Macro Photo thread

[dibbly dobbler]

Speed addicted said:

That last decoration does look a bit frightening.

The best will have to wait when it comes to flashes, I think I'll go on ebay and look for the ring flash.
Does the normal flash on a bracket give reasonable results? I don't have one yet and could use it for more things, like people (if I ever take pictures fo people).

Short answer is I don't know - I went straight for a ring-flash and bizarrely don't yet have a normal flash (soon to be remedied at Christmas I hope )

I would guess a normal flash would help though, just not sure by how much I'll say it's probably going to be 70% as good as a 'proper' macro flash (with an error tolerance of + or - 20%).

There are loads on here that know way more than me though - so please step in lads

[Pvapour]

I'm using off camera flash, normal canon joby with extended attachment bar to get far enough away for subtle light (use diffuser as well)

I found the ring flash created catch lights which I did not want.

[GetCarter]

[dibbly dobbler]

Stop wasting time on here PV and nip off down to the post office eh ?

[Speed addicted]

Right, that's a speedlight 430, an off camera bracket and a cable connection bought to compliment the 100mm Canon macro F2.8.

I need to get off this rig soon! At this rate I'll have nothing to show for the 3 1/2 weeks offshore.

All I need now is some time to experiment. Then decide that I need the ringflash too.

[Pvapour]

dibbly dobbler said:

Stop wasting time on here PV and nip off down to the post office eh ?

how'd you know? not you is it? all packaged and ready for tomorrow either way

just for you (or your boyfriend Mike )

[dibbly dobbler]

Pvapour said:

dibbly dobbler said:

Stop wasting time on here PV and nip off down to the post office eh ?

how'd you know? not you is it? all packaged and ready for tomorrow either way

just for you (or your boyfriend Mike )

It's me alright

Cheers, DD (happily married family guy and strictly hetro male )

[14-7]

Pvapour said:

how'd you know? not you is it? all packaged and ready for tomorrow either way

just for you (or your boyfriend Mike )

Some one needs to tell PVA that ain't macro

[Pvapour]

14-7 said:

Pvapour said:

how'd you know? not you is it? all packaged and ready for tomorrow either way

just for you (or your boyfriend Mike )

Some one needs to tell PVA that ain't macro

watched me brush my teeth this morning


_MG_6640 by pvapour, on Flickr

[Speed addicted]

How scratched is my watch?


Another creepy xmas decoration.

Did anyone else find that things are a lot more scratched/dirty than you though before taking macro shots of them? There is a distinct lack of beasties to look at just now, so experimenting has been kept to things that don't run off.
These were taken with the speedlight on a bracket to the side, the built in diffuser helps a lot with the glare.

Edited by Speed addicted on Sunday 2nd January 11:36

[jimmy156]

First shot with my EF-S 60mm macro! (i like photo's of other lenses, dunno why!) I'm positivly itching to get out and use it properly, just need some bugs to take shots off. might be off to pullborough brooks tomorrow so might get a chance then!

[Zaxxon]

I am amazed by the stunning pics on this thread.

Can you let me have a few pointers please?

I've got the following kit:
Canon 550
Canon 18-55 F2.8 lens
Canon Speedlight 580 II

Now if I want to take high quality Macro pics, can I use any of the kit listed?
The lens is excellent but do I need a specific Macro lens? If so should I get the 100 F2.8 lens?
Also should I get a ring flash or can I use the 580 II with an off camera bracket?


Thanks in advance.

Had a quick go, Flash would definatly need an off camera bracket. But would a cheap ring flash be better than a 580 mk II on an off camera bracket?

Does a macro specific lens allow you to focus a lot closer to the subject?

Edited by Zaxxon on Sunday 2nd January 19:19

[Speed addicted]

As a complete novice (I got the 100mm f2.8 a week ago) I've found the macro lens allows you to focus much closer than normal lenses, you can fill the screen with something around 10mm wide. The wide apeture can be used to give you a nice shallow depth of field for portraits and other shots too.
You need a flash as f2.8 gives you about 2mm Dof and smaller apetures need a lot more light. I bought a speedlight and have been using it on a bracket with a short cable.

So, in my extremely limited experience, you need a macro lens and can make do with the other things. You generally get what you pay for so I went for a decent flash that I could use for other things rather than a cheap ringflash that's just for the macro stuff.

As a comparison this is the top of a wine bottle, it's not brilliant as I've just done it as an idea of the difference between the macro lens and the 18-55. This is straight out of the camera (500D) and could be cropped a fair bit yet.

Edited by Speed addicted on Sunday 2nd January 21:35

[GetCarter]

Zaxxon said:

Can you let me have a few pointers please?

Like most things photographic, 'Macro' causes a lot of confusion. Many cameras and lenses sport the word macro but very few technically speaking are. For a lens to produce a macro image the size of the image on the sensor needs to be the same size as the subject being photographed. i.e. 1:1. These specialist lenses let one get VERY close to the subject. This is taken about 2 or 3 inches from the eye of a bee:



However, one shouldn't get hung up on the 1:1 thing... as many lenses allow you to get pretty close to a given sunject, and with a decent resolution sensor one can always crop the image.

I don't own a ring flash (or any external flashes), so can only take these sort of photos in very good light. To take macro seriously flashes and a 1:1 lens are essential.

Edited by GetCarter on Monday 3rd January 10:59

[JJM]

A few from the other day...


8463 v1 by JJM_75, on Flickr


8472 v1 by JJM_75, on Flickr


8441 v1 by JJM_75, on Flickr


Drops set up by JJM_75, on Flickr

Edited by JJM on Monday 3rd January 12:38

[dibbly dobbler]

Nice work Jonathan and interesting to see your setup

What lens did you use on these please ? The last time I tried I used a 100mm with tubes but that gave me a very small target area so maybe the tubes were unnecessary

[JJM]

dibbly dobbler said:

Nice work Jonathan and interesting to see your setup

What lens did you use on these please ? The last time I tried I used a 100mm with tubes but that gave me a very small target area so maybe the tubes were unnecessary

Cheers for the feedback DD. The lens is my 100mm 2.8, without any tubes.

The only issue I had was that the edges of the glass oven dish are visible in the original pics, however a quick crop in PS fixed this.

Edited by JJM on Monday 3rd January 14:26

[dibbly dobbler]

Zaxxon said:

I am amazed by the stunning pics on this thread.

Can you let me have a few pointers please?

I am very much a beginner but I'll have a go at answering some of your questions

Zaxxon said:

I've got the following kit:
Canon 550
Canon 18-55 F2.8 lens
Canon Speedlight 580 II

Now if I want to take high quality Macro pics, can I use any of the kit listed?

Yes you can use what you've got but as you will have guessed a dedicated macro lens will allow you to do a lot more.

Zaxxon said:

The lens is excellent but do I need a specific Macro lens? If so should I get the 100 F2.8 lens?

Yes and Yes ! There are other choices but the 100mm is excellent - I have one myself

Zaxxon said:

Also should I get a ring flash or can I use the 580 II with an off camera bracket?

I bought a cheap ringflash (Marumi) but the Speedlight on a bracket will work well so I would probably just go for that.

Zaxxon said:

Thanks in advance.

Had a quick go, Flash would definatly need an off camera bracket. But would a cheap ring flash be better than a 580 mk II on an off camera bracket?

Not sure to be honest but as above I would try with a bracket first - that should work well

Zaxxon said:

Does a macro specific lens allow you to focus a lot closer to the subject?

Yes - and the other thing you could try is extension tubes which will let you get closer still
Maybe something to try once you get a bit further into it.

Happy snapping - look forward to seeing your work

[dibbly dobbler]

JJM said:

dibbly dobbler said:

Nice work Jonathan and interesting to see your setup

What lens did you use on these please ? The last time I tried I used a 100mm with tubes but that gave me a very small target area so maybe the tubes were unnecessary

Cheers for the feedback DD. The lens is my 100mm 2.8, without any tubes.

The only issue I had was that the edges of the glass oven dish are visible in the original pics, however a quick crop in PS fixed this.

Edited by JJM on Monday 3rd January 14:26

Thanks Jonathan - bloody freezing out so I think some droplet snapping might be just the thing later

[jimmy156]

Dull grey day, snowing!, new macro lens to play with... what to do.. take some shots of a mates leapord gecko!

Used bounced flash (Nissin DI622), ISO 500, 1/50 sec, f/11 to f/16 depending on the shot.

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P.s 1000th post in the thread, woo!