Macro and MF C&C

jwsciontc · Dec 6, 2008

So i was sittin at school, bored as hell so i grabbed my camera. I never tried macro shooting with it yet so i gave it a shot. I also tried Manual Focus for the 1st time as well. anyways this is what i got:

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ANDS! · Dec 6, 2008

Quite a bit dark, and the DOF is shallow as hell, but otherwise good attempts.

jwsciontc · Dec 7, 2008

yeah it was pretty tough, it was on my desk with just the desktop lamp on and a black phone haha, i was just trying different focus points with MF for the first time. i know they are by no means attractive pictures or subjects to look at but all i could think of at the moment haha but thanks for takin the time to look!

LaFoto · Dec 7, 2008

So, what did the teacher tell you?
You listened?
Nice play with the camera.
The photos look like you played with your camera ... but then that's what you did --- while in fact you ought to have listened to your teacher!!!! :irked:

jwsciontc · Dec 7, 2008

nah i was in my dorm lol i dont bring my camera to class

Battou · Dec 7, 2008

Well you insteinctivly went about it the right way, for macro photography Manual focus is really the only way to do it. Often times AF either gets lost searching and gives up or finds the wrong target.

As for your lighting. I know the feeling of improvised lighting, I do it all the time. With macro this becomes difficult as generally more light is needed for macro shooting especially if handheld. A good multifunction answer to this is a Maglight flashlight. I use one all the time. Here is a super macro taken with nothing more than a desk lamp and a maglight.

Now....with your DOF, this is where is gets trickey. It works the same way as any other DOF situation with a few snags. I'm not sure how exactly you went about achieving the macro so I'll outline the methoeds I know:

Reverse lens: reverse lense macro with a modern camera leaves your DOF razor thin and there is not much that can be done because to the best of my knowledge the lens can not be set to full manual. Older film camera lenses like the M-42 and the breechlock Canon FD can be set to full manual providing full aperture control and with it greater DOF. If you are using a reverse lens coupler you can use the older lenses provided the filter diameter is the same. For the smaller apertures you definately want a tripod, mirror lock and shutter release delay.

Designated Macro lens: Well that is easy enough, smaller aperture can be used as normal and again, you definately want a tripod, mirror lock and shutter release delay.

Macro filters: DOF is usually thin with those only so much you can widen it with aperture.

I don't know anything about the communications between body and lens with the use of extention tubes so I'll leave that for someone who dose.

You have a sound expariment here, Your subject is a little drab but it was an expariment so I won't count that agenst ya. It is a good first try, I'd like to see more use of it in the future.