Macro photography with S5

[Oscar Stahle]

--I have the S5 with 50/1.8D and 18-70 Nikon zoom and will start photographing orchids in the wild (this summer). These lenses will reach maximum reproduction ratios of 1/6.6 and 1/6.2 respectively in macro photography. But I guess this refers to full frame cameras like the D700. With the S5 does that mean I can achieve 1/3.3 and 1/3.1 ? If so, is that OK for flower photography? I am thinking of buying the Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 VR but will wait for any comments from you out there. Thanks!

 

[David Grabowski]

A lot depends on the working distance you want to be in and the artistic rendering you have in mind. I happen to like very much the results of shooting a cluster of flowers with wide angle for instance. I've used the 50 for single or double heads and thought the rendering was good. I've used the 60 Micro to good effect. As you get longer in focal length you get more compression but also more isolation of a single bud . With the 105 I could see getting down to pedals if you wanted to.

That said my wife likes a particular Sigma 90mm. Macro lens she has ( in Pentax mount) and she is more the flower photographer than I am. I shot all the bouquet shots, hand over flowers etc in our wedding work and like a wider angle for that ( I'd use the 17-55 at around 20mm. or the straight 50 in 35mm. film), those all had custom work done to them ultimatyely and then vignetted though...

To start out with before you buy a lens maybe buy a few fowers more or less the size of the orchids you want to photograph this summer and see what you can do with the lenses you have. JUdge from that what focal lenth would suite your vision. Also, think fields of wild summer flowers to photograph, it's great fun with a super wide lens.

I like the 60 Micro but probably would buy a Tamron 90 Macro for more jump up from the standard 50mm. lens that works pretty well on it's own actually for flowers IMO. I used to use a Rikonon manual focus 70-150 Macro "back in the day ", that was tack sharp, crystal clear for photographing my flys I tie for fly fishing.

So again , it's really up to your "artistic eye", the 105 is a great lens, the Tamron 90 a great lens, the 60 Micro a great lens, it's how you envision the composition and what kind of working distance you want from your subject/subjects..

David

--I have the S5 with 50/1.8D and 18-70 Nikon zoom and will start
photographing orchids in the wild (this summer). These lenses will
reach maximum reproduction ratios of 1/6.6 and 1/6.2 respectively in
macro photography. But I guess this refers to full frame cameras like
the D700. With the S5 does that mean I can achieve 1/3.3 and 1/3.1 ?
If so, is that OK for flower photography? I am thinking of buying the
Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 VR but will wait for any comments from you out
there. Thanks!

 

[claypaws]

--I have the S5 with 50/1.8D and 18-70 Nikon zoom and will start
photographing orchids in the wild (this summer). These lenses will
reach maximum reproduction ratios of 1/6.6 and 1/6.2 respectively in
macro photography. But I guess this refers to full frame cameras like
the D700. With the S5 does that mean I can achieve 1/3.3 and 1/3.1 ?

The magnification ratio has nothing to do with the crop factor (full frame or otherwise).

Magnification ratio is defined as image size on sensor (or film): size of subject.

So if you have an image of 1cm on the sensor from a subject of 6cm, you have a magnification ratio of 1:6.

Crop factor does not affect this. A cropped sensor is simply a crop from a larger area, not an increase of image size. Your lenses give the same magnification ratio on the S5 as on the D700 though the S5 has a tighter crop.

If so, is that OK for flower photography? I am thinking of buying the
Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 VR but will wait for any comments from you out
there. Thanks!

The sensor of the S5 is 2.3cm long. With a lens whose magnification ratio is 1:6, you will fill that 2.3cm length with a subject that is approx 14cm long. Your flowers may be smaller than this and the magnification ratio may therefore not be adequate.

True macro work uses magnification ratio of 1:1 or greater (e.g.2:1) and is not usually needed for flowers. Flower shots are usually closeups, not macros, unless you want to make abstract shots of the parts of a flower (stamens etc).

One lens you may like to consider if you want really beautiful tone, colour and bokeh in closeups of flowers is the Zeiss 50mm f/2 Makro Planar. It is misnamed as a Makro because it cannot achieve 1:1. However, it does achieve 1:2 and that is more than adequate for closeups of flowers.

Here is a series of mine, taken with the Zeiss on the S3.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1020&message=29161242

The first image in that series is not an orchid but it will help you to imagine how well it would do for orchids.

--
******************************************************
I have a home on pbase
http://www.pbase.com/claypaws/
If you have the time to look
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[de_klaas]

I love photographing flowers but I wouldn't consider myself a typical flower photographer. I tend to prefer the abstract / impressionistic approach over the realistic approach Check out this flickr set if you want to get an idea:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaastuin/sets/72157594558704794/

Most of these were shot with a D70s + Tamron 90mm. I bought my S5 last winter so I'm hoping for lots of flowers this spring.

I'll try to add my thoughts without repeating too much of the good advice you already got.

To me one of the main IQ aspects of a lens is the way it renders out of focus areas (bokeh). Smooth backgrounds and tone transitions are very important for my flower shots. I think it's fair to say that in general a zoom, even a fast one with a macro label, won't give you bokeh as good as a dedicated macro lens. Given the choice I'd always pic a macro lense for flower shots over a zoom.

When it comes to magnification the choice is also pretty easy I think. 1:1 lenses aren't rare or expensive so I don't see why you wouldn't go for real 1:1 magnification. Depending on your type of flower shots 1:2 (or even less) may be enough but 1:1 is more versatile. You can do 1:2 with a 1:1 lens but not the other way around.

The last thing I'd like to add is the choice of focal length. When money wouldn't be an issue, I'd want a wide (around 20mm) close-up lens, a 50/60mm macro lens and a longer macro lens (150-200mm). I think I could live without a 90/100mm lens in that scenario but if I'd had to choose only one lens I'd pick a 90/100mm lens. A wide angle close-up lens is great for showing flowers in their environment. I bought a Sigma 24mm Super Wide last fall for stuff like that. I can't wait to try it out this spring. The 50/60m macro would be great for moving in closer. The disadvantage of a longer (90mm) lens is that you have to increase your working distance to get an equivalent shot. With insects that's a great advantage but lying on the ground shooting flowers I sometimes had to do quite a bit of gardening because of objects intruding the frame. The longer macro lenses are even better at throwing a background out of focus esp. when you're taking photos of a whole flower and have to move away from it more. And for the casual insect they work much better as well.

A 90mm macro lens on the other hand is a very nice compromise. For a one lens macro-kit I think that would be the most versatile choice.
--
http://www.klaastuin.nl

 

[Antal I Kozma]

--I have the S5 with 50/1.8D and 18-70 Nikon zoom and will start
photographing orchids in the wild (this summer). These lenses will
reach maximum reproduction ratios of 1/6.6 and 1/6.2 respectively in
macro photography. But I guess this refers to full frame cameras like
the D700. With the S5 does that mean I can achieve 1/3.3 and 1/3.1 ?
If so, is that OK for flower photography? I am thinking of buying the
Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 VR but will wait for any comments from you out
there. Thanks!

Oscar,

Although the lenses you presently have allow for a limited amount of close up photography they are far from ideal for what you intend doing.

My advice is; get a short macro telephoto. As you indicated you already have considered the 105 mm VR Micro Nikkor. Good choice I must say. The build quality of the Nikkor is outstanding. The VR capability will allow you to take some off the tripod images when lighting and other circumstances allow.

My other advice is; read up on macro photography. There are some classic books out there. I highly recommend John Saw's Close up in Nature. I am a photographer with accumulated professional knowledge. However, I regard John Shaw as a dedicated an very talented nature photographer. His books are inspiring and informative in detail. Some info might be outdated in that book, I bought it many years ago in Kodachrome time. He might have updated that book for the digital age, I don't know. Still, on winter nights when I have nothing better to do I reach for one of his books to read, just to keep my spirit stimulated.

Good luck with your orchid close up photography. By the way, get a good tripod as well. A Manfrotto 055 with a pan-tilt head is a good choice for what you want to do. Get a flash with a remote cord and a collapsible reflector card. You may need those if you are photographing orchids in the wild. You will learn from reading the above mentioned John Shaw book, then you will expand your initial knowledge by building on your own experiences.

Best regards,
AIK