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Macro: will a small tripod suffice?

Started 3 months ago | Discussions thread
OP Gilbert1 Regular Member • Posts: 329
Re: Macro: will a small tripod suffice?

Gary from Seattle wrote:

Gilbert1 wrote:

Gary from Seattle wrote:

Gilbert1 wrote:

I'm looking into using a tripod for macro shots. What I want to photograph are mushrooms, insects, flowers and so on. I know that the minimum height of the tripod is important for shooting low to the ground. But all the topics I mentioned are not always on the ground. A beautiful flower can of course also be located a bit higher.

I'm very happy with my Benro Slim Travel Kit tripod. The legs have 4 sections, and it can go close to the ground; but there is no stop on the legs so I can actually place the butt of the shaft on the ground. It folds very small and is quite light weight.

I shoot a lot of mosses and have m4/3 so not a lot of torque. This tripod does not go that high, though I have precariously used it at neck level. So, if I use it for some shots I might kneel. But in m4/3 I only need a tripod for macro focus stacks and astro/landscape.

The most difficult shooting is when mosses are on a vertical wall, which precludes having a wide tripod stance.

On top of logs I also use a 7" tall Oben TT-100 with a very small ballhead. Or I might use my Benro, but just place it on it's side and then find a way to stabilize it.

Thanks. Interesting. I'm also curious about your photos of the mosses.

Mosses are best shot one day after rain on a bright overcast day. When too wet leaves stick together. On most images the edges of leaves are not well-defined and detail may be hard to see. Contrast can not typically be found in single-cellular leaves of mosses when leaves are shot one against another. So, that limits detail. I typically shoot 1/3 stop underexposed to reduce glare.

Most of my images are for identification purposes and I will shoot first a handheld image of my tripod or another object to show the habitat; then will shoot detail, aiming for about 3/4 to 1" DOF. Detail may be near 1:1, or may exceed that on some images with a Raynox 250 and on rare occasions with extension tubes. Focus stacked images will almost always yield better results, but on occasion, on an essentially flat field, I may shoot a single handheld image, most likely at F11 M4/3. Higher than that and there is too much diffraction. In focus stacking (mine is in camera) you have to learn to choose a reasonable aperture - F4 to f8 is typical range, and you need to shoot with approximately the right adjustment of "steps" between images. On my in camera focus stacks my camera asks me to set "steps" specific to Olympus cameras. Too much distance between shots and there are OOF areas in the stacked images. Too little and you may not cover sufficient DOF. Over time, I've learned to reduce my aperture towards F4 to F5.6 (m4/3) and to use smaller steps. My focusing in shooting mosses (and even landscape) is MF with Focus Peaking to define DOF more accurately. A magnify camera function would also work.

Mosses are fascinating and I likely have about 300 different species. But, when I shoot, I always try to pick a shooting angle that gives me good odds of success (DOF), good backgrounds for delineation, and if I can, good compositions. I do shoot some shots just for artistic reasons.

Many thanks. Interesting to read. You got a lot out of it. Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture too.

 Gilbert1's gear list:Gilbert1's gear list
Nikon Z6 Nikon Z 24-70mm F4 Nikon Z MC 105mm F2.8 VR S
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