luminar Neo for focus staking.
This is the only ‘major’ player I haven’t tried since my return to photography.
Tom
I’m using TIF output in those cases. Works fine as if it was raw.