It is my birthday and what was I doing? C&C

[IzzieK]

He might have played this for you....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBfxl_T6ldg

No, he got angry at me for flushing the dang fly on the toilet because I wasted gallons of water just because of a dead fly. He'd rather that I buried it in the backyard instead...thanks...I do need to shout every now and then...to voice out my frustration...

[IzzieK]

Thanks Brian...you crack me up!!!

OK, now it looks dead

[Benjy]

Happy Birthday Izzie,

[Stagecoach]

A Wonderful Birthday to you Izzie

You have done exceedingly well here, I congratulate you on your progress and I'll forgive you for the flies demise !

Ok, firstly a bit about what you have achieved with image No 1 (I note with the D300)that I suggested you shot. You have filled the frame there with 30mm although I suspect you did not adjust your lens focus to it closest

In taking that shot you will have noticed how close you had to get using that rig, 50mm + 36mm tube and the actual distances would have been;

a) With lens focused nearest - 27mm achieveable across frame at a shooting distance of 57mm from lens front to subject.
b) With lens focused farthest - 34mm achieveable across frame at a shooting distance of 65mm from lens front to subject.

So from the above you can see that for whatever you are going to shoot using 50mm + 36mm tube you are always going to have to be pretty close to your subject and with only the capability of moving 8mm further away from minimum distance/max magnification. More tubes and you are restricted more. The rig is fine for achieving a high IQ shot of a standard fly sized bug but if a live fly, can you get your lens front to 65mm from it without it noticing you

As a comparison, to achieve the same magnification results with a 1:1 105mm macro lens you would have a working distance from the lens front of 148mm+ BUT with the option of not being restricted in movement aaway from the subject being limited to just 8mm.

Right, so lets look at your No 2 & 3 images. Good sharpness and you have got the detail in the eyes shown, excellent What both images have suffered from is noise but you had little choice if hand-holding and I have PPd both removing much of it with good results.

We now come on to the dreaded DoF and what I will say first is that a greater DoF does NOT necessarily produce a better image in my opinion. Your main aim is to produce a tack sharp image where you want it to be sharp and you will not always have the luxury of getting massive DoF without compromising sharpness.

So I suggest for now you continue practising getting things focussed where you want, and when feeling confident with that we move on to considering lighting that will enable you to get that ISO down whilst hand holding.

Grahame

[Kris V]

A very happy B-Day to you, Izzie, and many more!

[Stagecoach]

Izzie, a question for you so that we can consider your lighting options for this rig and give appropriate advice;

a) What flash do you have (the onboard pop up flash is no use)?
b) Do you have a right angle bracket to enable fitting a flash to the side of the camera?

Grahame

[Rebel]

Happy birthday Izzie!!

Definite progress from the first shots you posted! I found a dead ladybird once and sprayed it in hairspray... hes still going strong!

[Brownbear]

Hi Izzie,

Happy Birthday! Feliz cumpleaños! (Spanish) Hyvää syntymäpäivää! (Finnish (I'd love to hear you try to pronounce that ))

Wishing you a wonderful year full of love and affection, great times with friends, and especially photography adventures!

No doubt, I'll eventually forgive you for assassinating that poor fly.

[jcuknz]

Nope! that is one thing I need to learn next...selfies...but I am afraid I will believe my own advertisement to the detriment of acquiring my lessons in photography. Thanks...

Unfortunately for all their excellence your Nikons do not have a fully articulated LCD which is of great value in taking selfies like my rather older 5700 Nikon ..... So for your third camera can I suggest a moderate super zoom along with a moderate 2 dioptre close-up lens so you can learn the delights of working this way ... it is a lot simpler than extension tubes etc [ I have both systems ] Then using your CS5 can be fun too so do not neglect it

Just for you Issie .....

Quite awhile ago now before my caterract ops

Edit .. I was going to suggest the Panasonic FZ200 but noticed the later FZ1000 which is a moderate super-zoom only going to 400mm equiv. Both have fully articulated LCDs which I would be hard done to be without

[retief]

I am pretty new to the forum here, although not new to 'Net fora and photography. I have to tell you, this is a scary thread. Not sure which scares me most, you or some of the responders

Now with THAT out of the way, 2 points:

1. Happy B'Day, Shorts over PJ's sounds like a new fashion trend, I will have to try that one.
2. For truly good wildlife shots you really need a catch light in your subjects eye. Often when the light is not quite right, we have to fake one in. I am sure that somewhere on the 'Net you can find a video on how to add a catch light to a dead flies eye.

[Digital]

Izzie, Happy Birthday!



Bruce

[purplehaze]

A belated Happy B-Day, Izzie. It looks like you spent it well.

[Ndukes]

If you swat him with a baseball bat you won't have any problems with depth of field. Eyes are nice and sharp, Izzie.

[just me]

Happy Birthday Izzie....a bit belated, but coming from my hearth.......

Had to grin about the story of the fly /////

Greetings,
Griddi......

[GBO25]

Happy Birthday Izzie from Down Under. What better way to start a birthday than doing something you love with a dead fly.

I think you've done a good job here especially as it was hand held. I've used extension tubes and know how close you have to be and how the tiniest movement stuffs it all up.
Keep 'em coming.

[Stagecoach]

If you swat him with a baseball bat you won't have any problems with depth of field.

But we are not sure if Izzie has got an UWA (ultra wide angle)

[george013]

Thanks for these advices...I will put these in my notes...hubby offered to buy me one of those child butterfly catcher thing...it will make a cheap birthday present...

Make it yourself easy. Buy a moustrap and just wait. An old one with a 50mm and reverse ring.



George

[John 2]

Happy Birthday Izzie - oh and try to swot up on the technique not the flies.

[JohnRostron]

It is intriguing that a topic on swatting a fly is one to generate so much commentary. Nice pictures though.

John

[NorthernFocus]

My goodness, Izzie. You've gone buggy on us too

I'm no macro shooter so can offer nothing in the way of C/C.