HERE
which he called a "spider-killer-killing wasp".
800 px selection from a 4288 px wide jpg
El Nikkor 63/2.8 @ f/5.6, 54 frames @ 0.04 mm, ZS PMax stack
Cuckoo Wasp (Chrysididae) - new images added
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
Cuckoo Wasp (Chrysididae) - new images added
I was checking the field of view and image quality of a reversed El Nikkor 63/2.8 on a PB-6 bellows using a Cuckoo Wasp as a subject. Wasp very similar to Rik's recent post
HERE
which he called a "spider-killer-killing wasp".
800 px selection from a 4288 px wide jpg
El Nikkor 63/2.8 @ f/5.6, 54 frames @ 0.04 mm, ZS PMax stack
HERE
which he called a "spider-killer-killing wasp".
800 px selection from a 4288 px wide jpg
El Nikkor 63/2.8 @ f/5.6, 54 frames @ 0.04 mm, ZS PMax stack
Last edited by NikonUser on Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
-
rjlittlefield
- Site Admin
- Posts: 23625
- Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
- Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
- Contact:
Beautiful abstract!
If I have the anatomy correct, each of those "donut" shapes is actually a smooth depression in a mirrored surface. Here they appear as two concentric bright rings.
So I'm thinking that your lighting setup must be essentially a full-circle ringlight, almost equally bright on all sides.
Is this another of your styrofoam cup setups, or are you doing something different?
--Rik
If I have the anatomy correct, each of those "donut" shapes is actually a smooth depression in a mirrored surface. Here they appear as two concentric bright rings.
So I'm thinking that your lighting setup must be essentially a full-circle ringlight, almost equally bright on all sides.
Is this another of your styrofoam cup setups, or are you doing something different?
--Rik
Thanks Rik.
Yes, this was shot with my vertical setup using a small styrofoam cup diffuser and 4 wireless Nikon SB-200 flashes. I added a plastic sheet to the top of the Olympus stage and the flashes fit nicely onto it. The Nikon wireless setup makes for a better system than the Canon setup (IMHO). Even with this added weight the Olympus stage shows no downward creeping.
I guess that if I had used just 2 flashes on one side I would have got better details in the depressions.
Lower image is the full frame shot with the 63/2.8 El Nikkor reversed on full PB-6 bellows extension.
Yes, this was shot with my vertical setup using a small styrofoam cup diffuser and 4 wireless Nikon SB-200 flashes. I added a plastic sheet to the top of the Olympus stage and the flashes fit nicely onto it. The Nikon wireless setup makes for a better system than the Canon setup (IMHO). Even with this added weight the Olympus stage shows no downward creeping.
I guess that if I had used just 2 flashes on one side I would have got better details in the depressions.
Lower image is the full frame shot with the 63/2.8 El Nikkor reversed on full PB-6 bellows extension.
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
-
rjlittlefield
- Site Admin
- Posts: 23625
- Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
- Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
- Contact:
Thanks for the illustration of your setup.
A question of sheer curiosity: what's the function of the bit of shock cord that I can see where the head of the scope was cut off?
About the effect of using fewer strobes, I have no idea whether it would be better or worse. I'm fairly confident that you'd end up with more modeling and darker shadows, and obviously the reflections would then be asymmetric, but I have no idea how all that would balance out. What you have now is working very well, to my eye.
By the way, you may be amused to hear that I was initially very puzzled by the photo of your setup. At first glance, second glance, and some detailed study, I thought that the styrofoam cup still had its bottom intact instead of being cut out, and thus would completely obscure the specimen. I actually started to ask whether you shoot from the bottom. The apparently intact bottom is just an illusion, of course, but to me it's compelling. Even as I write this, the picture still looks like I'm seeing a white cup with a flat recessed bottom. I have to consciously override that impression with knowledge of how the thing is actually constructed.
If you need to illustrate this setup to a wider audience, you might consider shooting from a little higher angle so that a bit of the stage platform shows through the big hole where the cup bottom used to be.
--Rik
A question of sheer curiosity: what's the function of the bit of shock cord that I can see where the head of the scope was cut off?
About the effect of using fewer strobes, I have no idea whether it would be better or worse. I'm fairly confident that you'd end up with more modeling and darker shadows, and obviously the reflections would then be asymmetric, but I have no idea how all that would balance out. What you have now is working very well, to my eye.
By the way, you may be amused to hear that I was initially very puzzled by the photo of your setup. At first glance, second glance, and some detailed study, I thought that the styrofoam cup still had its bottom intact instead of being cut out, and thus would completely obscure the specimen. I actually started to ask whether you shoot from the bottom. The apparently intact bottom is just an illusion, of course, but to me it's compelling. Even as I write this, the picture still looks like I'm seeing a white cup with a flat recessed bottom. I have to consciously override that impression with knowledge of how the thing is actually constructed.
If you need to illustrate this setup to a wider audience, you might consider shooting from a little higher angle so that a bit of the stage platform shows through the big hole where the cup bottom used to be.
--Rik
-
Charles Krebs
- Posts: 5865
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- Location: Issaquah, WA USA
- Contact:
Rik: You certainly miss little, if any, minor details. The hacked off horizonal arm is hollow with a central strut. A 5lb lead weight is in a plastic bag and tied to the end of this cord. There are 2 other 5lb weights in bags resting on the base of the scope; the green band is masking tape sealing one bag. Not sure if any of these weights are necessary, I had them and figured they would do no harm and would make the setup more stable.
From the bottom up: microscope stage, plastic sheet attached to stage and moves with the stage, gray card, top of a large styrofoam cup, large UV lens filter taped to this top; bug resting on filter; short hollow piece from the bottom part of a styrofoam cup.
The bug being raised from the gray background helps to elimante any shadow.
Laurie: perhaps my hacksaw was sharper than your hacksaw.
Charles: Thanks. I would not use this lens for a closeup of the bug. I was just checking the field of view at minimum and maximum bellows extension and thought that a bug would be a bit more interesting than just a sheet of graph paper. When I saw the results I thought a closeup showing detail made an interesting abstract.
I do like these SB-R200s, when placed very close to the subject they can be used at very low power (much easier on batteries); move them away any distance and they need to be used at full power. I'm sure you knew this.
Might as well include the 2nd half of this experiment: El Nikkor 63/2.8, minimum PB-6 bellows extension.
From the bottom up: microscope stage, plastic sheet attached to stage and moves with the stage, gray card, top of a large styrofoam cup, large UV lens filter taped to this top; bug resting on filter; short hollow piece from the bottom part of a styrofoam cup.
The bug being raised from the gray background helps to elimante any shadow.
Laurie: perhaps my hacksaw was sharper than your hacksaw.
Charles: Thanks. I would not use this lens for a closeup of the bug. I was just checking the field of view at minimum and maximum bellows extension and thought that a bug would be a bit more interesting than just a sheet of graph paper. When I saw the results I thought a closeup showing detail made an interesting abstract.
I do like these SB-R200s, when placed very close to the subject they can be used at very low power (much easier on batteries); move them away any distance and they need to be used at full power. I'm sure you knew this.
Might as well include the 2nd half of this experiment: El Nikkor 63/2.8, minimum PB-6 bellows extension.
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
-
rjlittlefield
- Site Admin
- Posts: 23625
- Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
- Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
- Contact:
NU, thanks for the additional photo. I find it somehow inspiring that the very same lens can photograph such a large field at high quality, or by adding extension can capture such fine detail. I suppose some of my lenses have similar range, but I've never set up a comparison like this to demonstrate it.
--Rik
--Rik