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A Few New Macros

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Sandman

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Fellow Rebels,

Been a while since I posted some macros. Took these this morning with the EF 100mm f2.8 macro and the Canon MT-24 Flash. Comments, suggestions, & critiques welcome!

Biting My Nails



Fly on the Wall



Teddy Bear (with a snack)



Wax Off ~ Wax On: Words of the Grasshopper



Walk This Way!



That's All Folks!

Cheers,

jim
--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
What can I say? Excellent!
Sandman said:
Fellow Rebels,

Been a while since I posted some macros. Took these this morning
with the EF 100mm f2.8 macro and the Canon MT-24 Flash. Comments,
suggestions, & critiques welcome!
Click to expand...
--

'Juggling is a metaphor for life.. Each ball represents one of life's concerns and the goal is to give each the appropriate amount of individual attention while simultaneously watching and guiding all the others. Life is about balance and staying quick and alert as everything threatens to spin out of control' from Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
 
Jim...
What sort of bribes are you using to get those critters to pose for you...
The images keep getting better, very impressive work....

John Q

--
John Q....Olympus C-2100, Canon 300D
http://www.pbase.com/john_q



Reality is Relative
 
Hi Sandman,

Really nice shots.....

I would be interested on how you get the excellent focus. I have been trying insect macros, but cannot reliably get the focus correct. I am trying to shoot with as small an aperture as possible (F10 or better), but just cannot seem to hit the spot.

Any tips?

Jim
 
I been toying with the idea of buying a macro lens.... I love your work..
Sandman said:
Fellow Rebels,

Been a while since I posted some macros. Took these this morning
with the EF 100mm f2.8 macro and the Canon MT-24 Flash. Comments,
suggestions, & critiques welcome!
Click to expand...
 
I took some Macros this morning also. I can't seem to get the sharpness as you do in your photos. What is your secret?

D Reb
Promaster 70-300 Macro

http://members.cox.net/pinophoto/Wildlife/Dragonfly

After looking at my zoom lense I realized that I did not have the Macro
switch on. This could be some of my problem. I will try again tomorrow.
Jim Lanyon said:
Hi Sandman,

Really nice shots.....

I would be interested on how you get the excellent focus. I have
been trying insect macros, but cannot reliably get the focus
correct. I am trying to shoot with as small an aperture as
possible (F10 or better), but just cannot seem to hit the spot.

Any tips?

Jim
Click to expand...
 
Same here. I finally got in closer, thanks to someone telling me about the switch on the 100mm lens, so I got a larger bee, but it's not as sharp as others have posted here. I believe one difference is in the external flash (as well as his practiced technique). Here's the best I've done so far.

Full frame:



and 100% crop, where you see how unsharp it is



I used the focus ring instead of moving back and forth physically as some have suggested here. Is there a difference? Also, I forgot to check the ISO, so 400 ISO probably contributed to some softness. Also, I started to order the 550EX, but then someone said the Metz is more automatic, which appeals to me. So I haven't ordered either one until I can find out what that means.

Shirley
pinophoto said:
I took some Macros this morning also. I can't seem to get the
sharpness as you do in your photos. What is your secret?
Click to expand...
 
kyle1745,

Thanks for the compliments!

By all means get your "walking" lens first, but then seriously consider a macro lens. Also, when you get ready to buy, don't rule out the Sigma 105 or the Tamron 90. Both get excellent reviews.

Cheers,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
Jim Lanyon,

Thanks for the compliments. As for the focus, it is hit and miss for me too. One thing that is critically important is to take your shot the very second you get a focus lock. If you delay at all, your body sway will take you out of the area of sharp focus (which is only a mm or so anyway).

I do both manual focus and auto focus and find very little difference in the number of keepers. Just keep practicing. And f11 is just peanuts at this range. This one was at f32!



Cheers,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
pinophoto,

Thanks for the compliments. I think your shot looks pretty good, particularly considering you were doing this with a zoom (they are not usually as sharp as a dedicated macro lens). Try flipping your switch, like you said, but also you will need a good sharpening routine as well. Do you have a link to Paul's "layer sharpening" technique? If not, I'll be glad to find the link for you. I use this technique to do my sharpening for these macros.

Cheers,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
Jim, This is Pro Class stuff here. I love seeing you improve leaps and bounds!

Still crawling here. I managed to get out with my new lens today for a little shooting while I was up at the Alligator farm. One thing I noticed was that my Sigma 500 DG Super was not firing like it should. It wouldn't fire even though it was on and test fired ok. It would fire then the next three or four didn't. Gonna try some fresh batteries instead of my rechargables and see if that makes a difference (don't really see how it would). I was afraid maybe it wasn't focusing correctly but I managed to take some regular shots and it did just fine. I managed a parrot picture with the onboard flash. It was dark but I managed to bring it up in PS. The quality of the image to me was impressive. I will have a separate post with the parrot image (don't want to post my images on Jims post). Cheers,

-------
Rod
http://www.pbase.com/rod_ostoski
 
ShirleyKat,

I have the 550EX and it is a fine flash. If I were buying today, I would be hard pressed to decide between the Metz and the 550EX. The major advantage I see for the 550EX is the ability to buy another Canon flash to use as a slave. The major advantage to the Metz is you can shoot in auto thyristor mode and not have to be concerned about Canon's somewhat quirkey E-TTL flash. Personally I have no problems with the Canon E-TTL flash, but I have read volumes on the subject and have quite a bit of experience using it.

As for the macros with the 100mm, let me suggest that you start in auto focus mode. Manually select the center focus point and make sure this focus target is squarely over your subject's eye (if the eye is in sharp focus, nothing else really matters. If the eye is not in focus, the image is destined for the recycle bin!).

WHen you get a focus lock on your subject's eye, take your shot immediately or wait until you get another focus lock to take your shot. What happens if you wait even a second is your body will sway and take you right out of the area of sharp focus! With some practice, you can develope some nice technique in improving the number of in-focus shots you get. But even with experience, you will not get 100% keepers. It is just the nature of the beast!

Best of luck,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
Sandman

I do not have the link or a routine for sharpening. I use the pictures
straight out the camera with no post processing. If I had photos like yours
I would feel like a pro. Any help or advise is welcome.

Pino
Sandman said:
pinophoto,

Thanks for the compliments. I think your shot looks pretty good,
particularly considering you were doing this with a zoom (they are
not usually as sharp as a dedicated macro lens). Try flipping your
switch, like you said, but also you will need a good sharpening
routine as well. Do you have a link to Paul's "layer sharpening"
technique? If not, I'll be glad to find the link for you. I use
this technique to do my sharpening for these macros.

Cheers,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
Click to expand...
 
infosecgeek,

Thanks for the compliments. By all means get a dedicated macro lens. There are several to choose from. I have the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro, but don't rule out the Sigma 105 or the Tamron 90.

Cheers,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
Ostoski,

Thanks so much! I know you are just starting to put the pieces together on your macro stuff. Be patient. You will get there. I still learn something valuable with each outting.

I use rechargables in my flash units and have not experienced a problem. Were you shooting in camera manual mode?

I'll check out your parrot shot. And I have no problems with other images posted in my messages. If you feel the urge, don't hesitate to post one.

Cheers,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
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