Post your insects

[deetheturk]

This was another from today,imo not as good as the first,but i love the colours!

[Letrow]

This was another from today,imo not as good as the first,but i love the colours!

Not as sharp as the other perhaps, but visually I like this one better. Great colours.

[ajohnw]

Hi David...yeh..for me..the difficulty is the flash..im tryin manual..and set power myself. Its coming out alright,at times ..we made a home made one(diffuser that is)...sort of like what this guy has..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqRn3at0H60 , but mines obviously from just sitting on flash on board normally... I'll send a quick cell phone photo here in few minutes. Lemme know wat ya think..and if maybe its just wasting my time?

Ps.. i love this guys approach to Macro photography,and his images

I did some macro shots with a Pen last year. Had problems using flash but found if I set things up manually the flash provided the extra light needed automatically. Your set up might just work that way as it's pretty logical. If for instance exposure was 1/20 sec a significant amount of light might be captured from that leaving more chance of movement causing problems. I just set max flash sync speed and flash to auto. It was the on camera flash too because at macro distances not all that much power is needed. Only other aspect is ISO. Try low as this will minimise the image captured by the timed exposure. As it was m 4/3 I set F11 but it seems I should have gone slower for more depth of field. On these using a 100mm lens and a 7x magnification to see if things were in focus wasn't much fun but an interesting challenge trying to keep them in the centre of the field.

John
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[Stagecoach]

Hi Claudio,

Congrats on your new flash and good results above.

As for the diffuser I found with my home made one that there is a noticeable difference in light output from the diffuser depending on what 'Zoom' position you have the flash set to. Useful to do some controlled tests on say a subject at 1:1 distance on a bit of white paper, look at the results and also light levels distribution.

I also wonder if we make the diffuser face too large an area we are wasting light instead of concentrating it in a smaller area?

Here's a pic of my one where the angle was used to try and point light downwards as well.



Grahame

[ClaudioG]

Hi Graham, i tried some tests yesterday and I'm liking the results, i do have extra material and i like your design, don't mind if i give it a try ? may i ask, what settings u use on flash? Just practising I'm finding that for me,manual mode works best. I'd rather get right image through trial and error. That why it forces me to check image as well.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Claudio,

Most of the time when using the SB-600 and diffuser it's all manual with manual flash. I find it easier to control the flash power from the the back of the flash, check the LCD and histogram and adjust up and down as required. You soon get used to the powers needed as the starting point for certain apertures.

If I'm using my SBR-200s on the front of the lens I find these give very good results using TTL.

I'll gladly send you the drawing and instructions if you'd like, which I have sent to David already, if you send me a PM with an email address. They are on two small PDF files.

Grahame

[ClaudioG]

Hi all..heres a post of a lady bug, i'd just like to thank graham for his valuable advice..and Graham, i made the diffuser, and it seems to be working well, what do u think of the light on the bug? Any comments welcome!!




and this,, is my willing subject i tested on my wife wasnt up for it, and it prob doesnt belong here.. but its cute ok!!! I'm more interested on what ya think of the catch light?

[ClaudioG]

I think my processing on this one might have been a litle better than the last.. was in a bit of a rush bfor.


All comments welcome

[deetheturk]

Hi Claudio,

I think the diffuser has worked well,ladybirds are a tricky bug to capture as they are so shiny.Graham kindly gave me his plan also,but thats 2 weekends and iv'e not had a chance to get into town and pick up materials,grrr lol,next week i hope.Here's one i had a go at some time ago,still think my diffusion could have been better!What do you think?

Cheers David

[ClaudioG]

Thats a great image David..may i ask what equipment you using? Thats super sharp

[deetheturk]

Hi Claudio,this was taken with a Canon 5d mk11,Canon 100mm is L Macro and 580ex 11 flash and was handheld,remember that in macro especially with bugs,you will bin more than you keep! Its very frustrating but rewarding when you get a good un,so keep clicking,your doing great.

Cheers David

[Stagecoach]

Hi Claudio,

Good result. The ladybirds are another subject that are notoriously difficult due to the very shiny surface but what is noticeable in these shots is the fairly even lighting and shadows that are not too harsh.

The catchlight on the bears eye seems a bit long and narrow, not sure why.

Out of interest what power level were you using on the flash?

Grahame

[ClaudioG]

Hi Claudio,

Good result. The ladybirds are another subject that are notoriously difficult due to the very shiny surface but what is noticeable in these shots is the fairly even lighting and shadows that are not too harsh.

The catchlight on the bears eye seems a bit long and narrow, not sure why.

Out of interest what power level were you using on the flash?

Grahame

Hi Graham, i really can't be sure, i was playing between 1/16 and 1/32 and f5.6 and f 8. Is that alright?

[deetheturk]

Hi Claudio,

When I'm shooting macro I tend to try and stay between f8 and f11, hope this helps.

David

[deetheturk]

Claudio,

This was shot yesterday at F11.




Cheers David

[Letrow]

Nice and sharp David, that lens gets you really close.

[Letrow]

[deetheturk]

Thanks Peter,much appreciated.

David

[deetheturk]

Muscid Fly

[Cantab]

Claudio,

This was shot yesterday at F11.

Cheers David

David, technically this is a good shot but what really leapt out at me was the overall visual impression: dark and perhaps a bit sinister. It reminded me of Darth Vader in Starwars.