Couple ?'s

[AnthonyB]

So ive been getting into macro alot lately,wondering if you guys use the auto focus or manual, beceause im having trouble getting the focus sharp while looking through the viewfinder, I miss it by just a little

Also you guys have any tips on getting the proper DOF without making it too shallow or too deep ?

OR do you just take a hundred shots with slight changes and hope for the best ,because thats not the greatest method for me, im usually taking pics of animals that will not "hold their pose" for very long lol

 

[tirediron]

Focusing in macro/close-up work can be tough. DoF is shallow, as little as 1mm or even less in some cases. I always use manual focus for macro work so that I know exactly what is focused and what isn't. It's tough with modern DSLRs, especially the APS-C consumer line of bodies as some of them have very dim viewfinders, and none are really meant for manual focus any more.

There are two ways of controlling DoF; one is by aperture which has a limited effect. With lens 'X' at f2.8, your DoF might be 2mm at f16 it's 8mm; still not a lot to work with. The other option is by moving farther back from the subject and cropping in post. Remember that the shorter the camera-to-subject distance, the shallower the DoF.

There is also a digital technique called 'Focus stacking' which requires you to take a number of exposures while progressively changing your focus point from shallowest to deepest (or vice-versa) and then stack them with software. Here is a good tutorial on the subject using the freeare application CombineZM (which I use and works very well).

 

[AnthonyB]

:thumbup: