First Spider

I can't believe I have been reduced to patrolling my garden in search of creepy crawlies to photograph I am a bit disappointed cos I think it was eating what had been a prettier insect

[IMG]http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt148/PentaxBabe/IMGP9675Spider2.jpg[/IMG]

Another convert

I must warn you Jeanette, they get bigger towards the end of summer
The good news is you wont have to get so close or crop so much

Nice angle though, the usual shot for newbies is to get them from the underside or topside as they stradle their webs, its also where lazy folk like me shoot them from

Good composition and one of my favourite subjects.

Some observations:-

At ISO 200 and f16, I'm surprised you only got 1/20th sec shutter speed, especially as the flash did fire.

Can you elaborate on your flash please? Was it the built-in flash? If not, did you use a diffuser?

Did you use a tripod, and was SR on or off?

The slow shutter speed has contributed some camera shake I think which is why it doesn't appear tack sharp. I'm guessing that as the lens used is a Sigma, and the focal length is 105mm, that the lens is the Sigma 105mm Macro which I believe (I know) with better lighting, can produce stunning results.

Have a look at these for comparison. 1, 2, 3 & 6 are with Sigma 180mm Macro, 4 & 5 with SMCP-FA 100mm Macro. With better lighting, you should be able to get similar results.

Peter,

OK you got most of it right It was the Sigma 105mm Macro which I love. I used a Sigma EM-140 DG PA-PTTL ring flash. I used F16 as I was told off for using F5.6 on the Bee yesterdays I used TV. The problem was the position of the spider! I had to climb into a flower bed and had difficulty setting up the tripod to be steady and its windy up here again I had just had a conversation with a friend who had commented on the difficulty he'd had trying to take a shot of a flower. Both agreeing that people won't believe just how much wind we get here - ats always windy I don't think the spider is going too far so I will have another go wind or no wind

I agree that f5.6 is too large an aperture unless you purposely want a narrow DOF. I generally use f11 - f22 and occasionally smaller but f16 is about the best.

What was the flash to subject distance then as I am still puzzled at the slow shutter speed?

EDIT: I just re-read your post. Change your exposure mode to Av and optionally add up to +0.7 EV compensation (that's what I use). If you had it at Tv you were forcing the slow shutter speed.

If that fails to produce a better image, switch to manual exposure mode and set the shutter to at least 1/250th and the aperture to f16.

NOTE: When using flash, shutter speed will make little difference to the exposure of this subject, it's the aperture setting that governs the exposure.

But also note when using flash you won't be able to use a shutter speed faster than 1/180s.

And I think you'd have a job getting a decent exposure at 1/250th and f/16 without putting your ISO up to 800 or maybe higher, even on a sunny day. For 'normal' distance shots this exposure would be fine on a sunny day and using ISO200, but for macro shots, where the higher magnifications come hand in hand with a loss in light levels, a higher ISO would be required.

Dan

P.S. I prefer f/11 for my Sigma 105mm.