Focus stacking is the technique of capturing multiple frames at incrementally shifted focus positions and blending them in software to produce a final image with greater depth of field than any single frame can provide. At 1:1 magnification, where a single frame at f/8 yields approximately two millimeters of sharp depth, stacking fifteen to twenty frames at overlapping focus intervals produces an image where several centimeters are in acceptable focus. This is not achievable any other way.

The Laowa 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe is not a conventional lens in any respect. It is a 40-centimeter tube with a 14mm front element, designed to be inserted into spaces that a normal lens cannot access — inside a glass of liquid, beneath a flower at ground level, into the interior of a hollow object. It achieves 2:1 magnification — twice life size — while maintaining a 24mm field of view, producing images that could not be made any other way.

The EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM focuses to 1:1 — life size. At minimum focus distance, the working distance between the front element and the subject is approximately 14 centimeters. You are very close. The depth of field at 1:1 and f/2.8 is measured in millimeters. Almost nothing is in focus. This is not a problem to solve. It is the medium to work in. Most photographers who own this lens use it between 1:4 and 1:2 — close enough to feel macro, far enough to maintain a usable depth of field.