New guy here

OK, I've been visiting for quite a while but I've had some issues getting registered so this is my first official post. By way of introduction, I'm greener than green when it comes to photography but I have a real interest. I'll be retiring soon and wouldn't mind doing it a bit more seriously or even trying to make a buck or three when I have more time on my hands.

I saw an older thread about macro lenses and someone suggested that they made a "homemade" macro lens by taking the front element out of an old Canon 38-76 lens. Since I can't really afford a dedicated macro lens at this time, I've done the same thing. Keep in mind that my abilities and knowledge are very limited but here are a couple of the early attempts, hopefully I'm able to post the photos without mishap.

Number three is really nice. You may want to try and stop your lens down if you can to F/8 or higher to get more into focus. Keep up the great work.

Thanks, these are the things that I'm struggling to learn and experiment with. Believe it or not, I was at f/22 in that photo. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the makeshift macro lens that I'm using or not but I'd surely love to have a bit more depth of field without resorting to focus stacking, which I'm not sure that I'm ready for yet.

One other point, none of these photos have any post processing done to them. It's another skill that I haven't really developed yet, though I'm working on it slowly.

Might be the setup givng the shallow depth, at f/22 a bit more would be in focus normally. One cheap option to also try if you havent are the macro filters which run about $10-15. I havent yet invested in a dedicated macro yet either and use my 50mm and kenko extension tubes for the most part. There is a lot of good macro info on this forum and the web as you progress and experiment. For post processing you can jump right into photoshop or lightroom if your brave (theres lots of video tutorials on the web and Adobe TV). For just basic jpeg editing I recommend Photoscape which has a lot of nice touch-up features and is easy to use and free.

heres a Ichneumon Wasp I shot at F/22 just to compare

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Yes, yours looks much nicer from the depth of field perspective. I have a set of extention tubes on the way and I'm hopeful that they'll make the macro work easier. Thanks for the info on post processing too. It's a fun process and I don't have to learn everything overnight.

Hi bill,

I'm new to macro as well and recently purchased the canon 100mm lens, i am also struggling with dof even at smaller aperture setting! I'm getting similar results to your insect pictures, like you fruit pic though nice colours! Good luck

Here is a link to some info to help you on your venture. It goes over the various technical aspects of macro with some calculators and converters to aid in figuring out your needs and limits.

http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/m​acro-lenses.htm

Nature Nut wrote in post #14545664
Here is a link to some info to help you on your venture. It goes over the various technical aspects of macro with some calculators and converters to aid in figuring out your needs and limits.

http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/m​acro-lenses.htm

Nice, thank you.

wolfyccfc wrote in post #14545391
Hi bill,

I'm new to macro as well and recently purchased the canon 100mm lens, i am also struggling with dof even at smaller aperture setting! I'm getting similar results to your insect pictures, like you fruit pic though nice colours! Good luck

Hi wolfyccfc,

I am new to photography period, and am very interested to get into macro photography. I have decided to purchase a canon 100 mm lens, and am worried about how hard it will be to use and get good photos.

Next to astrophotography, macrophotography is probably the most difficult area of photography to master, but it's great fun while you're learning. However, the 100mm Macro lenses are terrific general-purpose short telephoto lenses for pretty much anything else you might want to shoot as well, so it's not a bad place to start. You can get great portraits while you're between macro sessions.

archer1960 wrote in post #14561968
Next to astrophotography, macrophotography is probably the most difficult area of photography to master, but it's great fun while you're learning. However, the 100mm Macro lenses are terrific general-purpose short telephoto lenses for pretty much anything else you might want to shoot as well, so it's not a bad place to start. You can get great portraits while you're between macro sessions.

I have read so many posts on the 100 mm macro, and so many people have said that it is not only an excellent macro lens, but also a good general purpose lens. That is why I have decided to buy it.