Macro with S5500

[Scarlettvegetable]

Hey,

I am about to show my inexperience yet again! But your all friendly so it doesnt matter!

Anyhow, I was looking back through my photo album the other day and came across a couple of pictures I took last summer of a Common Blue Damselfly, a Garden Spider, and a Squirrel (which are all in the gallery) and I thought they were some of the best photos Id taken. But as they were last year it was when I just got my camera and were taken in Auto mode. Iv started using the other manual modes now, started with Shutter Priority, as its the easiest to get my head round

So I was just wondering if anyone else has used it really well for macro work. I have read a few reviews that say it is good, but any tips or what have you, from anyone with any real experience with this model would be great. Just some ideas on what is good to photograph, or any technical tips etc

I think there is a point in there somewhere

Thanks

Sara

[Fourwings]

Hi Sara - try using the camera in Apeture priority mode, you will find that it gives you far greater control over both depth of field and shutter speed, which is essential for macro work.

As a rule of thumb, try to use f.stops between f.4 and f.10 these should give you both a large area of focus and a good shutter speed to eliminate any handshake on macro images.

I use both the Fuji S7000 and the finepix 4800, both of these have very similar macro modes to your camera, so hopefully this advice should help.

[Scarlettvegetable]

Thats the kind of thing I was after!

Thanks very much Fourwings, when the weather gets a bit better I'll give it a try!

Thanks again!

Sara

[Fourwings]

If you need any more help then please give me a shout Sara.

[Scarlettvegetable]

Ok great. Thanks again Fourwings

Also, I was wondering, is it worth getting a teleconverter for the S5500 for those pictures of birds which are just out of reach? I have read that some alter image quality quite a bit, but have heard good things about the Olympus TCON 1.7. Its not that expensive, but I dont want to buy it if it is going to degrade the picture quality too much.

Iv seen some add on macro lenses for the Fuji too, are these any good? Or shall I just stick with the camera as it is?

Thanks again

[matt_xyz]

Hi Sara,

I use a TCON17 on many of my shots, not on a Fuji but on a Panasonic FZ30. There is very, very, little image degradation. I assume this will also be the case on your Fuji.

Matt

[John D]

I can recommend the TCON17. I have used it for some time with an Olympus C765 UZ to provide an equivalent of 646mm. (several photos on WAB).The results have been excellent. More recently I have used it in conjunction with a Sigma 55-200mm lens when fitted on my Olympus E500. Again the results have been very acceptable. It is worth shopping around for it on line as prices do vary.
I got mine from FOTOSENSE Price £73.00

[paulthomas]

Originally Posted by Scarlettvegetable

Iv seen some add on macro lenses for the Fuji too, are these any good? Or shall I just stick with the camera as it is?

Thanks again

Avoid the cheapo ones off Ebay. Good quality ones are less that £20 each. Look for good brands such as Hoya. I've got a Number 1 close-up lens for my S5500 and it works well.

[Scarlettvegetable]

Ok great thanks. I did have a think about the TCON a while ago, but decided against it at the time. I think I'll look into getting one again. Thanks for all of your opinions, and I'll look around for the close up ones too!

Thanks very much once again!

Sara