Post your BUG shots!

Archibald wrote in post #18730849
Nice shot of that hoverfly. We too will have to wait till spring for the new bug season... unless we want to travel south.

Another reason for a vacation?

Archibald wrote in post #18730583
Hi, Mat. Thanks! No, these shots are not stacked. I have done some stacking, and want to do so again, but the ones I have been posting here are all single shot, hand-held. The 7D2 is great for macro, good focus, great cropability. The 40D was super in its day! An example below - damselfly.

I don't mean to take the thread off-topic but a quick follow-up to Mat's question... are you using MF or AF? How many shots do you generally take to get one that is sharp? And have you done any how-to videos?

I've played around with macro a little using extension tubes and different lenses with very little success (nothing as sharp as what I see regularly here). I'm constantly amazed by the shots people are posting. Particularly the flying insects!

Spencerphoto wrote in post #18730960
Another reason for a vacation?

You have me convinced already!

rh18 wrote in post #18730971
I don't mean to take the thread off-topic but a quick follow-up to Mat's question... are you using MF or AF? How many shots do you generally take to get one that is sharp? And have you done any how-to videos?

I've played around with macro a little using extension tubes and different lenses with very little success (nothing as sharp as what I see regularly here). I'm constantly amazed by the shots people are posting. Particularly the flying insects!

Hi, RH. There are many ways to do macro, and do macro well.

Currently my favorite way is with the Canon 7D2, 100mm L lens, and 580EX flash. The flash illuminates a translucent diffuser mounted on the end of the lens (illustration elsewhere in this thread). I use a combination of AF and MF. I start out relatively far from the bug, then use AF to find it and move closer. Then I shoot in AF or MF, whatever works for the situation. I have the camera set for back-button focus, so switching is easy. IMO it is not possible to focus perfectly through the viewfinder. There will be some error, and the eye can't see that unless you magnify the image. And I can't magnify the image in this mode. AF is not dependable either. So I take several shots and hope one at least is sharp. If I can get at least 4 shots, usually I'm successful.

I used to shoot macros with my 70-300mm lens with the 500D closeup lens. That gives great working distance, and sharpness was adequate. With this rig I shot using natural light. The damselfly (previous page) was done this way.

Sometimes I also shoot natural light with the 100mmL macro lens. That means going to high ISO. Sometimes that works real well.

Others in this thread have shown lots of success with quite different approaches. So there are lots of ways of doing great macro.

If you want some feedback with a specific setup, go ahead and ask.

I don't do videos. I have a bit of an aversion to videos myself. The info flows too fast for my brain and I have to replay again and again. A web page works better for me. Everybody is different.

Another tip, which I use when shooting all kinds of wildlife, is to grab 'insurance shots' at every opportunity on the way in, so to speak. By this I mean, if you're creeping up on a subject with the intention of getting a close-up shot, grab shots now and then as you work your way in (assuming you're not using flash and the shutter sound won't spook them). This way, should the subject spot you before you're in place and bolt, you might find one of your initial shots is still a keeper, albeit not quite framed the way you wanted.

I also do this if I'm shooting candid shots of people doing something interesting. I might be walking towards them, planning to grab a closer shot of whatever they're doing but, just in case they stop before I get there, I'll grab some longer-distance shots as insurance.

Archibald wrote in post #18730988
Currently my favorite way is with the Canon 7D2, 100mm L lens, and 580EX flash. The flash illuminates a translucent diffuser mounted on the end of the lens (illustration elsewhere in this thread). I use a combination of AF and MF. I start out relatively far from the bug, then use AF to find it and move closer. Then I shoot in AF or MF, whatever works for the situation. I have the camera set for back-button focus, so switching is easy. IMO it is not possible to focus perfectly through the viewfinder. There will be some error, and the eye can't see that unless you magnify the image. And I can't magnify the image in this mode. AF is not dependable either. So I take several shots and hope one at least is sharp. If I can get at least 4 shots, usually I'm successful.

4 shots?!? I hope I can reach anything near that level of proficiency someday. Practice, practice, practice. I think I found the diffuser you were referring to earlier in the thread. Now I have a craft project!

I've been mainly using the Canon 80D with the 24-105 (most macro-y lens I have) and I have the kenko extension tubes (12/20/36mm). I've tried different variations but as a general starting point would you suggest using the 20mm tube with the lens at 105mm?

Thanks for the great information!

Spencerphoto wrote in post #18731017
Another tip, which I use when shooting all kinds of wildlife, is to grab 'insurance shots' at every opportunity on the way in, so to speak.

Definitely good advice, thanks!

rh18 wrote in post #18731073
4 shots?!? I hope I can reach anything near that level of proficiency someday. Practice, practice, practice. I think I found the diffuser you were referring to earlier in the thread. Now I have a craft project!

I've been mainly using the Canon 80D with the 24-105 (most macro-y lens I have) and I have the kenko extension tubes (12/20/36mm). I've tried different variations but as a general starting point would you suggest using the 20mm tube with the lens at 105mm?

Thanks for the great information!

Setting the zoom at 105mm will give you more working distance, which is good (within reason). Then just use as many tubes as necessary to get the magnification you need. You will be up against the usual issues in macro - getting enough DOF, stopping motion, and getting enough light.

Lord V (here on POTN) has a great series of posts on macro, and they are well worth reading.

Archibald wrote in post #18731078
Lord V (here on POTN) has a great series of posts on macro, and they are well worth reading.

Thanks, I'll have to look for that.

Archibald wrote in post #18731078
You will be up against the usual issues in macro - getting enough DOF, stopping motion, and getting enough light.

Yes, yes, and yes. Oh, one last question I meant to ask - do you generally have to crop much? I always have to crop at least 50% (probably more). I know you get better magnification with a macro lens but I'm curious.

Here's a picture of an orb weaver feasting on a grass hopper to get us back on track.

rh18 wrote in post #18731097
Thanks, I'll have to look for that.

Yes, yes, and yes. Oh, one last question I meant to ask - do you generally have to crop much? I always have to crop at least 50% (probably more). I know you get better magnification with a macro lens but I'm curious.

Here's a picture of an orb weaver feasting on a grass hopper to get us back on track.

Hosted photo: posted by rh18 in
./showthread.php?p=187​31097&i=i233279896
forum: Macro

Excellent shot of that spider!

I pretty well crop every shot, some more, some less. For real small bugs, it is necessary to crop to around 1/4 or even less of the width of the pic. Those shots usually don't turn out that well. When you crop a lot, that magnifies focus errors and diffraction becomes more prominent - noise too, but that is usually not a biggie if you use flash.

rh18 wrote in post #18731097

Archibald wrote in post #18731078
Lord V (here on POTN) has a great series of posts on macro, and they are well worth reading.

Thanks, I'll have to look for that.

The link to LordV's macro notes is below.
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=807056

Carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis, on thistle.

Golden Orb Web Monster.

Sorry, I mean Spider.

1/200sec shutter speed makes my finger look rock-steady

Here's some shots with the old 40d. A Dronefly and a long legged fly looking thing

Spencerphoto wrote in post #18731270
Golden Orb Web Monster.

Sorry, I mean Spider.

1/200sec shutter speed makes my finger look rock-steady

Hosted photo: posted by Spencerphoto in
./showthread.php?p=187​31270&i=i38103088
forum: Macro

Don't touch it!!

Wow, that is a big spider, and a good pic of it.

mat vanella wrote in post #18731283
Here's some shots with the old 40d. A Dronefly and a long legged fly looking thing

Hosted photo: posted by mat vanella in
./showthread.php?p=187​31283&i=i86692889
forum: Macro

Hosted photo: posted by mat vanella in
./showthread.php?p=187​31283&i=i26997037
forum: Macro

That first pic is stunning. Look at the eye. Superb.

I also like the longlegged one.

The old 40D is able to do great photography.