1. When chasing little buggers around a tripod doesn't really help much. It is, however, critical when doing static work. For what you are doing a monopod, one with 4-5 sections so that it is really short when compressed, may be a better deal. It will give you a lot more stability, while still letting you move the camera back and forth to control focus.
2. With a 60mm lens you probably don't want to use more than a single extension tube, no more than 15-24 mm. Your photo of the screw head looks like diffraction effects, with possibly some camera shake.
3. I will also second using no more than f/11, f/16 at the most, and the fastest shutter speed you can. A trick I use is taping the little Nikon remote release to my monopod so that I can release the shutter with it instead of handling the camera. I am not as steady as a lot of the younger folk on the forum, so anything I can do to lessen camera shake is worth it.
4. I have had great results with my SB800 flash and the provided diffuser, but I also have the R1C1 close up flash rig with it's two ring mounted baby flashes, and its just a ball of fun to work with -- pricey though. In any event you want the flash set for fill flash, not total illumination. This gives you less of a flash (shorter flash), and a faster recharge rate so you can keep shooting. With the 60mm lens (actually, anything less than about 150mm) you will definately want to use the flash off camera, with a sync cord (Nikon makes several) or a wireless release.
4.b. Look at the Sigma 140 ring flash. Totally compatible with the Nikon system and not a bad price. Also lets you fire either or both of the flash tubes in the ring so you can control lighting and shadows. Just be sure to purchase the correct size mounting ring (see the B&H website).
5. Focus stacking probably won't work for you, as it requires you have a motionless or nearly motionless object.
6. Manual focus vs auto focus is something you need to work out on your own. In bright daylight I will let my 70-200 VR with its 1.4 tele-extender run on autofocus, same for my Sigma 150, but only if I am working off my monopod or a tripod. In anything else I cut over to manual focus and use camera movement to do the final focusing. Everyone is a bit different on this, so play with it till you are happy.
7. My next-to-last suggesstion is probably the most important one. Get a little notepad and a pen to carry with you. Take LOTS of photos, varying one thing at a time. Stop between photo sets and write down your observations and how you took each set of photos. When you upload the photos onto your computer, open the notepad and cross out everything that didn't work well, then make a little "cheat sheet" of what did work in which situations and use that as your starting point the next day.
8. My last suggestion is two fold. Amazon.com for John Shaw's "Closeups in Nature" book. Its old, but its great, walking the basics into the advanced and explaining it all the way. And search out "Dalantech" and "his "No Cropping Zone" on the web. Its a really great series of "how to" do macro work.
By the way, welcome to the forum and to the micro world. Glad to have you here.
thank you everyone for your learned opinions. i'll need to improve on my macro skills. many thanks to Genes Home for your informative comments. i'll try to get hold of the books and read up on Dalantech.
I'll try the various f and shutter speed numbers and do what i can to take the best shots. today is particularly cloudy and im staying indoors. i just missed a butterfly shot from my garden a moment ago. by the time i got my kit out, it had flown away.
thanks all, greatly appreciated and i'll work on it. thank you and God bless.
According to the exif data the iso of your unsharp photos is 3200 and the sharp ones are 200.
I think it is a mixture of the high iso you were using plus the m/f issue. The in focus indicator isn't always right especially in low light i have found. I have put a flash light on subjects to focus the camera then turned it off when i make my exposure with my m/f lenses in low light.
Also try playing with some flash so you can get a better shutter speed at low iso as mentioned before. Macro is tuff I haven't got it down yet but these are some things I have ran into.
i've never heard of any "bad" macro lens in terms of IQ. Even 3rd party lens are very good. Most of the dedicated macro lens have MTF > 4. You can make your choice by FL which give you good working distant and perspective.
D300 - I didnt read all the other comments so I apologize if its mentioned already. Your shooting at ISO 3200 and thats never going to get you the results your after. Might i recommend building faith in your equipment rather than pushing the equipment to the limit expecting pro results.....
Buy a tripod and a flash, practice on reliable, stationary objects and build a relationship with the equipment, then move your rig out into the field and apply advanced macro techniques. the folks on the macro forum are probably the nicest folks your ever going to encounter on FM. good luck to you
D300 wrote:
has anyone compared the following in terms of IQ as a macro photography? i cant find any post on these 3 lenses being compared simultaneously:
Are you looking at this with the perspective that your current lens is providing inadequate results and so you'd like to upgrade?
That 60mm lens is a heck of a sharp lens, and will provide you with sharp results if used properly. Improperly used, the world's most expensive macro lens won't provide sharp results.
This is excellent advice: Justin Huffman wrote:
build a relationship with the equipment, then move your rig out into the field and apply advanced macro techniques
It's not that you can't learn in the field, but when you're shooting over and over and getting poor results from good equipment, it's time to take a step back and start reducing your sources of error.
For one, I'd start by using one extension tube at a time to learn where minimum and maximum focusing distances are.
Justin Huffman wrote:
Buy a tripod and a flash, practice on reliable, stationary objects and build a relationship with the equipment, then move your rig out into the field and apply advanced macro techniques. the folks on the macro forum are probably the nicest folks your ever going to encounter on FM.
I second Justin's good advice to take it gradually and "grow into" the advanced macro.
I also have one correction: the folks on the macro forum are the second-nicest folks on FM. The nicest are the ones in the "Mustangs Air-to-Air" thread in Still Life.
