Upgrading my macro setup; help please

Warning: A bit longHello everyone,This is my first post here so I'd like to say hi and give you some very short background info on myself.I've spent the past 7 years with a Pentax K-5 and a 100mm Macro, taking very close up images of objects 5-10mm across (think stuff like jewellery). I've learned a lot during this time and I know the subject matter very well so I thought it's time to upgrade to a newer camera which will hopefully also be relatively future-proof.What I need out of a DSLRThis is the bottom line of what I need out of a camera:1) Close up images of tiny (usually 4-6 mm) objects, taken on tripods as well as handheld (which is counterintuitive, I know, but still important). Focus stacked to achieve the maximum sharpness in the final image but I need them to be sharp and clear out of the camera as well.2) Sharp close up videos with a very good autofocus system which will be able to track movements under a macro lens while the objects are handheld.3) Relatively good color accuracy. I have the grey cards, the calibrators and the color cards, but I do appreciate it when camera defaults don't make reds look orange, oranges look red, blues look oversaturated, greens undersaturated etc.The (known to me) optionsI've been researching my options for these past two weeks and after some careful consideration, I'm wondering between these:1) Canon 5D MK4 with a 180mm AF macro lens. The Canon body is heavily discounted (new in the box) in my area at the moment.2) Nikon D850 with a 105 AF-S or a 200mm macro lens. I can also get the Nikon at a discount.3) Panasonic GH5, which I have no way of testing without buying the body, an adapter and a macro lens first. So while the camera seems amazing, I'm not sure I'd go for it because I have no way of trying it out (no shops selling it in my area).Why FF for macro?I have found several APS-C upgrade options in the forms of 80D, D7200 and D7500 but I think none of these would be truly significant upgrades in terms of image clarity. I wouldn't like to buy a marginal upgrade but rather something that will last me for the next 6-7 years, so that more or less leaves me with only the FF options with higher resolutions and better sensors.Now, the Pentax lens is amazing and it allows really crisp images on a crop sensor, but I think even better results could be achieved if I could get the same level of zoom on a full frame sensor - or in other words, I would like the same (say 10mm) objects in the FF final images to appear as large or larger than they do in the current 1.5 crop sensor (at maximum magnification of the 100mm lens in it currently).This obviously puts the more common 100mm/105mm lenses out of the equation, as the objects on the FF sensor fill much smaller areas of the frame than they do on the 1.5 crop sensor. I however need them to stay more or less the same 'zoomed in' size in the final images.I've already had to crop the 100mm results out of the K5 most of the time, now if I start cropping 100mm results out of a FF I'll basically probably end up with the same or lesser quality so that probably would be more of a downgrade than an upgrade. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here, I'd be grateful if I didn't have to cash out extra for the larger lenses, haha.Does anyone have any suggestions here please? If I'm not mistaken, taking a Canon 5D MK4 with a 180mm lens would provide slightly greater magnification than my current 1.5x crop sensor with a 100mm lens, while a 200mm lens on a Nikon FF would provide even more but at the expense of the autofocus.Autofocus and stackingSpeaking of the autofocus; one of the main reasons I was considering buying the Nikon D850 was the inbuilt ability to take focus stacks. However, as it turns out, it cannot be done with their 200mm lens because it doesn't have AF. I was really excited about that, as manually taking 50 images by moving the lens to get one stack takes a long time and a lot of effort for every single image. So that leaves me more or less nowhere with the Nikon option for now - other than mounting a third party lens and hoping the autofocus will work in both still focus stacks and AF videos (any good ideas on which lens?).Additionally - is there a really good option for Canon 5D MK IV to do the same type of focus-stacking wirelessly through a program or an app?I seem to recall that Helicon Remote had the option to have the camera take the entire batch of images at preset focus shifts even if the camera itself doesn't have that option, but I'm not sure I understood that correctly. I've also read that the Canon mobile app allows the camera to be remotely focus-shifted in the same way. Are those wireless options?Is there a way to add this capability to take a stack of 30-60 images to a Canon which doesn't by itself already have the possibility in the camera, but has an AF lens which obviously can be software-operated?EDIT: And lastly, is there any solution to make the D850 do the same thing but at the same magnification that I currently use (i.e. an AF-S/AF-P/third party lens of 180-200mm)? Would using a converter/extender with a 105mm AF-S lens enable me to reach a decent level of zoom on the D850 while retaining good autofocus and stacking capabilities?I'd greatly appreciate help with all of this if possible please.Thank you,S

What you need, IMO, are some paragraphs.

That entire thing is really difficult to make sense of.

All I can tell you is that the Nikon-Nikkor 200mm lens is AF. I don't know where you get the idea that it's not.

Also, magnification has to do with the focal length only, not the sensor size. A 100mm lens will render the same size image on any sensor; it's just a matter of how much of it you can record.

I don't know about the K-5, but with a DSLR you'll shoot in RAW and have complete control over color.  Have you also considered your software expenses?

I can't comment on video.

I'd suggest you rent the equipment you're considering buying and try it out.

Hi Gary,

Sorry about that, no idea why my post ended up formatted without any spaces at all. It was clearly formatted and had paragraphs, empty lines etc. but for some reason it ended up looking like it does above and I'm at a loss as to how to edit it to make it legible (it's totally unreadable).

I may have misunderstood something, but doesn't the D850's autofocus and focus stack-taking ("shifting") only function with AF-S and AF-P lenses? Not sure how the old 200mm fits into this ( imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/f-mount/sp...f_micro200mmf_4d_if/ ).

Regarding subjects in the frame; what I meant was merely that if you go here:
imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/

And then first enter a crop sensor with a 105mm, then a FF with a 200mm, you end up getting a bit more of the subject filling the frame with the FF/200 combination than the 105mm on a crop body.

Color and depth of field aren't a big concern as I do have the post-processing completely set.

Lastly, rent - I wish, really, but no options for that where I am at the moment. So it's all a matter of learning beforehand and then buying outright.

Thanks,

S

SpectrumLX wrote: Sorry about that, no idea why my post ended up formatted without any spaces at all. It was clearly formatted and had paragraphs, empty lines etc. but for some reason it ended up looking like it does above and I'm at a loss as to how to edit it to make it legible (it's totally unreadable).

Odd. Unfortunately, editing is not possible once someone else has posted, or even after a bit of time. Still not sure about the rules on that...

I may have misunderstood something, but doesn't the D850's autofocus and focus stack-taking ("shifting") only function with AF-S and AF-P lenses? Not sure how the old 200mm fits into this ( imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/f-mount/sp...f_micro200mmf_4d_if/ ).

I didn't research it, and you called out "AF" only. It may be that an AF-S or later lens is required.

And then first enter a crop sensor with a 105mm, then a FF with a 200mm, you end up getting a bit more of the subject filling the frame with the FF/200 combination than the 105mm on a crop body.

A longer focal length produces more magnification, but you'll note that the minimum focus distance on that 200 is 1.5 feet. The minimum on the 105 is 9 inches (IIRC). So there's no real difference; you'll get the same image either way, I think?

Bummer that renting isn't an option.

Every article I've read about focus stacking talks about manual control. I did not know the D850 had that function. I'm not aware of anyone that hangs out here that uses a D850 for the kind of work you describe. Hopefully someone will come along.

Hi Gary,

Thanks for help on all of that - I think I've calculated most of it now and have a pretty good idea of how things will look now.

I'm still working out the last few kinks (like the minimal working distances and comparisons) but overall, I think things should work out.