Support

Everything for macro focus stacking, on iPhone. Here's how to get the best out of it.

Need a hand? Email [email protected] — include your device and iOS version, and (if a stack came out wrong) keep the source frames so we can take a look.

What is focus stacking, and why do I need it?

Macro depth of field is razor-thin — at 2 cm only about a millimetre is sharp, so a single macro photo has one thin sliver in focus. StackFocus takes many shots at different focus depths and merges the sharpest parts of each into one photo that's sharp front to back.

Which iPhones are supported?

Focus stacking works by driving the ultra-wide lens through your subject, so it needs an ultra-wide that can focus — the same thing that enables Apple's own macro mode. That means: iPhone 13 Pro and newer Pro models, iPhone 16/16 Plus, and the iPhone 17 line. 48 MP capture appears only on devices whose ultra-wide supports it (16 Pro and the 17 line); older devices stack beautifully at 12 MP.

Not supported: iPhone 13, 13 mini, 14, 14 Plus, 15 and 15 Plus — these have an ultra-wide, but it's fixed-focus, so macro stacking isn't possible on them. iPhone Air has no ultra-wide at all. On any of these StackFocus opens and tells you, rather than pretending to shoot.

How do I get a good stack?

Get 2–5 cm close, brace your elbows or use a small tripod, use good light, keep still air for plants (and use Fast mode for bugs), and clean the lens. If a result has blurry patches, you had a gap in focus coverage — the app will offer to reshoot just the missing focus positions.

Why does processing take a moment?

Aligning and blending dozens of high-resolution frames is heavy math — StackFocus runs it on the Neural Engine and GPU, right on your phone, with nothing uploaded. You can keep shooting the next stack while one processes; you'll get a notification when it's ready.

What's free, and what's the $4.99 for?

Capturing, stacking and editing are free forever. Your first three full-resolution, watermark-free exports are free too. After that, a single one-time $4.99 unlock removes the watermark and unlocks unlimited full-resolution JPEG/HEIF and 16-bit DNG export. No subscription, ever.

How do I restore my purchase?

On a new device or after reinstalling, open Settings ▸ Restore Purchase in the app. Because the unlock is a one-time App Store purchase tied to your Apple ID (with Family Sharing), it restores instantly — no account or login needed.

Where are my photos stored? Do they leave my phone?

Never. Everything happens on your device — there's no account, no server, and no analytics in the app. Finished stacks (and optionally the source frames) go to your photo library. You can delete a project's frames anytime from the in-app storage manager to reclaim space.