Trouble with Extention Tubes

Dodger

I am not entirely sure what I am doing wrong with the extension tubes. I am new at this and manual focus is something that is not coming easy. It seems when I get part of my subject in focus, it throws another part OUT of focus. It's very difficult to get a picture of these wasps as it is...they chase me after me when I get close, even with a remote shutter! Does anyone out there have any pointers on these extension tubes? I have read....and read....and read some more. I'm fixin' to throw them away and invest in a macro lens! LOL...

GOLDENORFE

Hi Doger, thats a really good shot.
you have to remember you get a very shallow depth of field as magnification increases. always focus on the eyes,thats the main point of interest,doesnt matter so much if rest is oofocus.
most people here use ex tubes with a macro lens, just need to practise [without getting stung ! ]
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

Rhuarc

What apeture were you using? Remeber that very close to subjects with a lens wide open (probably at f5 or less) you may not have enough DOF to get the entire creature in focus. You would have to stop down the lens. If this makes it too dark you would either need to light with a flash, slow your shutter (probably don't want to do this), or raise your ISO (could get noisy) The best options in that case would probably be to light the insect using a flash. There will also be times where you may need to stack several different shots that each have a different part of the animal in focus.

Lord Vetinari could certainly help you out better than me though!

zacker

try setting your Auto focus on AI servo.. and then while looking through the view finder, move in and out untill the focus looks good... open up the aperture to about f16 also...

Dodger

Thanks Everyone...
I will try the things that you offered. Thank you for the advice. I need all I can get!

Dodger

Aperature
I had it on manual focus, so I don't have any numbers for you from the properties of the picture. Unfortunately I didn't write them down either. But I will start doing this for future reference. Thanks again.

Rhuarc wrote:

What apeture were you using? Remeber that very close to subjects with a lens wide open (probably at f5 or less) you may not have enough DOF to get the entire creature in focus. You would have to stop down the lens. If this makes it too dark you would either need to light with a flash, slow your shutter (probably don't want to do this), or raise your ISO (could get noisy) The best options in that case would probably be to light the insect using a flash. There will also be times where you may need to stack several different shots that each have a different part of the animal in focus.

Lord Vetinari could certainly help you out better than me though!

Rhuarc

you should still be able to look in the image program you are using at the EXIF info to see what apeture and shutter speed the camera used. Manual focus doesn't change any of that stuff being recorded by the camera.

Skippy

Dodger wrote:

I am not entirely sure what I am doing wrong with the extension tubes. I am new at this and manual focus is something that is not coming easy. It seems when I get part of my subject in focus, it throws another part OUT of focus. It's very difficult to get a picture of these wasps as it is...they chase me after me when I get close, even with a remote shutter! Does anyone out there have any pointers on these extension tubes? I have read....and read....and read some more. I'm fixin' to throw them away and invest in a macro lens! ...

I find my Canon 100mm Macro lens will hunt if I use Extention Tubes once you get past a certain closeness, so I always use MANUAL FOCUS.

Even with a Macro lens you have to contend with shallow DOF.

The EYES are where you need to be focusing, keep practising and don't forget you can raise your ISO to help you out a bit.

You'll get there, MACRO is not as easy as many folks here make it seem.
Keep experimenting you'll find what works for you ... Skippy
.

Dodger

Thanks
Thanks for the info everyone. You all are very nice. I will keep practicing!

Skippy wrote:

I find my Canon 100mm Macro lens will hunt if I use Extention Tubes once you get past a certain closeness, so I always use MANUAL FOCUS.

Even with a Macro lens you have to contend with shallow DOF.

The EYES are where you need to be focusing, keep practising and don't forget you can raise your ISO to help you out a bit.

You'll get there, MACRO is not as easy as many folks here make it seem.
Keep experimenting you'll find what works for you ... Skippy
.