More from the church grounds - 8 November

GardenersHelper

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Nick
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I captured these hand-held yesterday afternoon using a Sony A7ii with a Laowa 100mm 2X macro and two 2X teleconverters, and a Venus Optics KX800 twin flash.

The raw files were processed using PhotoLab, Lightroom and DeNoise AI.

There are 1300 pixel high versions of these eight images in this album at Flickr, which contains 67 images from the session.

The f-numbers shown in the Exif data are the f-numbers set on the camera/lens. The effective f-numbers are larger. For example the springtails were captured using a magnification of around 6X, so the effective f-numbers were around seven times larger than the f/32 shown in the Exif data, so somewhere around f/200 for those two images.

#1

1824 03 2020_11_08 DSC00036_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

#2

1824 06 2020_11_08 DSC00091_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

#3

1824 12 2020_11_08 DSC09626_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

#4

1824 21 2020_11_08 DSC09794_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

#5 This one is from a 31-image "snail in motion" sequence.

1824 28 2020_11_08 DSC09832_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

#6 I don't know what was going on here.

1824 54 2020_11_08 DSC09919_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

#7

1824 62 2020_11_08 DSC09958_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

#8

1824 66 2020_11_08 DSC09972_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
Wow these are good Nick even for you
You are using that set up really well
 
That last shot Nick, WoW...............................Did I say WOW, I mean really WOW
 
Wow these are good Nick even for you
You are using that set up really well

Thanks Alf. It's much helped by suddenly finding I've got a source of subjects right on my doorstep, literally just across the road. Given the time of year I'm surprised at how much I'm finding (which is nice given all the moaning I've been doing for a while now about not being able to find much in our garden). Mind you, I think that is very much helped by the fact that with this kit I can get more success with much smaller subjects than before. In the past few days I've seen hardly any of my usual size of subject. Even the snails I've found have been really small. It seems as though smaller animals, or at least some of them, can cope with cooler weather better than larger ones. Do you think that is the case? (I seem to recall seeing photos of springtails in icy conditions, but perhaps I'm imagining that.)
 
That last shot Nick, WoW...............................Did I say WOW, I mean really WOW

Thanks Graham. :)

I like making "zooming in" sequences. The last shot was the third (repeated below) of a sequence of four. The fourth is a bit weak (which is why I used the third one), but I don't mind putting ones that didn't work quite so well in the album when they are part of of a sequence. These sequences typically don't get shot in the order I show them btw. I'm not that organised. It's all a bit random at capture time and during post processing I cobble together what I can from what I've got. For example I didn't manage to get a shot with all the legs showing in full.


1824 64 2020_11_08 DSC09966_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed (1)
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr


1824 65 2020_11_08 DSC09969_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed (1)
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr


1824 66 2020_11_08 DSC09972_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr


1824 67 2020_11_08 DSC09977_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr

This was the only angle I could get on it when I first saw it. I accidentally disturbed it while I was trying to get a better angle on it and it moved, luckily to somewhere I could get a better line of sight on it.


1824 63 2020_11_08 DSC09934_PLab4 LR 1300h DNAIcAutoMed
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr
 
More amazing images Nick (y)
 
Thanks Alf. It's much helped by suddenly finding I've got a source of subjects right on my doorstep, literally just across the road. Given the time of year I'm surprised at how much I'm finding (which is nice given all the moaning I've been doing for a while now about not being able to find much in our garden). Mind you, I think that is very much helped by the fact that with this kit I can get more success with much smaller subjects than before. In the past few days I've seen hardly any of my usual size of subject. Even the snails I've found have been really small. It seems as though smaller animals, or at least some of them, can cope with cooler weather better than larger ones. Do you think that is the case? (I seem to recall seeing photos of springtails in icy conditions, but perhaps I'm imagining that.)
You will find springtails active all year Nick but you will need yo look harder in dry conditions. They love damp conditions and you will have seen them on ice.
At this time of year it is mostly tiny subjects that are active.
 
You will find springtails active all year

Excellent!

Nick but you will need yo look harder in dry conditions. They love damp conditions and you will have seen them on ice.
At this time of year it is mostly tiny subjects that are active.

That's fine. Damp conditions are also good for snails and slugs. Ice I'm not so keen on.

Thanks for the information Alf. That is very helpful.
 
You will find springtails active all year Nick but you will need yo look harder in dry conditions. They love damp conditions and you will have seen them on ice.
At this time of year it is mostly tiny subjects that are active.
Studies in Richmond park have found a lot more springtails in the winter than the summer - of course for people like Alf in Cumbria (where it is a bit wetter) the difference could be a lot smaller.

Nick,

Those are really good, the first is a 22 spot ladybird. I have heard others recommend churches as a good place to take photos but I have not tried that much - all the churches near me have small grounds.
 
Studies in Richmond park have found a lot more springtails in the winter than the summer - of course for people like Alf in Cumbria (where it is a bit wetter) the difference could be a lot smaller.

Nick,

Those are really good, the first is a 22 spot ladybird. I have heard others recommend churches as a good place to take photos but I have not tried that much - all the churches near me have small grounds.

David
I do find it easier to find springtails in winter I wondered if that was because the predators are less active.
 
Studies in Richmond park have found a lot more springtails in the winter than the summer

Thanks David. That's good, I'll keep looking during the winter months. It's been pretty much all globular springtails so far. Hopefully I can find some different sorts.

- of course for people like Alf in Cumbria (where it is a bit wetter) the difference could be a lot smaller.

Nick,

Those are really good, the first is a 22 spot ladybird.

Thanks. It is always helpful to have IDs as I'm so bad at it. In this case I had the rare pleasure of being able to identify it myself. At least, I thought I had, but then I counted the spots, and there are 12 on the side we can see, so perhaps it had 24 spots. That raised some doubt in my mind. When animals are defined as having a certain number of spots does that actually mean "around x spots"? For example I see references to five-spot and six-spot burnet moths, so in that case at least it presumably has to be exactly that number. But is that always the case?

I have heard others recommend churches as a good place to take photos but I have not tried that much - all the churches near me have small grounds.

That's a pity. I've written about the church grounds I'm visiting towards the end of this post in my Journey thread, with some photos of the grounds in the following post in my Journey thread and more in this album at Flickr.
 
David
I do find it easier to find springtails in winter I wondered if that was because the predators are less active.
No there are more of them - it was in the BENHS journal a year or so ago - they used IIRC tullgren funnels and found a bigger weight.
Sadly I don't have it to hand.

BTW if anyone is interested in entomology both BENHS and the AES are good investments - you don't have to be expert to enjoy their journals.
 
Excellent set of images Nick, I'm particularly impressed by #2, the clarity is amazing. Just a quick couple of questions about your gear, I assume you weren't using your video technique as you say that you were using the Sony Aii. I'm also intrigued by the your use of teleconverters, could you please elaborate on this in terms of brand of TC and compatibility with the Sony body and Laowa lens?
Having discovered that I can't attach the Raynox 250 when I'm using my Meike twin macro lights I'm now somewhat reluctantly thinking of ditching my excellent Sony 90mm macro lens and going for a higher magnification Laowa lens.
 
Excellent set of images Nick, I'm particularly impressed by #2, the clarity is amazing.

Thanks. :)

Just a quick couple of questions about your gear, I assume you weren't using your video technique as you say that you were using the Sony Aii.

Correct. These are all single-image captures.

I'm also intrigued by the your use of teleconverters, could you please elaborate on this in terms of brand of TC and compatibility with the Sony body and Laowa lens?

[I hope I've got all the details right here. :) ]

The teleconverters are Kenko C-AF 2X TelePlus Pro 300. I use two of them. I bought the first one new, along with a 1.4X. I recently bought a second 2X second hand from Wex Photo Video for £60. (They said it had some dust inside the teleconverter but this wouldn't affect the photos. I took a chance on it and it seems to work ok.)

These particular teleconverters can be stacked - two 2X (which I'm now using) or one 1.4X and one 2X, which I used before that (and just one 2X before that. I've been going through a lot of options just recently).

Looking at the design of the Sony teleconverters, it looks like it may not be possible to stack them (it looks to be the same with the Canon teleconverters). But perhaps you wouldn't want to do that anyway.

The TelePlus Pro 300 teleconverters have electrical connections and they handle EXIF data correctly for my setup (changing it appropriately as the data passes from the lens to the camera).

I am using a Canon EF mount version of the Laowa 100 2X macro lens. This is I think the only version of the lens which is chipped. This means that it supplies EXIF data, and even more important it lets you search for subjects, compose and focus with the lens wide open. It only closes the aperture down when you take the photo. That means that the sensor gets much more light while focusing etc than with unchipped lenses which you have to close down manually before taking the shot. If you close it down before focusing etc, the EVF/rear screen will gain up, but it will be very laggy, which is increasingly problematic as the magnification goes up. Unless you are working with a static subject and the camera very well supported, focusing etc first and then closing down the aperture is probably increasingly problematic as the magnification goes up.

The teleconverter nearest the camera is connected to the camera with a Sigma MC-11 EF to E mount adapter.

When using these same stacked teleconverters with the Laowa on a micro four thirds camera using a Commlite EF to MFT adapter the connection is unreliable. Sometimes the camera recognises the teleconverters and lens, sometimes not. It changes from moment to moment. With the A7ii connected via the MC-11 adapter the connection has been reliable so far.

The Laowa is 100mm focal length and goes from f/2.8 to f/22. If you add a 2X teleconverter it becomes 200mm focal length, and f/5.6 to f/45. If you add two 2X teleconverters (my current configuration) it becomes 400mm focal length and f/11 to f/90.

On my A7ii the f-numbers I see when setting the f-number are f/11 to f/90. (i.e. what you see is what you get). The EXIF data shows whatever the f-number is that I have set on the camera, and for my current setup shows the focal length as 400mm.

The Laowa goes from infinity focus to 2X magnification with a turn of around 120 degrees of the magnification/focus ring. The working distance at 2X magnification is around 72mm.
With one 2X teleconverter added, the Laowa goes from infinity focus to 4X magnification with a turn of around 120 degrees of the magnification/focus ring. The working distance at 4X magnification is around 72mm.
With two 2X teleconverters added, the Laowa goes from infinity focus to 8X magnification with a turn of around 120 degrees of the magnification/focus ring. The working distance at 8X magnification is around 72mm.

The effective f-number (the one you are actually using) is given by the approximation:

Effective f-number = Nominal f-number * ( 1 + magnification )

Where Nominal f-number is the f-number you set on the camera/lens. So for example with the bare Laowa lens (no teleconverter) if you set the camera/lens f-number to f/11, at 2X magnification the f-number you are actually using is around f/ ( 11 * ( 1 + 2 ), which is around f/32.

This means that, for example, when using a 2X teleconverter the minimum effective f-number (maximum aperture) you can use is

at 1:2, f/ ( 5.6 * ( 1 + 0.5 ) = around f/8
at 1:1, f/ ( 5.6 * ( 1 + 1 ) = around f/11
at 2:1, f/ ( 5.6 * ( 1 + 2 ) = around f/16
at 4:1, f/ ( 5.6 * ( 1 + 4 ) = around f/28

It is similar for stacked teleconverters except that instead of starting with f/5.6 you start with the maximum aperture of the stacked setup.
For example, if using two 2X teleconverters, the minimum effective f-number at 8X magnification is f/ ( 11 * ( 1+8) = around f/100.

As the effective f-number gets larger (as the aperture gets smaller) the amount of softening and loss of detail from diffraction increases. This means that images produced using this approach are going to be soft and lacking in fine detail, increasingly so as the magnification increases. Clever processing can't retrieve detail that has been lost. The best you can do is use post processing to make the best you can of the reduced detail. I use a workflow involving three quite expensive software products and I have a powerful PC with a powerful graphics card which all three of those software products can make use of. On less powerful PCs processing times can be rather lengthy.

Even with the best processing that I am able to do, I can't produce images that look good much larger than the 1300 pixel high images I produce. It does depend somewhat on the subject and on how much I crop, but if you do use very small apertures don't expect to be able to zoom in on your images to see lots more, finer detail.






Having discovered that I can't attach the Raynox 250 when I'm using my Meike twin macro lights I'm now somewhat reluctantly thinking of ditching my excellent Sony 90mm macro lens and going for a higher magnification Laowa lens.

If you haven't tried it already, you might want to try an approach I used with my Yongnuo twin flash using step rings. Here is an illustration of what it would look like for a Meike twin flash. There are three step up rings: 67 to 72, 72 to 77 and 77 to 82. The 77-82 fits nicely on to the ribbing inside the circular Meike frame, and can be stuck there. I used glue dots for that. This arrangement lifts the Raynox 250 clear of the front of the Meike frame.


(Dusty!!) Raynox 250 on Meike twin flash frame using step rings
by gardenersassistant, on Flickr
 
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