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My first macros with the ist

LiamD
Posted 13/01/2006 - 07:45 Link
Hi,

I'm rushing off to work, but I tried out my new extension tubes a couple of days ago, and this..

http://www.liamsworld.org.uk/galleries/macro1/index.html

is the result.

I'll fill in the details later, but the clarity of the original images is stunning.

On the flower buds, there are little red dots, you can barely make them out. I can zoom in to those and fill the screen before there's any noticeable pixellation, and they can't be more than a couple of tenths of a millimetre across..!!!!!!

God knows what they'd be like in RAW. I think the depth of field is around 0.25-0.5mm, so that was fun trying to manually focus.

(The flower is Mahonia japonica if you needed to know)

Cheers

Liam
Liam


"Make your hands respond to what your mind demands." Jesse James

Best wide-angle lens? Two steps backward. Look for the 'ah-ha'. Ernst Haas
Anonymous
Posted 13/01/2006 - 17:30 Link
It is very difficult to focus because of the shrinking depth of field the further you go. Keep on having fun with them. I'm trying a reversing ring next... anything to delay splashing out on a 1:1 macro lens.
Don
Posted 13/01/2006 - 19:09 Link
Depth of field can be controlled with photoshop. you can Bracket your focus on a macro shot and composite the sharp areas together in photoshop to create an otherwise impossibly sharp macroshot.
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
johnriley
Posted 13/01/2006 - 20:31 Link
If you refocus then you will change the magnification of each individual shot, so I would imagine you need to be a bit selective regarding subject matter and composition.
Best regards, John
Joshua Hakin
Posted 13/01/2006 - 23:03 Link
So, which lens did you stick at the end of the tubes?
LiamD
Posted 14/01/2006 - 09:08 Link
Hi,

with the focussing, I set the lens up and then, as I was using the triopod sraight down onto the subject, used the geared section to raise and lower the whole unit in a similar wy to a macro rail.

I'll try out the photoshop trick for getting sharpness. I use GIMP, but the idea's the same.

The lens was my soligor 70-210 macro. I had to wait until I got the tubes to be able to mount it (as seen here.. https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2074).

I set it up with.. in order...

camera | 25mm ext tube | 2x converter | 2x converter | Lens

This gave me the greatest close up, after trying a number of combinations with that lens. I've got other lensses I can try, including a 28-80 macro zoom.

Cheers

Liam
Liam


"Make your hands respond to what your mind demands." Jesse James

Best wide-angle lens? Two steps backward. Look for the 'ah-ha'. Ernst Haas
Anonymous
Posted 14/01/2006 - 11:18 Link
I was interested to see this as I'm planning to play about with some macro myself. I'm thinking about using a SMC-M 50mm F1.7 as the lens though - I do have lenses that'll focus closer however they're all zooms.

I've got a Jessops extension tube set (13mm, 21mm & 31mm) plus a 2x convertor and a Cokin P close up filter so I should be able to get a decent amount of magnification.
johnriley
Posted 14/01/2006 - 11:45 Link
Classically, the best macro results will be obtained when using a wide angle lens reversed, or a wide angle reversed on a medium telephoto. You will get much better sharpness this way.

Zooms have very poor close up correction in general, and don't follow the normal optical expectations when reversed either.
Best regards, John
Anonymous
Posted 14/01/2006 - 11:52 Link
I don't have a reversing ring at the moment but I'll see about picking one up from Ebay.
niblue
Posted 28/01/2006 - 20:17 Link
I finally got round to giving macro a try with the DS myself:

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The last is one of my wife's rings - she has very small fingers which should give some idea of the magnification. All shot handheld with the DS set at ISO 200, 1/125 and F22, an SMC-M 50mm F1.7 with various extension rings and a 400FTZ flash off-camera using the hot-shoe adaptor and extension cord.

I originally started using a tripod but I found it much easier to work handheld, setting the lens to its closest focus and moving the camera to achieve focus.
Kimbo
Posted 28/01/2006 - 21:28 Link
That's it, I'm convinced...............this Pentax gear is pretty good (who cares what the reviews say!)
Die my dear doctor, that's the last thing I shall do!
niblue
Posted 29/01/2006 - 18:15 Link
I got a couple more that I like.

This is my sons left eye:

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And for this one the flash was mounted on camera with a Lumiquest Promax fitted.

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George Lazarette
Posted 29/01/2006 - 23:24 Link
Better and better!

G
Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.
Anonymous
Posted 30/01/2006 - 00:42 Link
I'm really getting to love macro photography!

For not big bucks at all, there is a ton o fun and endless subjects to shoot.

I enjoy taking pictures of parts of objects that strike me as pretty and then asking folk to figure out what they are.

Some tubes, a reversing ring and your already extensive (or not) collection of Pentax lenses (all other lenses don't work - so don't even try), and you're off to the races.

I've added an 80A blue filter so I can use available incandescent light, a table-top tripod and a bellows unit for a little more versatility. The combinations are endless, and the results are always fun - and often surprising.

Can't wait for springtime to get outside with the buds and the bugs!

Cheers,
alfpics
Posted 30/01/2006 - 08:22 Link
Some lovely shots there, niblue.
Makes me want to do some more macro stuff - just a matter of finding some time!!
Andy

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