One more six shot in-camera stack. Not too shabby

[JBW]

[deetheturk]

Nice capture B, well done bud!

[JBW]

Nice capture B, well done bud!

one of the (and I rarely use the word) blessings of this passion is that it has allowed me to find the Beauty that is all around me.

[Ziggy]

Brian when you say a six shot in-camera stack, what does that mean?

[JBW]

Brian when you say a six shot in-camera stack, what does that mean?

The camera has a hand held twilight setting which takes a burst of 6 shots and then ' image processing is applied to reduce the subject blur, camera shake and noise'.

I use the setting sometimes when shooting in the shade on a tripod as I did with this shot.

[Jimr1961]

Brian,
I suspect you find the beauty that is all around you by default. Your photography and new camera merely allow you to capture and share it in a more pleasing way. If it's not in your consciousness, it doesn't exist. If it is, then it's all around you (as you are well aware).

[JBW]

Brian,
I suspect you find the beauty that is all around you by default. Your photography and new camera merely allow you to capture and share it in a more pleasing way. If it's not in your consciousness, it doesn't exist. If it is, then it's all around you (as you are well aware).

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[JBW]

Very nice.

[gregj1763]

Great image Brian, glad you're enjoying the new camera

[JBW]

Great image Brian, glad you're enjoying the new camera

So am I. Just out of curiosity what lens would you suggest to make a really big difference with the Alpha a58's ability to capture flowers?

[gregj1763]

So am I. Just out of curiosity what lens would you suggest to make a really big difference with the Alpha a58's ability to capture flowers?

The two lenses I use for flowers are the Tamron 90mm SP Di f/2.8 macro and the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art Series lens.
Out of the two I would lean toward the Tamron macro as it would open up another world of possibilities for you photographically.

[JBW]

The two lenses I use for flowers are the Tamron 90mm SP Di f/2.8 macro and the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art Series lens.
Out of the two I would lean toward the Tamron macro as it would open up another world of possibilities for you photographically.

B&H lists it as a Nikon lens but I am guessing it will fit the alpha too?

[gregj1763]

B&H lists it as a Nikon lens but I am guessing it will fit the alpha too?

As long as it has an alpha mount it will fit

[DanK]

Just out of curiosity what lens would you suggest to make a really big difference with the Alpha a58's ability to capture flowers?

Any 1:1 macro lens in the focal length range of 60-105mm. The fact that it is a Sony only matters for the mount. Virtually all of my flower macros were done with either a 60mm or a 100mm, most on a crop-sensor body (same format as yours). All of my macro lenses have been Canons, but from what I have read, all of the dedicated macro lenses from major manufacturers are very sharp. They differ in terms of features that don't make much difference in photographing flowers, such as internal vs. external focus.

The focal length affects a few things. Longer lenses give you a bit more working distance, but since flowers aren't scared off, that doesn't make much difference. Longer focal lengths will give you more background blur. (That is different from depth of field. See this, and search for the heading "background blur.") However, longer lenses are more expensive and harder to hand-hold.

For the most part, image stabilization (IS, VC, OS, and whatever other manufacturers call it) doesn't make a great deal of difference at macro distances because it corrects only for rotation, not motion parallel to the sensor, and the impact of rotation is small in that context. Canon's "hybrid IS" corrects for both, but the only one of its macro lenses that has it is a fairly expensive one (100mm L), and as far as I know, no other manufacturer has anything like this. (Someone can chime in if I am wrong.) At macro distances, you are better off relying on physical support than IS. A tripod or monopod is ideal, but one of the best macro photographers I know of uses a plain stick.

[revi]

B&H lists it as a Nikon lens but I am guessing it will fit the alpha too?

If you mean the Tamron 90 mm macro, yes, it exists with a Sony alpha mount (I have that lens or it's predecessor myself, and use it on an A58 ).
BUT the Nikon mount will not fit a Sony alpha mount...

But for butterflies, a telezoom (like a 75-300) that can focus reasonably close might be a good alternative: butterflies are not that small,
and the 300 mm focal lenght means you can stay farther away, so less chance to frighten the insects.