Macro Canon 100 USM IS

Eddy

Still trying to figure how to this allin one shot and in one new thread Sorry for this.


No flash was used in any of these Pics
I need a starting point as to where i should start as in DOF i understand i will be using f11-f22 or if nned be i will go more open in the F-stops..
I do have a flash and tubes..
The next pics i take will be about 3 shots with the tubes and will try and get all them very good ..i just need to be patient understand read and learn
Thank you all

IPClark

Using a smaller aperture (Higher F number) will result in more Depth of Field (in Macro). That is, more of the image will be in focus. However, remember in Macro, your available area of focus is much smaller than a non-macro lens.

Working from around F8 upwards combined with flash and a fast shutter speed will generally guarantee a sharp enough in focus image provided you don't miss the focus point when hand held.

If using a tripod, and your subject is still, F8, 1/200 with fill flash will guarantee a nice sharp image when you're focused.

When up real close, you'll find a very small part of the subject in focus and lots of it out of focus. This = welcome to macro You can get the whole subject in focus but that would require other techniques such as multi-shot stacking.

Eddy

thanks Ian...I think i could better getting up close..this gives me leverage on how to approach my sub ject..as for the closeup..i think i can go alot closer..thats what i want to hear .thank you very much

paddler4

Eddy,

The closer you get, the harder macro photography becomes. Depth of field gets narrower, light gets more limited, and hand and subject motion become more of a problem. So, tubes make things harder. Just focusing with a long extension is very hard.

Unless you have a very high tolerance for frustration, you may find it easier to stick with the plain lens, without tubes, until you get comfortable. I shot macro for a year before I started with tubes.

In this case, what you are confronting is the very narrow depth of field (DOF). The first thing to try is to get the subject as close to parallel to the focal plane as you can. Then, you can shut the aperture down, but the tradeoff is that the smaller the aperture (the larger the number), the more sharpness you lose because of diffraction. There are some people on this site who never go smaller than about f/14 or f/16 for this reason. I sometimes go to f/20 or so because the extra DOF is sometimes worth the small loss in sharpness. Beyond f/22, you can really see the loss in sharpness, even at 8x10.

For images that need more DOF than that, you can stack images with slightly different focal points using software like Zerene or Helicon. That takes practice too. At this point, about 1 out of 3 of my attempts with stacking works out OK.

I second IPClark's suggestion about Lord V's tutorials. They are superb.

So take your time and enjoy.

Dan

Eddy

Hi Paddler4:
Yesy yes you right i wa playing with the tubes focuing on my cats eyes and the patients is there, but the handling is not..Having said that ..i will be doing some practicing just holding the lens in awkward situations...first before i take pics..woow this is really something i am gonna like..
thanks alot for the info

IPClark

I'd certainly play with just the lens for the time being and as mentioned, progress up to tubes.

In my water droplet shot (first macros of 2010 thread). I had all 3 tubes AND the lens extended to full magnification. I had to use a macro positioning plate to move the camera backwards and forwards in values of millimeters to get the droplet in focus. Even then it was hard and took me a good 5 or 6 minutes to get it

Hand held macro is not at all easy unless you're exceptionally steady. The trick in hand held is to try and brace yourself or even consider going prone if the subject is low down.

The small aperture and fast shutter speed will assist but it's still hard.

However, keep practicing and if you find yourself getting frustrated, walk away for 10 mins and come back

Lord Vetinari

Another good one.
Remember there are no hard and fast rules in macro just general guidelines which are there to be broken depending on the subject and style of photograph you want to take. It does need a lot of practice though
Brian V.