Hovers.

[Slipper]

I was after a bit more of a scene with these rather than just an insect shot. I hope it works.

[Wavelength]

Simply Awesome and more....

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured and captioned.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice shots

[vaez]

very sharp and very nice shot

[IzzieK]

Wow! Can you at least let me know what camera you used and lens/es settings. Lovely. I love both of them and can't chose which one I prefer best.

[Inkanyezi]

Wow! Can you at least let me know what camera you used and lens/es settings. Lovely. I love both of them and can't chose which one I prefer best.

Izzie, maybe you should get an EXIF viewer for your computer?
According to mine, the camera is an EOS 70D with a 100/2.8 USM macro lens set at f/16 in the upper image and f/14 in the other.

[DanK]

Beautifully done. Some species of hoverflies are very skittish, and if these are among them, your captures are all the more impressive.

[Nicks Pics]

Those may make some other macro photographers envious, or inspired preferably Did you do anything to increase depth of focus?

[Rita]

All I can say is ...... Wonderful.

[Slipper]

Wow! Can you at least let me know what camera you used and lens/es settings. Lovely. I love both of them and can't chose which one I prefer best.

Thank you Izzie. As Inkanyezi has said in the post after yours, the camera is a Canon 70D, the lens a Canon100mm macro(just the basic one , no IS or L glass sadly) and set at f14 or 16. I added a Canon 500D, close up lens onto the macro lens but to be honest I didnt need it for these shots.
I used my home made flash diffuser as explained in another thread somewhere, this has two sheets of kitchen towel over a cardboard diffuser that sits on the manual flash.

[Slipper]

Those may make some other macro photographers envious, or inspired preferably Did you do anything to increase depth of focus?

Thanks Nick, I just relied on a high f stop, f14 or f16 I have found to be a good compromise .
I had an added close up lens , a Canon 500D, to the front of the macro lens, but I dont know what effect that would have on DOF, shorten I imagine if any thing.

[Inkanyezi]

Thanks Nick, I just relied on a high f stop, f14 or f16 I have found to be a good compromise .
I had an added close up lens , a Canon 500D, to the front of the macro lens, but I dont know what effect that would have on DOF, shorten I imagine if any thing.

In general, a close-up lens added to a macro lens should be avoided, as it might introduce imaging errors.

When the close-up lens is achromatic, as the 2 diopters Canon 500D, it still can produce sharp results, particularly in the centre of the image, as there are no longitudinal chromatic errors there. However, it does introduce coma, curvature of field and distortion, which is alleviated if the angle of view is narrow.

There are two different, in fact very different, types of macro lenses, where one is focused by extension and the other by changing its focal length (inner focusing). Canon EF 100/2,8L USM Macro is an inner focusing lens, changing its focal lenght from 100 mm at infinity to about 50 mm at 1:1 reproduction.

When a close-up lens is added to a lens, the diopters of the close-up lens are added to those of the original one. A 100 mm lens at infinity, or one of the type that extends by focusing, has a diopter value of 10, and with the 500 mm lens, it becomes 12 diopters.

The inner focusing Canon 100 mm macro thus also becomes 12 diopters when set to infinity, but as it is 20 diopters at 1:1, as focusing is accomplished by altering focal length, Its diopter value changes to about 22 when the close-up lens is attached, increasing reproduction scale about 10 %. Whether it is worth the rather small possible drawbacks of adding coma and field curvature for such a little gain in scale, is up to the user. I would not put a close-up lens on the macro.

[Slipper]

In general, a close-up lens added to a macro lens should be avoided, as it might introduce imaging errors.

When the close-up lens is achromatic, as the 2 diopters Canon 500D, it still can produce sharp results, particularly in the centre of the image, as there are no longitudinal chromatic errors there. However, it does introduce coma, curvature of field and distortion, which is alleviated if the angle of view is narrow.

There are two different, in fact very different, types of macro lenses, where one is focused by extension and the other by changing its focal length (inner focusing). Canon EF 100/2,8L USM Macro is an inner focusing lens, changing its focal lenght from 100 mm at infinity to about 50 mm at 1:1 reproduction.

When a close-up lens is added to a lens, the diopters of the close-up lens are added to those of the original one. A 100 mm lens at infinity, or one of the type that extends by focusing, has a diopter value of 10, and with the 500 mm lens, it becomes 12 diopters.

The inner focusing Canon 100 mm macro thus also becomes 12 diopters when set to infinity, but as it is 20 diopters at 1:1, as focusing is accomplished by altering focal length, Its diopter value changes to about 22 when the close-up lens is attached, increasing reproduction scale about 10 %. Whether it is worth the rather small possible drawbacks of adding coma and field curvature for such a little gain in scale, is up to the user. I would not put a close-up lens on the macro.

Thank you Urban, I need to read that a few times to appreciate the finer points. I do work on the basis of the less added to a lens the better, however your explanation of any gain is minimal, seems right from my practical experience.

[chauncey]

I was after a bit more of a scene with these rather than just an insect shot. I hope it works

Yeah it kinda does...simply superlative!