A guide to using the Passport II Portable Imaging System

Hardware setup
1. Ensure cables are connected between the Stackshot
controller (right photo) and other components (a: stackshot
rail, b: camera trigger, c: computer, d: power cable).
2. 3rd foam tray in hard storage case (photo
below) (under bench) contains camera
items [a: DSLR Canon EOS 6D, b: MP-E
65mm 1-5X magnification lens (usual lens
used), c: wireless flash trigger, d: Canon
external flashes, e: Canon 50mm macro
lens (infinity 1X magnification, used for
large insects), f: Tamron 1.4X extender
(used to increase magnification of lenses,
place between lens and camera body), g:
diffuser placed around insect].

3. Mount camera, with wireless flash trigger attached to hot-shoe mount, to Stackshot rail via
quick release plate (photos below).

4. The camera is powered by a mains-battery

adapter (right photo), which is inserted into
the battery compartment of the camera.
Ensure power cable is seated within groove
(photos below)(circled in red) so that the lid
of the battery compartment can be closed.
Impt: Camera will not start unless lid is
closed.

5. Open rubber flaps covering ports on side of

camera body and attach cables (right photo)[a:
camera-to-computer USB cable, b: Stackshot
controller-to-camera trigger cable (refer to 1.)].

6. Attach silicon rubber flash diffusers (stored in 4th foam tray) to external flashes (above left
photo).

7. Attach external flashes to swan neck support and power cable (photo below)(a: power
source, b: power source-to-flash cable, c: cold-shoe clamp).

8. With reference to above series of photos (clockwise from left): turn on the flash, hold down
the Zoom button until screen display shows zoom and channel function. Next, hold down
the Mode button until ETTL changes to M. Press the Sel/Set button once, and adjust the
power of the flash using the +/- buttons.

9. Turn on the wireless flash trigger (right

photo). Ensure that the Channel no. (CH)
is consistent with the external flashes.

10. The wireless flash trigger is the only

component of the imaging system which
runs on batteries. As such, always ensure
that either one of two batteries is fully
charged, using the charger (stowed in left
most drawer of bench).

Software setup

11. 4 programs are used, as placed in the task bar (above photo)[a: lightroom (post processing
and file format conversion), b: Zerene stacker (photo capture and stacking), c: EOS Utility
(live-view and designation of photo destination, d: Digital photo professional (viewing of test
photos to ensure correct exposure before proceeding with full series of photos)].

12. Launch EOS Utility, select Preferences>Destination folder, and create a new folder in drive
E:\RAW SPECIMEN IMAGES using the folder naming structure as shown in the photo below.
This action directs the program to deposit photos taken by the camera into the designated
folder.

13. Next, click on Live View Shoot. This brings up a live video feed from the camera, which is
useful for precise focussing. However, do note that the physical button for live view, as
found on the camera body (circled in red), has to be pressed too in order for the live video
feed to function.

14. Launch Zerene Stacker, select Tools>StackShot. The StackShot controller is used to operate
and synchronize the StackShot rail, and camera shutter (photo below)(a: moves rail back and
forward, b: manually adjust camera using back/forward buttons to midpoint of rail before
zeroing, c: set start position of shoot sequence, d: set end position of shoot sequence, e:
launch shoot sequence).

15. The stackshot system takes a

series of photos through moving
unidirectionally towards the
subject with each step. Thus
when designating the start
position using Set Start, ensure
that the focal plane selected on
the subject is closest to the
camera. Then set the end
position using Set End, at a
focal plane slightly beyond the
subject.
16. Before letting the shoot
sequence run its course, check
that exposure is acceptable/good
by examining the photos in
Digital Photo Professional (right
photo). If need be, reposition the
flash and adjust other settings
first before proceeding.
7

17. After the shoot sequence has been completed, launch Lightroom . Add a new folder using
the + on the left panel to import photos from the RAW SPECIMENS IMAGES folder. After
the photo import, select these photos, right click and export these photos in TIFF format, to
a new folder in the EXPORTED SPECIMEN IMAGES folder, using the same naming
conventions as shown in the photo below.

18. When photo export has been completed, drag these photos from the EXPORTED SPECIMEN
IMAGES folder into the left panel in Zerene Stacker. Select Stack>Align & Stack All (PMax) to
begin photo stacking. When stacking has been completed, an output image will appear on
the screen as well as in the bottom left panel. Select file>Save Output Image, and save image
in both jpeg and Tiff format in Drive G:\ARCHIVED IMAGES folder. Make a copy of said
images and email/save to thumb drive etc.

Additional information on how to ensure good image quality

An important determinant of image quality is the balance between F-stop number
(influences depth of field) and effective resolution (high resolution = better image quality).
At <1X magnification, F9-11 is the F-stop at which image quality peaks. However, as
magnification increase beyond 1X (as is most cases for insect imaging), there is a
multiplication factor involved in calculating the effective F-stop (eg. 1X: f9, 2X: F18, 3X: F27
etc.). F-stop >F13 will lead to image quality degradation. To compensate for the
multiplication effect of increased magnification, the F-stop has to be lowered further with
increasing magnification. A rough guide to selecting an F-stop for each magnification (1X:
F9, 2X: F7.1, 3X: F6.3, 4X: F5, 5X: F3.5).

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