Range of small bugs all taken at 5:1 on solid surfaces by resting the lens on the same surface. Some are cropped a bit
Brian v.

Chalcid wasp about 1.9 mm body length



Chalcid wasp about 1.4mm body length



Chalcid wasp about 2.5mm body length



Flower weevil about 2.1 mm body length



Thrip with very hairy wings about 2.2mm body length



Plant bug about 2.9mm body length

Excellent set Brian -I really like those small Chalcid wasps!

Dalantech wrote:
Excellent set Brian -I really like those small Chalcid wasps!

Thanks john

Agree re the chalcid wasps- fascinating things and often very beautiful - pity they are not just a bit bigger

Brian v.

Great photos and very interesting critters, as always.

Is the center or the bottom of your lens lined up with these subjects for these photos? If it's the center of your lens, I assume you must have your camera positioned below the surface the bugs inhabit.

With my MT-24 flash, even though the Canon Macrolite flash head mounting ring has a flat edge along its bottom, I find that I cannot shoot tiny bugs on a flat surface unless the central axis of the lens is at least 30 degrees above the surface on which the bug rests. It now seems to me that being able to rest the bottom of the lens barrel on the surface inhabited by the bug would provide a less restricted geometry for this type of photography.

This geometric limitation of the MT-24 is a concern to me since a lot of my high-mag bug photos are obtained when they land on my deck handrail or other horizontal surfaces in my yard. As much as I encourage them to land on nearby flowers, they often insist on resting on manmade surfaces.

DQE1.0 wrote:
Great photos and very interesting critters, as always.

Is the center or the bottom of your lens lined up with these subjects for these photos? If it's the center of your lens, I assume you must have your camera positioned below the surface the bugs inhabit.

With my MT-24 flash, even though the Canon Macrolite flash head mounting ring has a flat edge along its bottom, I find that I cannot shoot tiny bugs on a flat surface unless the central axis of the lens is at least 30 degrees above the surface on which the bug rests. It now seems to me that being able to rest the bottom of the lens barrel on the surface inhabited by the bug would provide a less restricted geometry for this type of photography.

This geometric limitation of the MT-24 is a concern to me since a lot of my high-mag bug photos are obtained when they land on my deck handrail or other horizontal surfaces in my yard. As much as I encourage them to land on nearby flowers, they often insist on resting on manmade surfaces.



Thanks DQE for the comments.

I'm either tilting the lens up slightly or I'm shooting on curved surfaces so i can shoot at a very low angle (the car is very good from this point of view).
Agree I would find any diameter increase of the end of the lens a bit of pain for high mag shots, one of the reasons apart from cost that I haven't tried a macro flash.
I do many shots on a wooden rails or similar by holding the rail and resting the lens on my hand at a level lower than the surface - this of course assumes the bug is within focus distance at the mag I want to use.
Brian v.

great series of tiny critters Brian
phil

Goldenorfe wrote:
great series of tiny critters Brian
phil

Thanks Phil
Just getting in practice for the Winter tiny bug season
Brian v.

lovely selection of shots and Ive learned a new word,"Thrip"

michael kilner wrote:
lovely selection of shots and Ive learned a new word,"Thrip"

- thanks Michael, If you look carefully you will often find thrips in flower centres.
Brian v.