issues with this lens

BF Hammer

BF Hammer

Senior Member
lucien said:
So you guys are saying that I should be shooting at f12 minimum to get good/sharp results. If so I'll try that when I take the lens out again. I usually keep the focus point in the middle, unless I'm doing bif or something. Then I choose group. I shoot the lens hand held and no flash.

Thanks for the tips/advice. I'll try some and report back. Hopefully with good news.
Click to expand...


Whoa, shooting macro handheld with no flash?!? You are guaranteed to have DOF problems. It only takes a couple of millimeters of forward motion after locking focus to throw it off. Most macro work is done with tripods for just that reason.

Also, I used a D7000 prior to getting my D750, so I know you should be able to program that button in front of the body to be a tradition depth-of-field preview function. It will close the aperture down to the shooting setting so you can see what the DOF is in viewfinder before taking the photo. That is how I have my DSLR bodies setup anyhow.

I dug up a different watch photo that is actually on my laptop I'm working on now. This one has a large dial and the exif info will show that I shot at f/16. Also notice that the extreme front part of the dial and the extreme rear edge are out of focus at that f-stop and my working distance.

Citizen Satellite Wave zulu 102.jpg
 
TwistedThrottle

TwistedThrottle

Senior Member
lucien said:
So you guys are saying that I should be shooting at f12 minimum to get good/sharp results. If so I'll try that when I take the lens out again. I usually keep the focus point in the middle, unless I'm doing bif or something. Then I choose group. I shoot the lens hand held and no flash.

Thanks for the tips/advice. I'll try some and report back. Hopefully with good news.
Click to expand...

Yup, the depth of field gets so shallow the closer you get to the subject, the aperture needs to be dialed down to sometimes ridiculous levels, (f52!) If the lights not good enough, that means upping the iso or lowering the shutter speed. Lower the shutter too much and its the shakes that'll getcha. Up the iso too much and its the grain. A pop of light goes a long way to keep the exposure in check, especially with macro shots. Not a big deal when you're using it as a 90mm portrait lens, shoot that puppy wide open!
 
L

lucien

Senior Member
I don't shoot "real" macro, just close ups. If I were to do insects and stuff. I would get the gear out. It seems. F'stops have to be way higher and watch out for camera shake. And what shutter's are you guys talking about here? I would shoot f12 at 1/160 is that close? It depends on sunlight and subject. And that's what this forum is all about. If hand held isn't cutting it Monopod? On board flash? or external and what setting with the onboard?

thx,
 
L

lucien

Senior Member
TwistedThrottle said:
Yup, the depth of field gets so shallow the closer you get to the subject, the aperture needs to be dialed down to sometimes ridiculous levels, (f52!) If the lights not good enough, that means upping the iso or lowering the shutter speed. Lower the shutter too much and its the shakes that'll getcha. Up the iso too much and its the grain. A pop of light goes a long way to keep the exposure in check, especially with macro shots. Not a big deal when you're using it as a 90mm portrait lens, shoot that puppy wide open!
Click to expand...


TT, your post came up as soon as I replied to the above. So I thank you now
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
If you have a smart phone, please consider downloading a Depth of Field app. The one I use is a paid app (Simple DoF), but there are decent free ones. Take a look at these 2 charts. Both are based on the Nikon D7100 at the 11" distance you mentioned being the closest you can focus. The difference is the first one shows the Depth of Field based on the aperture of f/5.6. What's in focus is as @wev mentioned - a sliver of only 0.06" will be in focus.

Then compare it with the second example based on using f/16. Even here your Depth of Field is only 0.16". That isn't nearly enough to make any flower be in focus.

Some members use focus stacking - that's where you place the focus point close to the front of your subject, take a pic, then move the focus point further back. Then a second image is taken. This keeps going until there are multiple images with different parts of the subject in focus. Then all the images are combined in Photoshop and merged into one. I haven't done it myself, but there are several people here who would be able to give you pointers if you are interested. :)

N1.PNG


N2.PNG
 
TwistedThrottle

TwistedThrottle

Senior Member
Tough to nail it down to a blanket setting with Macro, or close ups. Its best to set the shutter at 1/focal length (consider crop here) dial the aperture down, the closer you are, the more dialed down it needs to be and if the ISO is outa control, make the appropriate adjustment. The easy button is either a flash or mono/tripod. pop up flashes work fine, or should. My macro lens extends out the front so when I need flash for macro, I am forced to use a speedlight to get the light up above the lens high enough as to not cast a shadow created by the flash hitting the front of the lens. Bonus points for off camera flash. Another hack is to plant the camera on a tripod, take a shot, adjust focus a little further back, take another shot and so on and so on. Then take all your shots and stack them to create the depth of field you need. Its essential the camera and the subject are completely stationary, otherwise this wont work.
 
L

lucien

Senior Member
for lighting can I use this set up Meike speedlight MK950II and a rogue flash bender small reflector? Or other suggestions? I could just get a diffuser for the speedlight to go over the flash unit head.

thanks,
[h=1][/h]
 
TwistedThrottle

TwistedThrottle

Senior Member
Give them all a workout and see what you like best. I like having a small 3x5 diffuser on my speedlight, but sometimes even a cellphone flashlight works in a pinch.
 
L

lucien

Senior Member
I hate to do this but I'm posting part II, These were all done on a tripod with flash the on board cam= 7100, lens the said lens

I'll keep em small
 
L

lucien

Senior Member
I found these two to help illustrate the point. The first one the focal moved off centre. Now I know that a small breeze can mess up a macro. 2nd one as the fstop went up the image became much darker. Hence the need for a flash
 
wev

wev

Senior Member
Contributor
The first thumbnail actually looks pretty good with a touch of post lightening and contrast (hope you don't mind)

DSC_4951.jpg
 
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