Tortoise Beetle

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 2:55 pm

Green Tortoise Beetle (Cassida viridis) underside;

Stack of 47 images shot with E330, OM Auto Bellows, OM 38/2.8 at f4.0, STF-22 twinflash, paper diffuser. Aligned and stacked in Zerene stacker.

Here's a single shot from above, same setup with lens at f11 iirc.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:57 pm

Nice!

Looks like those feet might be interesting, at much higher magnification. Something like this shining tarsus, perhaps.

--Rik

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:36 am

Thanks Rik!

Yes looking at the pictures in the linked thread vs the full size image of this beetle, the feet look very similar. If I get time I'll put them in front of the 10x Nikon... (I think my subject is a bit smaller than yours, the whole beetle is around 4-5mm)

Planapo · Post by **Planapo** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 5:29 am

The first one is great. Your diffuser works well, Laurie, leaves just the right amount of shine that makes the surfaces look clean and kinda "fresh". Is this the lens you've "imported" from over here? If so, then obviously everything has worked well with that seller.

Does the second picture taken at f/11 show us how dramatically resolution drops when the aperture is stopped down?
And what does "iirc"mean? Perhaps some exclamation like "aahrg" by which you've expressed your distaste when discovering how resolution had changed?

--Betty

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:58 am

Betty,

Yes that is the lens from Germany, it appears to be in perfect condition, I'm certainly pleased with the results from it so far! (Thanks for the help with the translation!)

Yes the F11 shot shows diffraction, it's around 3-4:1, so the effective aperture is around F44-F55, well into diffraction territory on a 4/3" sensor.

I'm very happy you spotted that as I was intending to use this as an example on my website - why we stack!

Sorry IIRC is sms/im talk - 'If I Remember Correctly'.

By the way the diffuser for this shot was a small tube made of standard printer paper! It eats quite a bit of light but diffuses very well. It's great for shiny subject, possibly _too_ diffuse for less shiny bugs...

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:25 am

Laurie, I'm glad to see the paper is working well for you.

I don't think I've ever used printer paper, but obviously it worked well here.

I generally use Kleenex tissue in various layerings. A single ply from a two-ply sheet lets quite a bit of light through undeflected, while diffusing the rest. 2 layers lets a little through undeflected. 3 and up are almost completely diffusing -- you can shine a laser pointer through the stuff and not see any bright spots on the target.

--Rik

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:36 am

The first is reminiscent of illustrations in nineteenth-century monographs.

Very nice!

Harold