Why IS barely work for Macro??

Wilt wrote in post #14807370
DOF with 100mm f/11 on FF camera is less than 1mm DOF zone when you have 1:1 repro ratio...your body can easily sway that much due to heartbeat induced motion.

Those of us with training can actually cause our hearts to skip a beat and that is when we hit the button!

@x_tan: Nice photos!! Is this with the naked flash or you have some kind of softbox/reflector??

BasAndrews wrote in post #14805365
I don't understand, why do we need F/22?

Many great captures have used natural light, my shots tend to use f/13 at 1:1 and F/8 at higher mag.

Well, I was referring to macros in the 2:1 range, where most of the natural light is gone:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/palenquero/7571​065110/

TeamSpeed wrote in post #14807249
After lots of practice, I can handhold at 5s now.

This is what my 60+ year old body allows me to handhold, if I tried to hand hold for 5 sec. with IS...

Earwax69 wrote in post #14807412
@x_tan: Nice photos!! Is this with the naked flash or you have some kind of softbox/reflector??

Thanks

I usual only use the built-in white reflector / Catching Panel; but I also try direct flash or built-in Wide Panel, which look ok to me.

I also stood with no support, and actually was doing the 5s exposures to test which stance produced the best result. I was surprised to see one that was reasonably ok compared to the others. Most looked somewhat like yours.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #14807379
Those of us with training can actually cause our hearts to skip a beat and that is when we hit the button!

Where on the web can I learn how to do that? Do they teach that at the Shaolin monk temple?

Wilt wrote in post #14807530
Do they teach that at the Shaolin monk temple?

Unless you become monk or nun

x_tan wrote in post #14807561
Unless you become monk or nun

That would beat unemployment. The alternative is to commit a crime and have the state house me, feed me, and provide me with medical and dental care. Being a monk who knows kung fu is more worthy of status.

Wilt wrote in post #14807695
...Being a monk who knows kung fu is more worthy of status.

Chinese monk is best know for self 'punishment' - Check on the 'Kill Bill' again might give you some idea

So, we are better off just keep using IS / VR on our macro lenses

I just went out to test macro with my tripod. Two words: GODDAM WIND!! The light was fading and performance where not much better than handheld. I poped up the flash and fired. Impressive, it's sharp!! But it's also quite artificial. I feel like cheating. If I were to use a flash (And I'm sure I will) I will need some kind of dome over the bug!

Question: Is it normal to see the tripod vibration in when zooming in Live View? A good tripod will completly suppress vibrations?

Miki G wrote in post #14806674
In macro the angle of view is so narrow (normally just a few inches) that any movement of the camera is greatly magnified.
For example: A shot of a subject taken from 20 feet away & the camera moves slightly ie a few centimeters, the IS can easily compensate for this movement.
Using the same lens in a macro shot, a few centimeters movement will mean a larger percentage of the field of view (which is only inches) will be involved & the IS won't be able to compensate for such a large movement.

Exactly what I was going to say, surprising though how many people seem to go off on other tangents....to me this is obvious if the subject covering the sensor with something at 1:1 or greater magnification then any slight movement will affect a much great percentage of the sensor...the IS is adjusted by moving a a floating lens element in opposite direction to the detected movement but there is only a limited amount of movement possible and this is probably not designed to cover the entire sensor area but more likely to be something in the order of 1 or 2 mm (there are probably some specs/figures somewhere plublished by Canon that give an exact compensation figure) in either direction anything more would require quite a big difference to the lens design.

Earwax69 wrote in post #14808193
I just went out to test macro with my tripod. Two words: GODDAM WIND!! The light was fading and performance where not much better than handheld. I poped up the flash and fired. Impressive, it's sharp!! But it's also quite artificial. I feel like cheating. If I were to use a flash (And I'm sure I will) I will need some kind of dome over the bug!

Question: Is it normal to see the tripod vibration in when zooming in Live View? A good tripod will completly suppress vibrations?

In certain conditions even the best tripods won't control all vibration. That's why wood tripods still exist as it's thought that they control vibration due to wind etc better than most. The photographer can help this by attaching weight to the bottom of the tripod such as hanging his camera bag from the center post.

The longer I'm doing this hobby the more I realize a good tripod is essential. One really cannot go high end enough.