Hamster lens

[Aloicious]

Didn't the OP have a recent thread where we went all the way down the macro/extension tube road?

If I recall correctly (and given the beverage I'm enjoying at the moment, it IS possible that my recaller is not at optimum level...), what the OP really wants isn't MACRO shots of little hammie--he just wants good, crisp, sharp shots--the kind where you can see the individual little hairs on the furball.

Personally, I think the OP thinks the extension tubes or a macro lens are going to do something that they aren't going to do, which is fix his focusing problem. AND, the extension tubes are likely to just make the exposure problem worse as well, since the OP seems reluctant to unleash the power of OCF on his nocturnal friend.

As far as I'm concerned, this is ALL about learning how to focus and get good exposure. If any money were going to spent, I'd suggest it be spent on either a speedflash or maybe something like 50mm f/1.8 since he's probably dealing with fairly low light situations.

I couldn't agree more, that's why I keep recommending that he back up a little. proper lighting and proper focus is what he should be striving for and will give the best results. and he simply can't do that if he doesn't move the camera further back, a 50mm f1.8 has an even further minimum focus distance IIRC, so with what he's currently doing I don't think that's the way to go though.

 

[Dao]

These photos were NOT taken with macro lens although I have a 100mm macro. A external flash should help your hamster shoot more than a different lens.


f/10 1/200 iso200 50mm focal length (external flash bounce off the ceiling)

f/6.3 1/200 iso100 50mm focal length (2x flash with shoot through umbrella)

Edit: As stated already, work on your focus and try to nail the focus at the eyes.

 

[cgipson1]

Op... I am going to recommend that you learn to use what you have... instead of buying more, that will only increase the complexity you face.

 

[nycphotography]

Didn't the OP have a recent thread where we went all the way down the macro/extension tube road?

If I recall correctly (and given the beverage I'm enjoying at the moment, it IS possible that my recaller is not at optimum level...), what the OP really wants isn't MACRO shots of little hammie--he just wants good, crisp, sharp shots--the kind where you can see the individual little hairs on the furball.

Personally, I think the OP thinks the extension tubes or a macro lens are going to do something that they aren't going to do, which is fix his focusing problem. AND, the extension tubes are likely to just make the exposure problem worse as well, since the OP seems reluctant to unleash the power of OCF on his nocturnal friend.

As far as I'm concerned, this is ALL about learning how to focus and get good exposure. If any money were going to spent, I'd suggest it be spent on either a speedflash or maybe something like 50mm f/1.8 since he's probably dealing with fairly low light situations.

Extension tubes also make the focusing problem worse and they also decrease the depth of field. Not what he wants at all.

Just back up some so the lens can focus. It's not about "center point" it's about how far from the lens to the rodent.

 

[Aloicious]

What if i combine a reasonably priced macro lens with its counterpart extension tube*? Should this not yield a formidable combination? Because i do not want to crop my image in order to get closer. I want to retain the maximum quality that my camera is able to produce.

cropping is not your enemy unless you're relying on it too much, if you shooting across the room and cropping the hamster to fill the frame, that's not the way to go, but if you're backing up to be able to get the guy in focus and cropping for improved composition, that's something completely different. most shots are cropped at least a little bit. look at the great examples Dao posted, sharp, crisp focus, great lighting, good composition, and I bet both of those are cropped at least a little bit.

you'll get much much much much better results if you practice the basics of focus and exposure first, than just spending money one something that you can shove right up into their face, because with macro distances you'll run into other difficulties such as extremely shallow DOF, etc.

 

[Designer]

What if i combine a reasonably priced macro lens with its counterpart extension tube*? Should this not yield a formidable combination? Because i do not want to crop my image in order to get closer. I want to retain the maximum quality that my camera is able to produce.

You're going off the deep end here. The combo that you described is fine if what you want to photograph is individual hairs on the hamster. And you're going to need a specialized flash to do that.

Just relax, back up and watch your focus. If you purchase anything, get a speedlight. You can use the speedlight for much more than just the pet pictures.

 

[hamlet]

Didn't the OP have a recent thread where we went all the way down the macro/extension tube road?

If I recall correctly (and given the beverage I'm enjoying at the moment, it IS possible that my recaller is not at optimum level...), what the OP really wants isn't MACRO shots of little hammie--he just wants good, crisp, sharp shots--the kind where you can see the individual little hairs on the furball.

Personally, I think the OP thinks the extension tubes or a macro lens are going to do something that they aren't going to do, which is fix his focusing problem. AND, the extension tubes are likely to just make the exposure problem worse as well, since the OP seems reluctant to unleash the power of OCF on his nocturnal friend.

As far as I'm concerned, this is ALL about learning how to focus and get good exposure. If any money were going to spent, I'd suggest it be spent on either a speedflash or maybe something like 50mm f/1.8 since he's probably dealing with fairly low light situations.

The center responsible to retain memory isn't at a level where i can remember these things in this detail. I have a shallow understanding of how things need to be done, so its gonna be hard for me to associate experiences with my memories. Your help in the other thread was both helpful and useless because of my inexperience. Does that make sens?

 

[hamlet]

Didn't the OP have a recent thread where we went all the way down the macro/extension tube road?

If I recall correctly (and given the beverage I'm enjoying at the moment, it IS possible that my recaller is not at optimum level...), what the OP really wants isn't MACRO shots of little hammie--he just wants good, crisp, sharp shots--the kind where you can see the individual little hairs on the furball.

Personally, I think the OP thinks the extension tubes or a macro lens are going to do something that they aren't going to do, which is fix his focusing problem. AND, the extension tubes are likely to just make the exposure problem worse as well, since the OP seems reluctant to unleash the power of OCF on his nocturnal friend.

As far as I'm concerned, this is ALL about learning how to focus and get good exposure. If any money were going to spent, I'd suggest it be spent on either a speedflash or maybe something like 50mm f/1.8 since he's probably dealing with fairly low light situations.

These photos were NOT taken with macro lens although I have a 100mm macro. A external flash should help your hamster shoot more than a different lens.


f/10 1/200 iso200 50mm focal length (external flash bounce off the ceiling)

f/6.3 1/200 iso100 50mm focal length (2x flash with shoot through umbrella)

Edit: As stated already, work on your focus and try to nail the focus at the eyes.

A winter white hamster is very small.

 

[hamlet]

What if i combine a reasonably priced macro lens with its counterpart extension tube*? Should this not yield a formidable combination? Because i do not want to crop my image in order to get closer. I want to retain the maximum quality that my camera is able to produce.

cropping is not your enemy unless you're relying on it too much, if you shooting across the room and cropping the hamster to fill the frame, that's not the way to go, but if you're backing up to be able to get the guy in focus and cropping for improved composition, that's something completely different. most shots are cropped at least a little bit. look at the great examples Dao posted, sharp, crisp focus, great lighting, good composition, and I bet both of those are cropped at least a little bit.

you'll get much much much much better results if you practice the basics of focus and exposure first, than just spending money one something that you can shove right up into their face, because with macro distances you'll run into other difficulties such as extremely shallow DOF, etc.

Why is a shallow depth of field bad?

 

[clarnibass]

There are several issues but the biggest problem seems to be that you are too close with your lens. Don't worry about cropping or not and before you try anythign else, just move a little farther back to take the photos. You might not get all the pixels of your camera for the frame you want but at least you'l far better photos than you do now. Then see what you think, crop if you need and see if you want something that would allow you to focus closer. Don't buy anything before trying that.

 

[Aloicious]

Why is a shallow depth of field bad?

its not just a shallow depth of field that makes a pleasing background, its a paper thin extremely shallow DOF where one portion of the face may be in focus and others won't be, for example when you're focused on one eye, and if the other eye isn't perfectly parallel to the camera sensor, than it won't be in focus, or if you're focused on the medial canthus of the eye (the inner corner), than the front of the eye won't be in focus, or if there is a slight turn of to the head the lateral canthus (outer corner) may not be in focus, it can be used to your advantage, but it is FAR FAR more difficult to work with and more technically challenging than just being able to focus in the first place...

for example, look at the image of the little white hamster that Dao posted, its a small hamster, its got a shallow depth of field, but at least the whole face is in focus as well as the front half of the body....but if he were at macro distances (like what you're talking about doing), than the whole face wouldn't even be in focus, for example here's a hornet image taken at close to macro distance, the hornet is MUCH smaller than the white hamster, and the DOF is so thin that while the front of his face is in focus, his antennae, as well as his forelegs are both out of the depth of field....if your hamster is so close to the lens that he's smelling it while you're taking the pictures, these are the kinds of DOF that you'll be dealing with.

you CAN use a macro lens and back up a little to extend the DOF and get great images, but then you're in the same position you're in now and there's no reason you can't do that with what you currently have. like others have mentioned, you'd be far better practicing, and learning how to properly light it, than just buying a macro lens and dealing with a whole different set of complications (and you'll still need to work on lighting with a macro lens anyways)

Don't be scared to crop, its not going to ruin your images, if anything it'll help because at least you'll be able to get a properly focused image...

you can do whatever you want to, macro lenses are nice, but everyone here is just telling you to learn the basics before you jump to a more technically challenging set of equipment.

 

[Dao]

A winter white hamster is very small.

Okay

I do not know how small your hamster is, the 8 weeks old (when the photo was taken) baby hedgehog is around 4 inches (or 10cm) long which is kind of small. The sugar gliders are about 6 (15cm) inches long (not including the tail)

 

[Overread]

Camera thoughts aside (as already people have giving good input on how to setup the camera), consider that with the cage you'll always have bars in the way of the shot every single time. There are a few ways to get around this:

1) Closed room, setup a small enclosed area to let your hamster run free, but with enough room for you to move around and get the shots. This lets you get the shots whilst at the same time not having your hamster run off. You'd want to make sure that the room hasn't got anything for him to hide under or around and that you go around the perimeter and plug up and small gaps.

2) Outside, setup a circular container with a low, but decently raised wall around the edge. Fill with a raised island area in the middle and surround with water (water discourages the hamster from approaching the raised wall, but won't prevent). You can then decorate the middle area and then take your photos. Bonus is that you can work outside in better light (you'll want to avoid the middle of the day when the light is too harsh and you still might need some flash for fill lighten to lift the shadows).
Of course this requires a bit more construction but can let you get some very "natural" looking photos or at least decent shots without bars.

 

[astroNikon]

The center responsible to retain memory isn't at a level where i can remember these things in this detail. I have a shallow understanding of how things need to be done, so its gonna be hard for me to associate experiences with my memories. Your help in the other thread was both helpful and useless because of my inexperience. Does that make sens?

Been there .. when semi technical answers are still not an answer because we don't understand it.

First thing is that each lens you own probably has a differenct "minimum focus distance". This is the minimal distance you have to be away from the subject in order for the camera/lens to properly focus on the identified subject. For your lens it is basically a little over 11 inches.

So if you are within 11 inches then the only thing in focus will be items that are further than 11 inches.
Anything less than 11 inches and it WILL be out of focus and fuzzy.

 

[hamlet]

Didn't the OP have a recent thread where we went all the way down the macro/extension tube road?

If I recall correctly (and given the beverage I'm enjoying at the moment, it IS possible that my recaller is not at optimum level...), what the OP really wants isn't MACRO shots of little hammie--he just wants good, crisp, sharp shots--the kind where you can see the individual little hairs on the furball.

Personally, I think the OP thinks the extension tubes or a macro lens are going to do something that they aren't going to do, which is fix his focusing problem. AND, the extension tubes are likely to just make the exposure problem worse as well, since the OP seems reluctant to unleash the power of OCF on his nocturnal friend.

As far as I'm concerned, this is ALL about learning how to focus and get good exposure. If any money were going to spent, I'd suggest it be spent on either a speedflash or maybe something like 50mm f/1.8 since he's probably dealing with fairly low light situations.

These photos were NOT taken with macro lens although I have a 100mm macro. A external flash should help your hamster shoot more than a different lens.


f/10 1/200 iso200 50mm focal length (external flash bounce off the ceiling)

f/6.3 1/200 iso100 50mm focal length (2x flash with shoot through umbrella)

Edit: As stated already, work on your focus and try to nail the focus at the eyes.

A winter white hamster is very small.

This is how big a winter white is: