Something a bit different
I have uploaded this one for a few different reasons. 1, so I can link back to one of my favorite Dragonfly images that I posted earlier this year, for any newer followers, 2, I was practising focus stacking (images of the lens use focus stacking for much deeper depth of field, and finally to encourage people on the fence about trying a macro lens.
This is my old Micro Nikkor 3.5. It is manual focus only which is not a problem as when working in macro you are not going to rely on auto focus, as focus can be very critical with such shallow depth of field. Live view magnified helps immensely...Stabilization...nope, you don't need it. For best results a tripod is required.
I bought this lens off of ebay years ago. There are still many of them on ebay and you can always get something for under $100 including shipping. I use a cheap adapter to mount to my Canon bodies and can meter in manual which is best and easiest, or Aperture priority, second best. Not an action lens by any means. Best quality is acquired when you take your time.
The center image is a crop of actual pixels, so this is what I get to see when I piexel peep my original file. Unfortunately at the time I did not use focus stacking on the dragonfly.
Focus stacking for anyone interested is simply bracketing your focus, loading them into photoshop as a stack, having photoshop align, and then blend the parts with highest contrast, which turn out to be the sharpest bits. There is a bit more to it than that, but it is easy and there are tons of tutorials on the Internet. Depth of field is limited only by the amount of different focus points you use. The images you see of insects shot under very high magnification where the entire head is tack sharp has likely used focus stacking, and on a dead insect.
Anyone wanting to see the full frame, but at a reduced resolution can see my old post here www.flickr.com/photos/160381392@N05/48041507251/in/datepo...
Just a few things to keep in mind, although this lens is capable of 1:2 oreproduction (or more on a crop body) or 1:1 with an extension tube, to get that degree of magnification you must be within a few inches of the subject. So really something like this is perfect for flowers or other non moving subjects. The longer macro lenses, such as 105mm or 180mm allow you to be farther away so are better suited for skittish insects. I was lucky in that this dragonfly stood motionless for quite some time, allowing me to get closer and closer.
Magnified view, of course holds the best detail, affording the clearest view.
Something a bit different
I have uploaded this one for a few different reasons. 1, so I can link back to one of my favorite Dragonfly images that I posted earlier this year, for any newer followers, 2, I was practising focus stacking (images of the lens use focus stacking for much deeper depth of field, and finally to encourage people on the fence about trying a macro lens.
This is my old Micro Nikkor 3.5. It is manual focus only which is not a problem as when working in macro you are not going to rely on auto focus, as focus can be very critical with such shallow depth of field. Live view magnified helps immensely...Stabilization...nope, you don't need it. For best results a tripod is required.
I bought this lens off of ebay years ago. There are still many of them on ebay and you can always get something for under $100 including shipping. I use a cheap adapter to mount to my Canon bodies and can meter in manual which is best and easiest, or Aperture priority, second best. Not an action lens by any means. Best quality is acquired when you take your time.
The center image is a crop of actual pixels, so this is what I get to see when I piexel peep my original file. Unfortunately at the time I did not use focus stacking on the dragonfly.
Focus stacking for anyone interested is simply bracketing your focus, loading them into photoshop as a stack, having photoshop align, and then blend the parts with highest contrast, which turn out to be the sharpest bits. There is a bit more to it than that, but it is easy and there are tons of tutorials on the Internet. Depth of field is limited only by the amount of different focus points you use. The images you see of insects shot under very high magnification where the entire head is tack sharp has likely used focus stacking, and on a dead insect.
Anyone wanting to see the full frame, but at a reduced resolution can see my old post here www.flickr.com/photos/160381392@N05/48041507251/in/datepo...
Just a few things to keep in mind, although this lens is capable of 1:2 oreproduction (or more on a crop body) or 1:1 with an extension tube, to get that degree of magnification you must be within a few inches of the subject. So really something like this is perfect for flowers or other non moving subjects. The longer macro lenses, such as 105mm or 180mm allow you to be farther away so are better suited for skittish insects. I was lucky in that this dragonfly stood motionless for quite some time, allowing me to get closer and closer.
Magnified view, of course holds the best detail, affording the clearest view.