***DSLR/Photography MegaThread***

SO MUCH FUN!!

Orange Rind:
_GCC0406.jpg


Rusty Nail:
_GCC0409.jpg


Dying Bougainvillea Leaf:
_GCC0410.jpg


Bougainvillea Flower (the yellow part is only about 1/8 inch in diameter):
_GCC0413.jpg


Daisy:
_GCC0417.jpg


Razor-Grass Seed Stalk:
_GCC0419.jpg


Little Purple Flowers (each is about 1/4" in diameter):
_GCC0420.jpg


These were hand-held. Had I not been lazy, I'd have put my tripod up. The difference between in-focus and out-of-focus on these images is litterally a couple millimeters, and I found that as I'd breathe, the camera would change its distance from the subject just enough to put it out of focus either on the far side or near side.

What I really need is a focusing rail! That's next. They aren't cheap!

Also, I need to play around in better lighting. I could up the shutter speed while keeping things stopped to around f/8 if I had better lighting. Wonder how an off-camera flash might be able to be used?
 
FlyBoeingJets said:
These were hand-held. Had I not been lazy, I'd have put my tripod up. The difference between in-focus and out-of-focus on these images is litterally a couple millimeters, and I found that as I'd breathe, the camera would change its distance from the subject just enough to put it out of focus either on the far side or near side.
Click to expand...

That's crazy! Very cool stuff. Any way you could take a photo of this rig all put together?

I was wondering about the focus of some of the photos. It seems the very center (obviously) is always in focus but outer edges that appear to be in the same vacinity are out of focus.

For example, the top head of the nail;, the center 50% horizontally is in focus but the upper and lower 25% horizontally is out of focus even though they are very close in proximity.

_GCC0409.jpg
 
BleedingPurple said:
That's crazy! Very cool stuff. Any way you could take a photo of this rig all put together?
Click to expand...

Yeah. Gimme a bit.

BleedingPurple said:
I was wondering about the focus of some of the photos. It seems the very center (obviously) is always in focus but outer edges that appear to be in the same vacinity are out of focus.

For example, the top head of the nail;, the center 50% horizontally is in focus but the upper and lower 25% horizontally is out of focus even though they are very close in proximity.
Click to expand...

Well, if you think of the focus point as being a flat plane parallel to the front of the camera on which anything is in focus, then you can see why only the middle of the head of the nail is in focus. It passes through the focal plane at an angle because I took the image with the camera pointed down at the nail from an angle of approximately 45-degrees.

Had the sun not been behind a cloud, the f-stop might have been a little higher (tighter aperture, greater DOF) so more of the nail would have been in focus. I'm still learning how to control DOF with these things installed.
 
BleedingPurple said:
That's crazy! Very cool stuff. Any way you could take a photo of this rig all put together?
Click to expand...

You know how hard it is to take a picture of your camera when that's the only camera you've got??

The D200 with the 50mm f/1.4 mounted on it:
IMG_2396.JPG


The D200 with the 50mm f/1.4 mounted on top of 68mm worth of extension tubes:
IMG_2397.JPG


Yes, that's my season ticket box. No I haven't burned it yet.
 
Heh.

I just stuck the big mama-jama 70-200 f/2.8 on the end of the stack of tubes. At 200mm, the focus point is like eight inches in front of the lens! Normal minimum focusing distance is like 5 feet!

But the funny thing was that at 70mm, the focus point is somewhere between the front lens element and the UV filter!! I can probably focus on the fingerprints on the UV filter!!
 
FlyBoeingJets said:
You know how hard it is to take a picture of your camera when that's the only camera you've got??
Click to expand...

I thought about that after I asked. I figured you had to have a P&S or a camera phone. :) Thanks for posting!

Very interesting. Are these tubes a cheaper alternative to a very expensive lens or is the application totally different?
 
BleedingPurple said:
Very interesting. Are these tubes a cheaper alternative to a very expensive lens or is the application totally different?
Click to expand...

I guess they essentially allow you to turn a regular lens into a macro lens. Even so, macro lenses won't get you much closer in terms of minimum focusing distance, or much bigger in terms of magnification ratios.

For instance, the AF Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8D has a minimum focusing distance of 8.75 inches. I can get within 1" of my subjects with all these tubes behind my 50mm f/1.4 lens. And (according to the tables supplied with the tubes) the image will have greater magnification ratio with the tubes (1.5:1 with all the tubes on). Most macro lenses get 1:1 ratios.

There are advantages to longer focusing distances for 1:1 magnification. Photographing poisonous things? Yeah, I'd want at least a foot between that spider and me! But you can get the increased minimum focusing distance with tubes, as well! Just put them on a longer focal-length lens!
 
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FlyBoeingJets said:
For instance, the AF Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8D has a minimum focusing distance of 8.75 inches. I can get within 1" of my subjects with all these tubes behind my 50mm f/1.4 lens. And (according to the tables supplied with the tubes) the image will have greater magnification ratio with the tubes (1.5:1 with all the tubes on). Most macro lenses get 1:1 ratios.

There are advantages to longer focusing distances for 1:1 magnification. Photographing poisonous things? Yeah, I'd want at least a foot between that spider and me!
Click to expand...

I think both have advantages and disadvantages. I have the 60mm Micro. That 8.75" number is from the film plane. The minimum distance from the front of the lens is like 2.75" with a 1:1 ratio on a 35mm size sensor. On a DSLR it would be 1.5:1. The good thing about it is that it is sharp, compact and versitile. You are right about working distance being important though It is not easy to get so close sometimes, and it is even harder to light the subject properly when you are right on top of it. So generally I don't use the 60 for macro work. I also have the 105mm micro and use that for my close up work becase it gives me the same enlargement ratio but at a working distance of 9" or so. Problem is that it is kind of a big lens, especially the newer VR version that I have. Very sharp lens but big and heavy. I think I use it most often for copying photos on a copy stand when I don't have the time to scan them.
 
Holy crap! When will this thread be available in paperback? Nice surprise here on LGK.

Great work guys.

Now what's the theme?
 
DeaderFan said:
I think both have advantages and disadvantages. I have the 60mm Micro. That 8.75" number is from the film plane. The minimum distance from the front of the lens is like 2.75" with a 1:1 ratio on a 35mm size sensor. On a DSLR it would be 1.5:1. The good thing about it is that it is sharp, compact and versitile. You are right about working distance being important though It is not easy to get so close sometimes, and it is even harder to light the subject properly when you are right on top of it. So generally I don't use the 60 for macro work. I also have the 105mm micro and use that for my close up work becase it gives me the same enlargement ratio but at a working distance of 9" or so. Problem is that it is kind of a big lens, especially the newer VR version that I have. Very sharp lens but big and heavy. I think I use it most often for copying photos on a copy stand when I don't have the time to scan them.
Click to expand...

Okay. There's some good info that's new to me! I didn't know that minimum focusing distance were measured from the sensor, though to think about it now it really only makes all the sense in the world. Thanks DeaderFan!

So what is my 1.5:1 ratio from the table that was included with my tubes on my DX sensor? Is it 2.25:1? Couldn't be! Or could it?
 
DeaderFan said:
BTW FBJ, I also meant to say nice job on the pics. Very nice.
Click to expand...

Thanks! They leave a little to be desired in DOF and camera shake, but that's to be expected with a person's first macro captures.
 
What is amazing is, is that this thread has been around for quite a while and people still dont venture out of Home Ice or RH. I <3 this thread.

Can't wait 'till friday for the theme.
 
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