this morning at AH

[pai]

wah, the bugs were out in force today, saw lots of them including a huge grasshopper, some jumping spiders, dragonfly etc. i'm still having trouble with the spiders though... they're too small, and easily frightened so i can't get close enough.

did manage to get near some flying bugs though...

#1. shiny shiny...


#2.


#3.


all shots with km5D and tamron 90mm macro. f16, shutter 1/125, with external flash in wireless mode.

as usual, all comments and suggestions for improvement are very welcome

[zaxh81]

good macros,just that i find 1/125sec too much.
i normally shoot 1/60sec max with 90mm.

[pai]

hey thanks

why 1/60 instead of 1/125?

[tchuanye]

Well Pai, If I ever were to upgrade to DSLR, your equipment is what I planned to go for, as I like the KM5D AS which is similar to my FZ10 OIS!

Ok regards the pics, the eyes are slightly OOF, and the flash is too harsh. zaxh81 recommend 1/60s probably is to allow more light to the BG and don't cause the dark BG....correct me if I am wrong zaxh81. But this would mean you would have to tone down your flash power or use a smaller apeture.

Q: Did you diffuse your flash or is direct?

rgds

[pai]

hi tchuanye, thanks for your input, i'm a fan of your macro shots

yes, i really like my 5D, very good handling and colours. just wish i did more justice to it with my pix... the fz series are good cameras as well. the long zoom and lcd screen have their advantages for macro too...

this is my 3rd macro attempt, so i'm still trying to figure out framing, focusing and flash all at once, and i'm struggling, as you can see.

ok i get what you mean about the harsh lighting. the flash was diffused with an omni-bounce, but at f16 and iso100, almost all the lighting in the picture came from it. next time round i will take zaxh81s advice and lower the shutter speed. will probably also up the iso to 400, and reduce the flash power.

the only thing i'm worried about with those settings is whether i can keep things steady... at the moment, to use the flash wirelessly, i'm holding the camera in one hand and the flash in another... not the steadiest arrangement

*edit* oh yah one more thing... i notice in your post you say you use bounced flash... my last macro attempt i used my flash bounced off a white card, instead of using an omnibounce. is this what you mean?

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by pai the only thing i'm worried about with those settings is whether i can keep things steady... at the moment, to use the flash wirelessly, i'm holding the camera in one hand and the flash in another... not the steadiest arrangement *edit* oh yah one more thing... i notice in your post you say you use bounced flash... my last macro attempt i used my flash bounced off a white card, instead of using an omnibounce. is this what you mean?

Yes I used a white card to bounce the flash. I think the omni diffuser does the same thing...I think. I use the white card as its cheaper cos homemade.

Understand abt wireless flash. I was using the Minolta 505SI film camera b4 and am familiar with the wireless flash. One suggestion is to use a tripod for the flash, or use a flash bracket. Good thing about minolta, is the wireless flash sys....no need cables and all that.