There's a fly in my......

Coir · May 12, 2014

Damn fungus gnats! Fortunately, this was the only one I found.

Mogrow · May 12, 2014

looks like it got a little too sticky for mr gnat.
great pic Coir

Coir · May 12, 2014

Worked as good as a yellow sticky trap I guess. This is some sticky stuff. Someone gave me a couple of seeds of chemdog(dawg)/SensiStar and both of them turned out really nice and frosty.

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Seamaiden · May 13, 2014

Coir said:
View attachment 404697

Damn fungus gnats! Fortunately, this was the only one I found.

What's your photog gear, please? Looks like some good glass ya got there.

Coir · May 13, 2014

Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens. It's definitely one of a kind when it comes to shooting extreme close-ups!

Seamaiden · May 13, 2014

Ok, now I've gotta dig through our camera bag and see what Dave bought for the Canon EOS T3i. I think one of our macros is indeed a fixed lens.

Did you crop those pix, or is it really that clean all the way out to the edges? What f-stop are you using with that glass?

Coir · May 13, 2014

Full frame image. Stopped down all the way(f/16 is the minimum aperture for this lens). Tripod(of course) with focusing rail and using a shutter release and mirror lock up on the camera. When shooting at these magnifications even stopped all the way down, DOF is extremely minimal. To get more, you need to use stacking software and combine multiple images with small focus adjustment between each one. Hard to do with plants that are still growing as there is always some movement.

Seamaiden · May 13, 2014

Could you just use layers, like in GIMP? I've been doing mostly product photography of late, but when we went to SF for our anniversary the pix I took in the Legion of Honor came out terribly (because I was using aperture priorty, der), irretrievably so, which means I simply *must* get back out there, but in any event I'm also looking to take some extreme close-ups, and those are very, very nice.

Coir · May 13, 2014

If you really want added DOF then I recommend using this: http://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker It is the best program I have found for this type of work and you can get a 30 day free trial to check it out.
Whenever you hand hold your camera and the light is not great, you will have motion blur issues. A tripod is the best solution but when that is not possible you have to either shoot at a much higher iso to get the shutter speed up and/or use faster glass.
The MP-E 65mm will get you closer than any other macro lens out there. It goes to 5X life size where a normal "true" macro lens is only capable of 1X. There are other ways to go past 1X but since you have a Canon camera, I would stick with the MP-E. Get a good tripod and focusing rail and you will be set!

Seamaiden · May 14, 2014

Wow, it runs on Linux, too????!!!! :D We have the MP-E 65mm, it just so happens, but I haven't played with it.

I need to learn what a focusing rail is! Off to Google!!!

My hand tends to shake, a lot.

Coir · May 14, 2014

Lots to choose from. I have used this one and it works great other than being a bit bulky:
I now use this one:

I purchased both of them used which saved me a lot of money. Camera gear is horrendously overpriced so I try and find used, demo, and refurbs whenever possible. The Fred Miranda forums have a great buy and sell area with lots of good things for sale!

Seamaiden · May 14, 2014

I made a mistake, it's a 50mm lens. I'm playing with it right now, taking pix of some of the netsuke we picked up for our anniversary. I'll have to try playing with that software, too.

Btw, my father told me a story that does cause one to take pause, an experience he had with Nikkor and one of their lenses, which he bought used. He sent the lens into their LA facility asking simply that they check the lens itself for imperfections, quality, etc. They sent him a letter back (no lens?) saying that they refuse to touch it because it was sold overseas. Not that it wasn't authentic, but that it was not sold in the U.S. Pretty frustrating.

Ok, took some pix of our netsuke with the 50mm. Here's what I got.

Coir · May 14, 2014

Nice lighting! They both look really good. For a subject like this, a regular macro lens that goes to 1:1 is all you need. Is your 50mm the Canon "compact macro" or a different one? The MP-E 65mm is for when you need to be even closer than life size. I like to shoot subjects inside of drops of water with it.

Seamaiden · May 15, 2014

Those are GORGEOUS shots. I'm curious how you set them up.

Coir said:
Nice lighting! They both look really good. For a subject like this, a regular macro lens that goes to 1:1 is all you need. Is your 50mm the Canon "compact macro" or a different one? The MP-E 65mm is for when you need to be even closer than life size. I like to shoot subjects inside of drops of water with it.

Thank you! I was worried that the image was going to be blown out because I went with over-exposing so I could get the detail in the wood itself. I need to find a better mirror for taking pix of the netsuke, if it's good quality and thick enough then you should be able to see how they're carved all the way around in one shot.

I realized while playing around with the lenses, etc, that the 50mm just isn't the same thing as that 65mm at all, especially for the real close-ups that I want. So I went and priced out the 65mm. Holy shit, it's more than the body! (Which, once again, my daddy warned me about.) But in the meantime I did do some more learning, and I learned that I can indeed use GIMP to make layers to create an image that's fully in focus. I need to learn more about the focusing rail and how it's used. I need to take some pix with shallow DOF so I can play with those layers. And finally, I need to save some dough-ray-mee so I can get that 65mm lens.

Those are really *gorgeous* shots.

And I need to figure out why the camera's timer starts now every time I plug in the remote control.

Chronic Monster · May 15, 2014

dude awesome photos!

Coir · May 15, 2014

Seamaiden said:
Those are GORGEOUS shots. I'm curious how you set them up.
Thank you! I was worried that the image was going to be blown out because I went with over-exposing so I could get the detail in the wood itself. I need to find a better mirror for taking pix of the netsuke, if it's good quality and thick enough then you should be able to see how they're carved all the way around in one shot.

I realized while playing around with the lenses, etc, that the 50mm just isn't the same thing as that 65mm at all, especially for the real close-ups that I want. So I went and priced out the 65mm. Holy shit, it's more than the body! (Which, once again, my daddy warned me about.) But in the meantime I did do some more learning, and I learned that I can indeed use GIMP to make layers to create an image that's fully in focus. I need to learn more about the focusing rail and how it's used. I need to take some pix with shallow DOF so I can play with those layers. And finally, I need to save some dough-ray-mee so I can get that 65mm lens.

Those are really *gorgeous* shots.

And I need to figure out why the camera's timer starts now every time I plug in the remote control.

With mirrors, the newer and thinner the better for getting clear reflections. I use the side view mirror from my truck that some nice person broke off for me(no, they didn't leave a note either) and it creates beautiful reflections due to it's design. Older, thick glass mirrors always cause ghosting in the reflections.
Nothing is the same as the MP-E 65mm! But, if you want to get closer for less $$$ then get a set of Kenko extension tubes for your 50mm. While you still won't be able to get as close as with the 65mm, they will get you to at least 2:1. The only thing to watch out for then is working distance from the front of the lens. The higher the magnification, the closer you have to be to the subject and sometimes, it will almost be touching the lens to be in focus. DOF is also reduced the closer you get so you need to stop down a lot to get much at all.

I forgot to say that with the used Nikkor lens, if it was a "gray market" lens then they will sometimes not honor the warranty in the US. Gray market lenses are exactly the same and made on the same line but sold in other countries. It really makes no sense at all for them not to warranty them but some companies still do this. You can buy new gray market from places like Adorama and B&H and they will give you a 1 year warranty through the store for them.
Lenses are the place to invest your photo money as the camera bodies are like computers and become outdated every couple of years but good quality glass will last a lifetime and hold it's value well. I have actually sold lenses for more than I paid for them and done much better than my IRA over the last few years profit wise!

Here are a few setup shots of how I do this and a couple more of the results. The one with the multiple drops was made using the stacking software. One shot focused on each drop then combined so they are all in focus. Not enough DOF to get all the drops in focus at once so stacking is the only way to achieve this.

Seamaiden · May 16, 2014

Oh my goodness, I love it! Don't I have enough distractions already??

Yes indeed, I do remember my dad mentioning something about the lens being considered a gray market. I am *very* fortunate that the same has not been true of the dive equipment I bought in Bali, or I'd have been screwed and had to drop more money on another dive computer, BC, regulator... hell, pretty much the whole rig.

burn4me · May 16, 2014

Magnificent photos coir. Love the water drop photos

dieseldawg2480 · May 16, 2014

Great pics, keep the info coming.:pompus:

md1010 · May 31, 2014

Coir said:
Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens. It's definitely one of a kind when it comes to shooting extreme close-ups!

That lens is on my wish list right now. I have the 100mm macro and with stacking, I can get some great depth. Still working on converting all my pics from RAW to jpeg.
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