How to take macro shot?

[Phil]

See my sig for equipment list. Pls help me to make e best of my equipment..

Heres my experience.. if I use my 420EX.. no matter how I position my cam.. e flash will not fill the whole subject.. worst still it will case a very harsh shadow one way or another..

Using zoom & close up +4 will help a bit but for really close up shot.. its no go since my G2 is only 3x optical zoom.

My latest experiment is to use slow shutter speed & high aperture setting to compose my shot. Turn out well only if I mount my cam on a tripod...

Advise pls.

Phil

[lennon]

If you’re using 420EX mounted on your hot shoe, then it will really cast a harsh shadow and you won’t be able to fill flash your whole subject. The reason is that your flash is looking at a different direction as your lens.
One solution is to buy a flash bracket so that you can position your flash lower and omni bounce will help in the distribution of light at a wider range. Macro flash bracket is ideal to use but it’s very expensive, but the ordinary 28$ flash bracket will do the same trick. Of course you will need an off camera shoe with this setup.

If you are using a close up filter (+4), you don’t have to worry about the focusing distance as all lenses will focus at the same distance with an attached close up filter. This is apply to SLR lenses so I guess also applies to fixed-lens cam. Say, 3X and 12X zoom lens will focus at the distance (about ¼ meter) if you attach +4 close up filter on to it.

It is always advisable to use smaller aperture when working with macros as DOF is very critical as you increase the magnification. If you will be able to position your flash correctly, (as the first paragraph) then you will be able to use faster shutter speed when doing macros.

Keep shooting!

Lennon

[megaweb]

check out M. Plonsky macro website

he is using G1 and G2 cam and his macro shots are stunning ...

see his setup at
http://www.mplonsky.com/photo/equip.htm

[azone]

With your list of equipments, i think you should be able to take good macros shots.

Hope this may help:
http://azone.clubsnap.org/insectguide/page01.html

[lennon]

That is one of the expensive macro flash brackets im refering to!

But, the only flash bracket I saw in Singapore is the Wimberley bracket, costs 300+ at CP.

[NiVleK]

Whats the neccessary stuff to get for marco photography? Close up lens?

And whats the difference between macro lens and close up lens?

[Madcat II]

Hi Phil,

I have the same setup, G2 + 420EX + Hoya +4 filter. I also have a omni bounce for the 420EX.

What I do is to position the subject after focusing such that it will maximise the flash coverage. Eg, place subject higher up the frame.

Plsy around with different angles and you should be able to find the best angle for your setup.

Omni bounce will give you less harsh flash spots. And remember to switch on your Macro Mode, G2 can't foucs near objects if Macro Mode is not turned on.

here's an example

Have fun...

[azone]

Quote: Originally posted by NiVleK Whats the neccessary stuff to get for marco photography? Close up lens? And whats the difference between macro lens and close up lens?

For digital camera users, close-up filters are quite essential to help in achieving good magnification as well as comfortable working distance. Other stuffs that you may need:

1) Camera that has Manual settings (able to set the Aperture and Shutter speed manually)
2) External flash (if you cam has a hotshoe) are quite useful for taking macros under low-lighting. It is also meant for compensating the camera settings used.

In digital cameras world (not including DSLRs), a macro lens is essentially similar to a close-up filter physically and functionally. Macro lens produces better quality as they're "dual-element", meaning they have 2 pieces of glass for correcting Chromatic Abberation and edge distortions. In contrast, close-up filters are "single-element" type.

[NiVleK]

Quote: Originally posted by azone For digital camera users, close-up filters are quite essential to help in achieving good magnification as well as comfortable working distance. Other stuffs that you may need: 1) Camera that has Manual settings (able to set the Aperture and Shutter speed manually) 2) External flash (if you cam has a hotshoe) are quite useful for taking macros under low-lighting. It is also meant for compensating the camera settings used. In digital cameras world (not including DSLRs), a macro lens is essentially similar to a close-up filter physically and functionally. Macro lens produces better quality as they're "dual-element", meaning they have 2 pieces of glass for correcting Chromatic Abberation and edge distortions. In contrast, close-up filters are "single-element" type.

I see... I am using the Olympus C750UZ. What flash is good? Also, although I read your article I am still a tad blur about +4, +10 close ups. More importantly, which close up is more frequently used?

[majere2sg]

Quote: Originally posted by NiVleK I see... I am using the Olympus C750UZ. What flash is good? Also, although I read your article I am still a tad blur about +4, +10 close ups. More importantly, which close up is more frequently used?

It has to depend on the minimum focus range of your camera to use the full zoom ?
Eg. if your camera has to be at least 1m away from the subject before it can use its
full 3x zoom and maintain a clear focus, using a +4 close up will divide the minimum distance by 4 to about 25cm, a +10 will bring it to about 10cm. So the more close up
you use, the nearer you have to be to the subject to focus well with the max zoom. Also
the higher is the magnification too. I heard that using too many close ups will cause vignetting too.

[azone]

Quote: Originally posted by NiVleK I see... I am using the Olympus C750UZ. What flash is good? Also, although I read your article I am still a tad blur about +4, +10 close ups. More importantly, which close up is more frequently used?

For C750, you can try using any 3rd party flash, preferably one that can tilt the flash head and has Manual mode, meaning that you can set the power level (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc) manually. Together with an Omni-bounce, you'll be able to achieve good effects. Megaweb has some test shots using the C750:

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthrea...threadid=37573


Since the C750 has 10x zoom, a +4 will be more useful. A +10 will be 'too powerful'.

[azone]

Quote: Originally posted by majere2sg It has to depend on the minimum focus range of your camera to use the full zoom ?

Not true. The focusing distance when using a close-up filter is quite fixed regardless of cameras and their minimum focusing distance.

Quote: I heard that using too many close ups will cause vignetting too.

Yes it does, but usually you'll zoom in alot, so the vignetting will be gone by then. However, stacking too many close-up will cause distortions around the edges. At time, AF may fail too, due to too many glass elements in front.

[Belleforte]

Anyone knows where I can get a cheaper flash mounting brackets? Just a simple one where I can use my own PC cord.

[lennon]

Quote: Originally posted by azone Since the C750 has 10x zoom, a +4 will be more useful. A +10 will be 'too powerful'.

You mean 10X is more effective than 3X with +4 closeup filter attached on to it? in what sense?

[NiVleK]

Quote: Originally posted by azone For C750, you can try using any 3rd party flash, preferably one that can tilt the flash head and has Manual mode, meaning that you can set the power level (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc) manually. Together with an Omni-bounce, you'll be able to achieve good effects. Megaweb has some test shots using the C750: http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthrea...threadid=37573 Since the C750 has 10x zoom, a +4 will be more useful. A +10 will be 'too powerful'.

I see. I saw mega's shots too. Nice shots!! Will the hoya +4 close len (55mm) work well for this cam?

Any recommended flash? And oh, thanks a lot for the help.

PS: Nice guide you have there! Read through twice liaos.

[azone]

Quote: Originally posted by lennon You mean 10X is more effective than 3X with +4 closeup filter attached on to it? in what sense?

Yes, higher focal length will result in higher magnification. The formula goes like this:

magnification factor = f / ( 1000 / d )

where
f is the maximum focal length of the camera,
d is the diopter rating of the close-up filter/lens

At 10x zoom, the focal length of C750 is 380mm, so with a +4,

magnification factor = 380 / (1000 / 4) = 1.52



At 3x, the focal length is 114mm, so

magnification factor = 114 / (1000 / 4) = 0.456

[azone]

Quote: Originally posted by NiVleK I see. I saw mega's shots too. Nice shots!! Will the hoya +4 close len (55mm) work well for this cam? Any recommended flash? And oh, thanks a lot for the help. PS: Nice guide you have there! Read through twice liaos.

It should work. What thread size to use depends on the lens adapter's thread size, so you need to get the lens adapter 1st.

[NiVleK]

Quote: Originally posted by azone It should work. What thread size to use depends on the lens adapter's thread size, so you need to get the lens adapter 1st.

Yups. I know that. Cos I already got the 55mm lens adapter.



I see that you stack 2 filters together, doesnt it allow less light to go in after 2 filters? Why not use a filter with a higher rating instead?

[NiVleK]

Quote: Originally posted by azone Yes, higher focal length will result in higher magnification. The formula goes like this: magnification factor = f / ( 1000 / d ) where f is the maximum focal length of the camera, d is the diopter rating of the close-up filter/lens At 10x zoom, the focal length of C750 is 380mm, so with a +4, magnification factor = 380 / (1000 / 4) = 1.52 At 3x, the focal length is 114mm, so magnification factor = 114 / (1000 / 4) = 0.456

By this, do you mean that we have to use max focal length to take the shots?

[azone]

Quote: Originally posted by NiVleK I see that you stack 2 filters together, doesnt it allow less light to go in after 2 filters? Why not use a filter with a higher rating instead?

Stacking 2 filters will not affect the metering at all. The next higher rating one will be the +10. I prefer to use 2 +4 for the flexibility, coz at times i only need to use one +4 (e.g., for dragonflies). I can simply unmount one of the +4 and shoot straight away, rather than unmounting both +4s and mount a +10.

Quote: Originally posted by NiVleK By this, do you mean that we have to use max focal length to take the shots?

Nope, you can certainly zoom halfway, 3/4 way, etc. It just depends on how much magnification you want or how you want to compose your picture. The formula is just an indication of the maximum magnification you can achieve with your camera.