first macro bug!!!

Hi Graham, what lens is it, may I ask?

For a first shot - excellent though I am finding it hard to see what part of the insect is more in focus - I think this is just an issue with it being your "first" shot rather than a lens issue and I think you're certainly on the right track - flies aren't easy to capture, they're very skittish and bugger off at the first sign of danger. Will be good to see more shots from you with your new bit of kit (y)
 
thanks for replies guys,i need to practice and learn the art of macro,i was just chuffed to get any focussed bits in the 10 minutes
i was in the garden.any advice would be greatly appreciated on using my venus 60mm.tripod or hand held?is it best to magnify in live view?
ring or modified flash.?or natural light?how to light subject whilst focussing?best way to attract bugs?
i realise it is an art form and requires patience,and would love to get images half as good as some I've seen on here!!!!
image taken was a bit gungho with venus and ring flash.
 
banksi007 said:
any advice would be greatly appreciated on using my venus 60mm.tripod or hand held?is it best to magnify in live view?
ring or modified flash.?or natural light?how to light subject whilst focussing?best way to attract bugs?
Click to expand...

Big questions, with lots of different answers from different people.

Some people prefer natural light (I'm one of them), but very many here use flash (including me, because natural light often isn't practical).

Flash becomes more important as the magnification increases. Almost all of the higher magnification shots you will see are done with flash.

Most people using flash use home-made diffusers for their flash, although ring flashes are particularly difficult to make diffusers for.

For loads of ideas for flash setups, have a look at the Show us your macro rig thread. This includes ideas for how to light the subject while focusing.

I think most people use manual focus, but a few (I'm one of them) use autofocus (but in my case not all the time).

I think most people don't use a tripod, but a few do (I'm one of them, but not all the time, and not much at all just recently). And you can use a tripod in more than one way ("hands-on" and "hands-off"). Some people use something else like a monopod, stick or pole to help steady the camera, especially as the magnification increases. This can help with composition (or with higher magnification just getting the subject into the frame at all and keeping it there long enough to press the shutter button), and can also let you use slower shutter speeds than would otherwise be the case if using natural light.

You may have image stabilisation in your camera or your lens, but as the magnification increases this becomes less and less useful.

Most people don't use the very smallest apertures in order to get maximum depth of field because small apertures cause a lot of loss of sharpness and detail. However some people (I'm one of them) prefer the greater depth of field and do use very small apertures and put up with the loss of sharpness/detail.

I think most people use the viewfinder rather than live view, but a few do use live view (I'm one of them).

Some people use prime macro lenses but there are all sorts of other options like reversing lenses, extension tubes, teleconverters and add-on lenses.

Some of what works and what doesn't work depends on the kit you are using, and some depends on the subject matter and shooting conditions. For example, I use different cameras, flash/natural light, tripod/hand-held, small and larger apertures, manual/auto-focus depending on the circumstances. And in some cases depending on my mood. (Sound strange? Well, for example working hand-held feels much more free and fluid to me than working with a tripod, and sometimes that simply feels better, more enjoyable.) How you go about your captures can also depend somewhat on how much you are (or aren't) into post processing. And the techniques you use can change from time to time as you change equipment, grow in knowledge and skills, try new subjects or just fancy a change.

So, lots of options. No one can tell you what is best for you. You have to find that out for yourself. I think you need to try different approaches and see what works best for you. You should get plenty of ideas from this forum and others like it.

Some of us here are in a continual state of experimentation. Macro/close-up is a complicated business with continual potential for improvement and reaching out into new areas and approaches. It is fascinating and, be warned, can be addictive. (No, I'm not joking.)
 
nick,a massive thanks for that in depth reply,very helpful,in my new adventure,will hopefully be posting some images along the way
 
Myself and @Paul Iddon are both Venus uses when you get it singing it you will be blown away. There is a FB venus group if you want to join.

Now Nick has expertly and concisely answered all the non answerable questions as most of it you need to find what suits you.

I will tell you mine and Pauls approach are completely different, I do handheld he does 99% tripod. I do on camera flash with softbox, he does ring flash diffused. I like mine set to f8 he likes f11.

I would highly recommend you focus on 1 thing at a time otherwise it will all get confusing and you won't know which bit did what.

So for you I would highly recommend practice nailing focus then look at lighting and what you prefer then diffuse it (includes ambient)

also a lot depends on your subject you want to shoot. Would you mind sharing this with us and maybe we can tailor a better answer too.

Welcome to the section/forum and a great purchase with the Venus. ;)
 
Exactly as said.

The Venus lens is uber-fantastic when you get everything right - a few of us have plenty of Venus images on Flickr too.

Certainly Bryn fell in love with the lens, (but he also loves his MPE) just like I do. Kurt was the first to get the Venus and he has some awesome shots with it. He is the man who prompted me to get mine, and Bryn quickly followed suit.

The lens is brilliant, but learning to use it, is, shall we say, a challenge, albeit one you will definitely enjoy.

Paul.
 
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For me, its manual focus, pre-set the focus to how close you want to get, then hold breath and lean-into the image until everything starts becoming clear and start snapping. Sometimes I can take 10 images and one or two will be sharp <enough> for me to use. Minute movements quickly put everything out of focus or only parts of the body in focus <usually the parts you dont want in focus> - I, personally, try to get the eyes in focus. If I manage to get other parts of the body in focus, then I'll see if I can stack them to get a complete-body shot but its not very often. It wont take you long to pick it up @banksi007 and you'll soon be producing some amazing images - you've got a great, great lens and that will help you get 30% of the way, the other 70% will be your technique which you will learn quite quickly. :)
 
brilliant replies lads.much appreciated,i think the golf clubs will be idle for the time being.!!!!!
 
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