Zerene Stacker Personal Edition

Zerene Stacker software specializes in focus stacking. For that task it's the best software in the world for high end users, while also being the most widely used tool among amateur enthusiasts. Professional Edition is for people who use Zerene Stacker to make money or carry out funded activities.

Zerene Stacker has several advantages over other commonly used stacking programs:

• Highest quality output images, especially in difficult cases
• Accurate and robust alignment and interpolation
• Advanced stacking algorithms
• Clean handling of hairs and bristles – no halos or contour lines
• Preserves low contrast detail and avoids “stacking mush” with deep stacks
• Fast and flexible retouching makes it easy to combine the best features of multiple algorithms as well as original frames
• Retouching supported by all versions, even at the lowest price
• Supports 8- and 16-bit input and output files
• Can generate stereo and 3-D rocking animations from a single stack, even for difficult subjects with structural overlaps and bristles.
• Fully utilizes modern multi-core processors and multi-processor computers
• Runs on all major computer systems: Microsoft Windows®, Macintosh OS X®, Linux®.

Professional Edition is for people who use Zerene Stacker to make money or carry out funded activities. You need Professional Edition to use Zerene Stacker in support of a corporation, government agency, museum, and so on, or to make images for sale. Professional Edition also provides access to the software's most advanced technical features and extended access to our support staff.

Prosumer Edition is our flagship product for non-professional users and their families. It includes the advanced technical features from Professional Edition, but at a reduced price for advanced consumers.

Personal Edition is our entry-level product. It contains all the features needed for basic applications, plus free trials of the advanced Pro-only features.

Student Edition is for individuals enrolled in a degree- or certificate-granting program at an accredited institution. It provides the same technical features as Personal Edition, but at a reduced price for students only.

What type of computer do I need?
Microsoft Windows®, Macintosh OS X®, or Linux®, and it doesn’t make much difference which one you have. The code base is about 98% identical. We recommend using a computer with a modern multi-core processor (e.g. Intel® Core™ 2) and at least 2 GB of memory. The software will run correctly on older and smaller machines, but processing will take longer and you may be limited to something less than the full resolution of your camera.

For Windows and Linux, separate installers are available for 32-bit and 64-bit versions. For Macintosh, the same application bundle runs in all environments.

If you need Zerene Stacker in another environment, please contact us.

How big of a stack can it handle?
Zerene Stacker is designed for deep stacks. There is no intrinsic limit on stack depth. Many of our users routinely go over 100 images per stack; the biggest ones we know about are over 1000.

Zerene Stacker can handle any modern camera we know of. Some of our users regularly process 200 megapixels per frame, from high-end Hasselblad cameras. For such large images you need a 64-bit computer and about 100 megabytes per megapixel. Most modern desktop and laptop computers can handle 36 megapixels. If you have only a 32-bit computer, there is a smaller limit for image size, typically around 20 megapixels per frame.