x100 goes macro

Hello everyone,

As we all know, the X100 is not a camera that you want to buy if you really are into macro photography, but during a walk some days ago I saw this little bug eating (?) a caterpillar and I decided to try and snap it. Well, I think that the results are not that bad for a 35mm equivalent lens camera The detail is there and I am always amazed at how good and versatile is the flash on this little beauty, and at how beautiful the colour output is.





Shot details:

Manual focus, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO-400, fill flash, Jpeg Astia (slight contrast added in PS), crop, about 75% of actual size.

Good capture Luca.

And even better if you think that X100 macro is something nobody cares and talks about because you can't see the bug on the OVF and then it escapes, lens is not sharp and you can't clearly see the bug in EVF and it escapes, camera can freeze during focus and the bug escapes again or battery can die suddenly and ... ......, macro option is so deep in menus and meanwhile the bug escapes... even so... you did well and brought us a fine picture

Regards
--
Paulo Abreu,

'It is not worthy to make a video of your life - just keep the best moments in
pictures!'

Thank you Paulo,

Well, I have to admit that the action wasn't really "fast" there (the bugs were quite still, actually), but my intent was indeed to show that macro is "possible" even with the X100 and all its design limitations and actual quirks.

For the focusing, I did what I usually do with my reflex too, which is using manual focus, setting focus to the minimum possible distance and then manually "zoning" in and out, getting closer and farther from the subject while trying to nail a good sharp shot. This is done without a tripod, obviously

Yes, I am aware that that's not the "best macro ever", and I could achieve myself far better results with my reflex and a proper macro lens, but still it is nice to see how the X100 can give some satisfaction even at macro range, something it certainly wasn't designed specifically for!

Cheers,

Luca

What X100 are you talking about?

The X100 has a dedicated macro button. Double click to turn macro on or off. Extremely fast. The OVF is also disabled (and rightly so) when in macro mode due to parallax issues so you have to use the EVF.....

Paulo Abreu said:

Good capture Luca.

And even better if you think that X100 macro is something nobody cares and talks about because you can't see the bug on the OVF and then it escapes, lens is not sharp and you can't clearly see the bug in EVF and it escapes, camera can freeze during focus and the bug escapes again or battery can die suddenly and ... ......, macro option is so deep in menus and meanwhile the bug escapes... even so... you did well and brought us a fine picture

Regards
--
Paulo Abreu,

'It is not worthy to make a video of your life - just keep the best moments in
pictures!'

Click to expand...

Nice shot.

I like the color, and most importantly, distortion free. Macro Mode on X100 allows you get much closer to the object than normal, I don't know what the image ratio is, but you can always crop it. If you compare the image to those from DSLR with Macro lens, then you are missing the point. Anyway, I'd rather see the smaller sized image, but distortion free than those from Point and Shoot, which can get very close, sometime even less than an inch, but very distorted.

Thank you

The image is almost 100% of what captured from the sensor, so yes it was severely cropped, but even so the detail is there - another testament to how good this camera's sensor is.

Also, I think we might discuss the "lens soft at f/2.0 when at macro range" issue. That's definitely true, but... come on, who's gonna shoot macro at f/2.0 anyway? The depth of field would be non-existent, and getting a shot in focus almost impossible. I don't know if it's only me, but for real macro shooting I always stop down to at least f/4 and smaller.

So, again... do we really care if the lens is soft at f/2.0 at close focus? Or is that an issue for close portraits too (not verified on my own yet)?

Cheers,

Luca

alwye said:

Nice shot.

I like the color, and most importantly, distortion free. Macro Mode on X100 allows you get much closer to the object than normal, I don't know what the image ratio is, but you can always crop it. If you compare the image to those from DSLR with Macro lens, then you are missing the point. Anyway, I'd rather see the smaller sized image, but distortion free than those from Point and Shoot, which can get very close, sometime even less than an inch, but very distorted.

Click to expand...

--
Use prime lenses and zoom with your feet.

Hi Mr. Moonlight,

mr moonlight said:

The X100 has a dedicated macro button. Double click to turn macro on or off. Extremely fast. The OVF is also disabled (and rightly so) when in macro mode due to parallax issues so you have to use the EVF.....

Paulo Abreu said:

Good capture Luca.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

This sentence was serious.

mr moonlight said:

mr moonlight said:

And even better if you think that X100 macro is something nobody cares and talks about because you can't see the bug on the OVF and then it escapes, lens is not sharp and you can't clearly see the bug in EVF and it escapes, camera can freeze during focus and the bug escapes again or battery can die suddenly and ... ......, macro option is so deep in menus and meanwhile the bug escapes...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

This was only a joke

mr moonlight said:

mr moonlight said:

even so... you did well and brought us a fine picture

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

This was serious too.
--
Paulo Abreu,

'It is not worthy to make a video of your life - just keep the best moments in
pictures!'

Sorry, I missed that ;P

With so many haters out there talking out of their asses....

Paulo Abreu said:

mr moonlight said:

The X100 has a dedicated macro button. Double click to turn macro on or off. Extremely fast. The OVF is also disabled (and rightly so) when in macro mode due to parallax issues so you have to use the EVF.....

Paulo Abreu said:

Good capture Luca.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

This sentence was serious.

Paulo Abreu said:

Paulo Abreu said:

And even better if you think that X100 macro is something nobody cares and talks about because you can't see the bug on the OVF and then it escapes, lens is not sharp and you can't clearly see the bug in EVF and it escapes, camera can freeze during focus and the bug escapes again or battery can die suddenly and ... ......, macro option is so deep in menus and meanwhile the bug escapes...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

This was only a joke

Paulo Abreu said:

Paulo Abreu said:

even so... you did well and brought us a fine picture

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

This was serious too.
--
Paulo Abreu,

'It is not worthy to make a video of your life - just keep the best moments in
pictures!'

Click to expand...