Introductions and looking for advice in getting into MacroP

Acrotoxic · Post by **Acrotoxic** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 10:23 pm

Having done some overtime on Saturday I figured I'd get out yesterday and spent a few hours with liz around RSPB Coombes Valley, England.

Using the advice given by Charles, I tried to focus more on the background my F-Stop values and general composition, I also used the DOF preview custom button which actually after giving it a few goes started to make more sense.

Canon EOS 1100D:EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm/ƒ/2.8/1/100s/ISO 100

I was surprised with this shot, I know its not perfect (infact the focus band is about 0.5mm off) but its an improvement, In my excitement chasing this bee I didnt realize until afterwards that I probably would have improved my shot by opening out my F-stop alittle

And this is a cropped and sharpened image of the above,

Canon EOS 1100D EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm//6.3/1/200s/ISO 100

I had a few blossom shots, some i prefer more then others but none were perfect ether, I feel the background on this destracts from the flower, I had a really nice photo of just the stamen but it wasnt quite good enough to upload,

Canon EOS 1100D EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm/ƒ/2.8/1/50s/ISO 100

This I felt was one of the better, although I wonder if my flash even with difuser is a bit harsh.

Canon EOS 1100D EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm/ƒ/2.8/1/200s/ISO 100
Ok next is the fly/wood bee? (think its a fly over a bee...) Its not the prettiest of composition, the grass is overly destracting in my opinion but i felt it gets points because it moves, this admittedly is also cropped in reasonably heavily.

Canon EOS 1100D EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm/ƒ/9/1/80s/ISO 800

Again I just liked the overall look and feel of this,

Canon EOS 1100D EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm/ƒ/3.2/1/50s/ISO 100

And this one,

Canon EOS 1100D EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm/ƒ/2.8/1/200s/ISO 100

Just some random / unusual lichen

Canon EOS 1100D EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM 100mm/ƒ/7.1/1/80s/ISO 100

Now this was an interesting shot technically, I had to get my partner to block out the sun as it was in full sun, to get it exposed (its still possibly a touch over exposed)

in full sun my camera couldnt shoot quicker then 1/200 with flash but without the flash it could shoot quicker, I assume this is a sync issue between the entry level camera and the flash?

I assume I wouldnt have this issue with say the 7D or a newer gen camera, (already vaguely looking at getting a new body as the 7D is often in use.....quite like the idea of the 70D with a flipout screen......

)

But for now the 1100D is what I have at my disposal.

I'll throw up a shot of the camera and defuser that I'm currently using and see what you think, I wonder if it needs more diffusion as it still seems to cause hotspots and particularly wet things (fungi etc) look a bit shiny from the bounce back, But i guess thats all part of the learning process.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:44 am

Glad you're having fun!
Doing outdoor macro with "just" daylight is very difficult, especially in this country. You just run out of light, it's such a struggle against movement, and shallow depth of field. The latest most sensitive sensors are helping a bit of course.
Getting up early when everything is still, or bulding yourself a controlled situation and using flash, are popular approaches.

Clever post-processing software for removal of noise, and increasing apparent sharpness of diffraction-softened images, is improving slowly too.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:15 am

Acrotoxic wrote:in full sun my camera couldnt shoot quicker then 1/200 with flash but without the flash it could shoot quicker, I assume this is a sync issue between the entry level camera and the flash?

This definitely is a sync issue, but "entry level" has very little to do with it.

The problem is that any focal-plane shutter takes around 1/250 second to open fully. Shutter speeds faster than that are accomplished by having the second curtain start moving before the first one has finished, so that the two curtains moving together form a slit that moves across the sensor. "Faster shutter speed" really means a narrower slit that moves at the same speed for the same amount of time.

When you're working with just a short pulse of light, the mechanical shutter speed has to be slow enough to make the entire sensor be open at the same time, for long enough that the flash can start, expose, and stop, and be recorded equally well across the whole sensor. Otherwise you get darkened top or bottom of frame, depending on timing and which way the shutter moves.

The only way to avoid this problem is to switch to a more expensive flash that provides a different sync mode, in which the flash produces an extended but lower power pulse of light, equally bright for long enough that the entire shutter movement can be completed. In that mode, which Wikipedia describes as FP = "flat peak", the camera can treat the flash as an essentially continuous light source, which means that it can use the shutter-slit technique to give shutter speeds up to the full speed of the mechanical shutter. The downside is that if you use that capability, there's a large loss of effective flash power because so much of the flash's light ends up getting blocked by shutter curtains.

The mechanical shutters in higher end cameras are little if any faster than entry level, so that by itself is no advantage. What you can get in higher end equipment is support for FP sync, in both the flash and the camera, which permits you to use that advanced mode.

But just because the mode is available doesn't mean that it will provide the advantage you imagine. Honest advertisements for FP mode flash usually describe its virtues in terms of providing fill illumination for bright ambient lighting, where the ambient lighting requires a shutter speed that would be too fast for ordinary flash sync.

--Rik

Acrotoxic · Post by **Acrotoxic** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 9:28 am

Thank you all for the response,

That was interesting reading Rik ;and actually somewhere in the back of my mind i'd come across that before but forgot about the interaction with the shutter vs sensor etc.

In honesty it wasn't a big issue I've only come across the issue once since using the flash ~100 outdoor shots, lets be realistic the chase of it being a regular issue are reasonably slim here in the UK it was just an interesting scenario that i found myself, heh im a big bloke and cast a lot of shadow if i dont pay attention!

Acrotoxic · Post by **Acrotoxic** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 12:15 pm

As Convex vs Concave flash diffuser seem all the rage and as my camera was out i figured Id throw a couple pictures of my current diffuser.

It was a punt and didnt cost me much (~£5-7 delivered) but makes a surprising difference compared to no diffuser at all,

Convex

Concave

I think the flash probably should point further down but that would require some modification on my part. but seems to be helping currently.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 2:03 pm

The key to understanding diffusers for macro is to think about how things look from the standpoint of the subject.

With no diffuser at all, your flash appears to be a small bright light.

With the diffuser you have, your flash appears to be significantly larger. That's why it makes a significant improvement over naked flash. But in the grand scheme of things the light source is still pretty small -- meaning that it occupies only a narrow solid angle around the subject.

In comparison, diffusers like orionmystery uses -- large curved things placed close to the subject and sort of wrapping around it, occupy the better part of a half-sphere. From the standpoint of the subject, those things are like being outside on a foggy day, with light coming from everywhere. That's why he gets such beautiful soft light.

--Rik

Acrotoxic · Post by **Acrotoxic** » Thu Apr 21, 2016 10:57 am

Yes I understand your point, i did actually wonder about possibly defusing my light more but would probably need to change my diffuser set up but for now I'm happy with what I get =]

=] took these shots around the house/yard and we are going out somewhere this weekend

Acrotoxic · Post by **Acrotoxic** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 9:59 am

Lesson 1 learnt today) My flash has a lightning Bolt H mode...this evidently is a high speed sync and my camera support this, I can now shoot quicker it seems 1/200.

Lesson 2) Carry spare batteries for the flash

had to shoot towards the end of my walk without flash, however thankfully it was a bright day that it didnt get too much in the way,

Only 3 photos today made the cut, i had others but i felt they didnt really ad or develop myself etc.

Acrotoxic · Post by **Acrotoxic** » Sat Apr 30, 2016 8:15 am

So I struck lucky with one of these shots which really makes it all worth while, I just wish all my photos were as sharp but as they say practice makes perfect.

Next week we go away for a week in Lesvos which was one of the reasons I got this lens, Lesvos is full of insects, bugs, bees, reptiles, amphibians , butterflies, birds and plants; So Im looking forward to taking the shots =]

Acrotoxic · Post by **Acrotoxic** » Sat Apr 30, 2016 1:06 pm

forgot I had a few others that I hadnt uploaded, theres still work to be done but im pleased with the general progress.