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Vince, were these hand held or on a tripod? Reason I ask is that the iso is 1600 and that, combined with being hand held will be a big contributor to softness. If on a tripod, there shouldn't be any reason for the iso to be that high and, again, it contributes to the softness. Als, your aperture is very wide at f4.8, macro photography gives a very shallow depth of field.

Set your iso to 100 or 200, stop down to around f16, use a remote release if you have one and consider using manual focus as that tends to be more accurate when doing macro.
 
fabs said:
Vince, were these hand held or on a tripod? Reason I ask is that the iso is 1600 and that, combined with being hand held will be a big contributor to softness. If on a tripod, there shouldn't be any reason for the iso to be that high and, again, it contributes to the softness. Als, your aperture is very wide at f4.8, macro photography gives a very shallow depth of field.

Set your iso to 100 or 200, stop down to around f16, use a remote release if you have one and consider using manual focus as that tends to be more accurate when doing macro.
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Thank you very much for your advise.

I did use tripod and remote, do you think it's the Macro Filters having a efect on the softness
 
Ah, macro filters are something I never got on with. I know they're a cheap way to get started and I bought some off ebay at first but could never get a sharp image out of them. Try again with the iso turned down and the aperture stopped down to around f16 Im sure that will help. Also, turn the VR off if you have it.

Extension tubes are another option although I have never used them, I just went out and treated myself to a macro lens.
 
fabs said:
Ah, macro filters are something I never got on with. I know they're a cheap way to get started and I bought some off ebay at first but could never get a sharp image out of them. Try again with the iso turned down and the aperture stopped down to around f16 Im sure that will help. Also, turn the VR off if you have it.

Extension tubes are another option although I have never used them, I just went out and treated myself to a macro lens.
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Many thanks for you help, I will try that at some stage tomorrow, I think I need to search for a macro lens !!
 
vince31 said:
Many thanks for you help, I will try that at some stage tomorrow, I think I need to search for a macro lens !!
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No problem, I can recommend the Sigma 105 from personal experience but I've heard great things about the Nikon version if you have the cash.
 
If you want a really cheap but decent macro add-on, look around for a raynox DCR-250.
Used they go for around £35 and they give amazing results.
Here's a couple of quick grab shots of my pooch's nose and paw taken at f11 with my 40D, 18-55 kit lens and the Raynox.
Focus on the nose is slightly out but it gives you an idea of what the Raynox is capable of, even with the lowly kit lens. :cool:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/6979588356_4ed4a78ff8_o_d.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7125676167_b78e2e2dd1_b_d.jpg
 
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I can definitely recommend the Raynox Vince. I've got the DCR 150 and the 250. I use these all the time on my Compact System Camera as my Sigma 105 Macro is just too bulky on it, and so is only used on my D7000. There are a few of the photos I have taken with these on my flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/hillwalkinggirl/sets/72157627078621554/

I was recommended to get one of these by Ajophotog (The master of macro) on this site when I first started, then I got hooked on macro and bought a dedicated macro lens.
 
I used a raynox DCR250 for a few months on my old camera system and got pretty good results from it. The depth of field is really nice with it as well and my nikon D5100 could still autofocus using it due to no moving parts on the outside of AF-S lenses.

Definitely get one first before going dedicated macro as the later route is very expensive. The only massive downside to the raynox kit is the fact you have to get exceptionally close to the subject to take a good photo. This was a nightmare for me due to my own shadow really messing up the exposure on many photos. However, buying more reach when it comes to macro is very expensive!
 
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