other than bugs

[old cholo]

ok lets be gentle- but what other uses do Maco lenses do?? i'm new to digital and i enjoy the bug pics, but is there any other uses?? i use my new xsi for work- (police stuff) and wonder if a macro would do us good we usually use tele-photo stuff- thanks in advance for the info

[Sugarman]

Fingerprints?

[old cholo]

ok wellll now the next question what would be a good "general" macro to get??

[Canon_Lady]

Macro with a good ring-light would be good for not only fingerprints..But also for very small objects to be used in evidence ..closeups of detail for minute marks, serial #'s etc..There are (I am sure) many uses. To narrow it down, anything you need magnification of.
We use Sigma 150 mm 1:2 DG macro and am very happy with the results. (no Ring-light used). The ringlight would bring out more details. This flower in actuality is about the size of a pencil eraser.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/BowlXLuk/Canon%20Images/In%20TheNeighborhood/Buddiing1.jpg

[macro junkie]

mpe-65 and either mt-24ex or mr-14ex would be perfect

i tryed to find a thread i remember seeing last month that had people shooting there skin and fingers with mpe-65 but i cant find it now

[racketman]

the 60/100 macros lenses are good for portraiture.

[spidermanrbryce2006]

remember a Macro lens is a Prime lens, most prime lenses are brilliant!!! for a large range of stuff!

[lavanut]

A little while back I rented the MPE-65 along with the MT-24EX flash to experiment with extreme macros. It was quite a lot of fun but also could be tedious work. Oddly enough I didn't take a single picture of a bug with that lens (though I have with others). Some of my more interesting shots can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lavanut/ExtremeMacros

There you can see where extreme closeups could be helpful with fibers, edges of sharp objects, and a variety of other things police work might find useful. I didn't try fingerprints, but I bet they could be done as well.

Macro photography opens up a whole new world to the photographer. If someone's going around a crime scene with a magnifying glass and finds something, the MPE-65 can probably photograph it.

[dpastern]

Good for portraiture, general use etc. Forget anything requiring speedy AF. Macro lenses are very sharp, and very well corrected to be relatively flat across the FOV.

Dave

[newb2pro_1day_or_so]

HAHA, fingerprints. I have just the thing! Also, I don't have a good picture in my files to show this, but ballistics! I know there are microscopes that take pictures and such to compare two different bullets for matching purposes, but I don't know your department budget either. A macro lense would sure product court worthy pictures of trace evidence as well as tack sharp barrel grooves on the bullet or indentations on the copper jacket. You could easily get a close up of a ground away serial number on a handgun. This would help to see what the purpotraitor thought they had completely removed, but they can't see what a macro lense can see!

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh59/Iseethroughglass/Macro/Forensic/DP_0001.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh59/Iseethroughglass/Macro/Forensic/SideMartiniFingerprintoriginal.jpg

[Naturalist]

Nice Radial Loop there.
.
.
We have digitally scanned and will be in touch shortly for blackmail. :lol:

[CamDiver]

Fibres (Carpet, Hair,)
Fingerprints
Footprints
Tyremarks
Wound Characteristics (yuk)
Under Nail Debris
Evidence Fragments

etc etc

Cheers,
Mark.

[newb2pro_1day_or_so]

Nice Radial Loop there.
.
.
We have digitally scanned and will be in touch shortly for blackmail. :lol:

Do what you wish, there's nothing you can do with a fingerprint...well, that would be worth your efforts if you know what I have to offer. Have fun!

[old cholo]

wow ok well thanks for the kind responces- i work for LAPD and for being a big dept-unless we buy stuff on our own- its not had- im telling you it sucks well thats a rant for another forum lol- any way you have given me some good ideas- as a matter of fact small serial numbers on cell phone batteries comes to mind- hummmm ok thanks again

[old cholo]

sorry but another question comes to mind do u hand hold on these types of shots?? do i need a ring light? heck they are almost expensive as the macro lol

[newb2pro_1day_or_so]

I maybe completely different from the otheres, but the fingerprint shots you see above here highlighter, a martini glass and a black light, plus a tripod. Unless you have a flash unit, I use the Canon 430ex with a diffuser and off camera bracket. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/397664-USA/Canon_0298B002_430EX_TTL_Flash.html
At B&H it's going for $235 USD. Depending on how far away the subject is, having on the camera's hotshoe should be fine with a homemade diffuser for most situations. Once you hit 1:1 (true macro or full magnification on the Canon 100mm macro) the lighting from the hotshoe might not be very good, that's why ring lights or a flash bracket seems to be the trendy device to use around here. I hope that helps some.

[TheFishGuy]

FISH!
Chris

[Canon_Lady]

I think that depends on the lighting situation, the steadiness of hands etc..But typically a tripod is recommended.. I rarely use a tripod..I guess I have steady hands..LOL