Camera lens for taking really good MACRO shots?

[Homercidal]

With a good MP camera and the right lens, it might be possible to get close without having to get REAL close. Otherwise, I'm not sure how to light a macro subject without a light ring. Might be good reading to find out.

Still have to figure out how to make the extention tubes work with our camera and play with that a bit. maybe this weekend.

 

[Xernex]

With a good MP camera and the right lens, it might be possible to get close without having to get REAL close. Otherwise, I'm not sure how to light a macro subject without a light ring. Might be good reading to find out.

Still have to figure out how to make the extention tubes work with our camera and play with that a bit. maybe this weekend.

Most of the external speed lights from nikon can be fired remotely using the camera's onboard flash as a signal - IIRC the onboard does a low pulse and can fire the speed light, that way you can position it where you'd like it to cast light on the subject. Not fool proof; but it can work quite well, and picking up used SB-600's can be relatively cheap.

 

[Photopilot]

With a good MP camera and the right lens, it might be possible to get close without having to get REAL close. Otherwise, I'm not sure how to light a macro subject without a light ring. Might be good reading to find out.

The process is a deep hole. I never had a macro lens when I was really into photography but I do now. I just don't want to put in the effort to shoot to that level or at least the amount of effort it takes to get award winning macro shots.

From previous reading this is what it takes to get "That" shot.

A tripod with a macro adjuster, and shutter release for you camera. A lightstand with either a shade or screen to keep the direct sunlight from dictating the light. Even with normal flash photography the image will benefit from having the flash off camera, and benefit further from two sources of external light with the ability to adjust the ratio. If there is any wind you will need a second light stand to create a wind block so the image does not blur during the slow shutter speed, narrow depth of field shot.

Then when you get it all set up the cool bug jumps out of the viewfinder. I now own all this equipment but just don't have the patience for the process.

 

[passedpawn]

The process is a deep hole. I never had a macro lens when I was really into photography but I do now. I just don't want to put in the effort to shoot to that level or at least the amount of effort it takes to get award winning macro shots.

From previous reading this is what it takes to get "That" shot.

A tripod with a macro adjuster, and shutter release for you camera. A lightstand with either a shade or screen to keep the direct sunlight from dictating the light. Even with normal flash photography the image will benefit from having the flash off camera, and benefit further from two sources of external light with the ability to adjust the ratio. If there is any wind you will need a second light stand to create a wind block so the image does not blur during the slow shutter speed, narrow depth of field shot.

Then when you get it all set up the cool bug jumps out of the viewfinder. I now own all this equipment but just don't have the patience for the process.

For insects, you've reached the bottom of the hole if you're doing automated focus stacking. Macros have such a short depth of field, but if you take a whole bunch of pics at increasing focal length, then stitch them together so the entire insect is all in focus (and macro!), the effect is remarkable. There was a site I use to hang out on to see all the ingenious equipment guys were building to do this, and the software to do the stitching. Pretty neat!

 

[passedpawn]

A little more on the subject of focus stacking. I find it very interesting. First video is a montage of some good shots. Second video is a pretty neat tutorial of a guy executing it, from the adjustable slider for moving the camera, to using photoshop to stitch shots. Loads more videos on both camera and software parts of doing this.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QVbrnYRmac[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWUmHZ6gqsA[/ame]

 

[Photopilot]

For insects, you've reached the bottom of the hole if you're doing automated focus stacking. Macros have such a short depth of field, but if you take a whole bunch of pics at increasing focal length, then stitch them together so the entire insect is all in focus (and macro!), the effect is remarkable. There was a site I use to hang out on to see all the ingenious equipment guys were building to do this, and the software to do the stitching. Pretty neat!

Wow amazing stuff. I am just going to guess: average 5+ hours per image. No wonder most of my images are now taken with a point and shoot.

 

[Photopilot]

A little more on the subject of focus stacking. I find it very interesting. First video is a montage of some good shots. Second video is a pretty neat tutorial of a guy executing it, from the adjustable slider for moving the camera, to using photoshop to stitch shots. Loads more videos on both camera and software parts of doing this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QVbrnYRmac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWUmHZ6gqsA

Watch these videos and you will see at the end a $500 dual flash system to get "started" in flash macro photography.

 

[Gavin C]

some nerd videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QVbrnYRmac

PP

You always have the best nerd videos on speed dial.

Thanks.

I enjoyed watching this in spite of my photography idiocy.

 

[Homercidal]

Her new D5500 is working quite well. It really does take better pictures than the D50, and not just resolution, but even the light levels and blur reduction is much better.

I mounted our 300mm Sigma zoom on it at a football game a couple of weeks ago and discovered the AF doesn't work. I don't have the lens model number handy to look it up, but I'm assuming the AF mode the camera takes is different from the mode the lens requires to operate. It's kind of a bummer, but I did manage to play around with it in manual mode and the pictures were still sharper and brighter and clearer than they would have been on the D50.

I'll have to look again for a model number (I didn't see it last night when I took a look at it) and see what it's AF type is and see if there is any way to mount it, or if we should start shopping for a replacement lens. I know the wife wants a Prime lens, and I am looking at a f1.8, but honestly I use the zoom quite a lot and really don't want to have to focus manually all the time.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

The D50 has an internal AF drive, the little dohickey at the 7pm position on the lens mounting plate. The D5500 doesn't, it relies on the lens having its own motor. I guess your Sigma doesn't have its own motor. Newer lenses will have.

 

[satph]

The D5500 does not have an in-camera autofocus drive motor (the D50 does). The D5500 does not offer auto focus with older AF and AF-D lenses. Newer AF-S lenses have a motor built into the lens so both cameras can AF with them. Sigma's in lens AF motor is called HSM, if your lens isn't an HSM lens, the D5500 isn't going to AF with it.

Another thing to consider when working with macro is that the meter on the D5500 isn't going to work unless it's connected to a chipped lens (the automatic extension tubes will allow this info to pass). If you want the meter to work in all cases you need at least a D7100
from the current offerings.

See this site for a chart of AF and metering compatibility.

 

[Homercidal]

The D50 has an internal AF drive, the little dohickey at the 7pm position on the lens mounting plate. The D5500 doesn't, it relies on the lens having its own motor. I guess your Sigma doesn't have its own motor. Newer lenses will have.

The D5500 does not have an in-camera autofocus drive motor (the D50 does). The D5500 does not offer auto focus with older AF and AF-D lenses. Newer AF-S lenses have a motor built into the lens so both cameras can AF with them. Sigma's in lens AF motor is called HSM, if your lens isn't an HSM lens, the D5500 isn't going to AF with it.

Another thing to consider when working with macro is that the meter on the D5500 isn't going to work unless it's connected to a chipped lens (the automatic extension tubes will allow this info to pass). If you want the meter to work in all cases you need at least a D7100
from the current offerings.

See this site for a chart of AF and metering compatibility.

This is what I think I've come to find out. The lens didn't seem to have a model number on it. It's a 70-300mm Zoom lens. Very common. But I think it's only an AF model. I guess I can simply sell it with the old camera kit and get a little $$ out of it. I think it would improve the value of both the lens and the camera if I sold them all together.

A 70-300mm lens that's compatible isn't terrible in price, and probably well worth the money since that's the lens I use most often, especially outdoors.

satph, that is a VERY handy reference you supplied! I forwarded the link to a guy at work who's wife is also into amateur photography. He's a techie kind of guy and thought it was a nice bit of information to have on hand.