I'm Back Seeking Your opinion!

[MalcolmX]

i like most of your shots but i am in favor of very small apatures and thus limited dof .imho i always use a tripod i always use a release and i always use mirror lockup . one of the common faults with macro is that people often move (if hand held) slightly towards the subject as the shot is taken
you may find that using a laptop to take the shot using appropriate software works better for you obviously this works best on fairly slow subjects flowers etc

i think that total ring flash is often too harsh and i recommend those that have the ability to be varied from side to side you may notice slight over exposure on the hairs in one previous shot .
don't be afraid to take 2 o 3 shots and merge to hdf in bridge or just use the erasure tool on each level then merge together this will produce a totally in focus insect front to back

however it is still best to get it right in camera but don't be disheartened it takes practice and a big freezer to equal some of the proffesionals

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Dr_Jimmy

Hi glsammy,

I am using a dedicated macro, I have the Sigma 105mm, it's fitted to a Nikon D70s

If I push the Shutter Speed then the aperture really drops, and I get very poor images, I understand the rules that for anything hand held the shutter speed should be twice that of the lens so stop camera shake, but conditions don't always allow for this I find hence the use of the tripod, also being slightly disabled I am trouble crouching and moving in and out to focus.

Also I find even at 1:1 ratio I can not get any insects to fill the frame as so I always and up having to crop the image to get something that can be seen.

At the end of the day everything I do seems to be wrong, when it comes down to the Macro side of things.

Not sure what else to try except buying a suitable ring flash either new or second hand, tried to build one with white LED's but the image is terrible with it.

Nothing wrong with the camera or lens then.

I've said it before, but I'll repeat it, try using the built in flash!
I use my Canon one, with excellent results. It allows me to shoot at 1/250sec @ F16.0 at ISO 400, in AV or manual mode. When I'm shooting manual mode, If the flash is too harsh, I drop the ISO down from 400 to 200, or 100. I find that works well.

[Dr_Jimmy]

I see I have a large number of options to try.

Well I was made redundant last night, so it at least gives me a few days to get out there a little more and see what's available to practice on.

Thanks for all the help and advice given so far, hopefully I will have some more images soon for you to pass advice on.

[llanon99]

Originally Posted by Dr_Jimmy

Hi there,

That image does look a lot better, I always thought sharpening the image in Photoshop was cheating?

I am unsure as to how much sharpening I can get away with.

So do I need to obtain something like a Ring Flash to even start to obtain some reasonable images, the images that have been posted on this thread are Pin Sharp, mine look rather poor considering.

But as a beginner to Macro Photography I am getting very disheartened by not getting at least one decent sharp one out hundreds of images taken.

I read an article saying that for Digital Photography the lens hood is a must especially for Macro Work, but if I fit the lens hood and use the on camera flash I get a black shadow half way down the image totally ruining it.

Not sure what the answer is.

If you are intent on sharpening your images (and why not) it is a benefit of shooting digital after all, try shooting in RAW format, you get so much greater opportunity to correct slightly aberrant images

llanon99

[pressld2]

With the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS) you have yet another option. The D70S's built in flash will act as a "Commander" unit for other Nikon CLS speedlights such as the SB800 or SB600. So instead of mounting the speedlight on the hotshoe you can set it to be a remote flash, set the built-in flash on the camera to commander mode and then hand-hold the speedlight close to your subject. When you press the shutter, the camera's built in flash will remotely fire the hand-held speedlight - no cables required! I use this technique quite often, usually with the speedlight held along the lens barrel, but you can hold it anywhere. So you can experiment with side-lighting, uplighting or even back-lighting your subject. If you use a diffusion dome (supplied with the SB800, not sure about the 600) then you get good, even light. Here's an example which was taken at 1/250th sec and F9...


(Nikon D70 (not 'S'), Sigma 150mm macro lens and SB800 speedlight, camera and speedlight both handheld)

Going this route has an added bonus: whereas a ring-flash would be pretty much dedicated to macro work only, the SB800/600 speedlights can be hotshoe mounted and used as a traditional bounce flash or used as off-camera fill-in flash for portraits or studio work too.

Dave P.

P.s. sorry to hear about your redundancy - hope something turns up soon.

[Dr_Jimmy]

Hi there,

I have an older flash that I used to use with the Nikon-EM etc, that does still work with the D70s it has a hot shoe adapter so yes I still have to use a cable but it does save on the pennies, and I can dial in the required flash.

I always shoot in RAW but have not been able to do much with the software as I find I don't usually have that much time available so I end up converting them to Jpeg in Nikon Capture Ver:-4 using the Editor Package

I have found that usually I end up doing some work in Raw then the same again in Photoshop CS2

Not sure what the answer is.

Dave P.

P.s. sorry to hear about your redundancy - hope something turns up soon.

I did have a crazy idea last night of having a career change, and actually find some form of work in Photography, but as of this morning I feel my confidance has been rocked, and that I am unsure about anything I do, as this is not the first time I have been made redundant and I only turned 30 this year.

Anyone fancy a look at my website to see if I am anygood, and should consider a career change from Electrical/Electronics Engineer to .......

Picture Book Photography

[WhiskyBottle]

The lens/camera setup is much the same as mine and is capable of very good results.
Something not touched on yet - you are using a tripod & a remote release (as any 'good book' will tell you) - wrong.
1. The D70s has no mirror lock-up, so the mirror will cause camera shake at the time of exposure. Hold the camera on the tripod and lean heavily on it, driving it into the soft grass/mud. That will damp any vibrations.
2. If you are using remote release you are probably not looking through the viewfinder at the time of exposure. The slightest movement, of subject due to wind, or of the camera, will mean that the subject is no longer in the plane of focus. You've very little DOF to play with.
3. Switch off the AF. If you focus on the eye (as the books say) you will loose the area of focus in front of the subject. This could be what has happened with your first shot.

Finally, once you've got the gear, digital photography is free. So just get out and practice on anything until you find a technique that works for you.

Good luck and keep at it.
Martin

[Andricus]

too much orange on thorax for pagana I think, more likely Arge ochropus

[gez]

Ican only echo the above to get to the basics try manual setting
faster shutter. use in flash & take one shot look at pic then quickly drop shutter speed. or change f nu, to max f16.
& at the moment for me no tripod but have ordered a micro slide thingy so will mount to tripod.
just get out there & have a go.
sorry about ur job also mate.