I used my cheapy extension tube for the first time today (saving up for macro lens), and came across a grasshopper on some leaves. I'm very happy with the close up it created, however very disappointed with it being out of focus. I was shooting using MF, and couldn't seem to get the whole subject to be focused no matter how hard I tried.
I'm learning about focus stacking, and was intending to do so, however the grasshopper hopped away after the photo was taken :(
Does anyone have any advice or tips when using an extension? feeling very deflated!
I posted a reply on your photo, if it's clear to you we can copy and paste here in case someone else has run into the same problem. Lots of tutorials on extension tube use online. Nice shot even with the narrow focus.
Thanks Robert. Great advice and will try it next time In fact it's still sunny outside, could practice a bit now... only haven't seen any cool grasshoppers since.
You can get a programme for "focus stacking" i think there are some free ones on the net, where you take three photos and join them together to make everything in focus. You take one photo at the front of the insect, one in the middle and one at the rear of the insect and this will join them together to make everything in focus. I have never done anything like this my self. Hope this is any use. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJiEw4VCcYU
For those that have the same issue in the future - Robert's advice:
"If you are using cheap tubes with no electrical connection to the lens you have to manually set the aperture. before mounting the lens on the tube set, With the camera on and the lens directly mounted set the aperture on M or Av to about f/8, press the exposure preview button and hold it down while dismounting the lens. This will cause the reduced aperture to remain fixed, otherwise you are shooting at the widest aperture of the lens which yields the shallowest DOF. Feel free to ask for more in depth explanation if you need more help. "
Also, the closer something is to your lens, the narrower the relative depth of focus is going to be, which means that even at an aperture where everything would be in focus in a regular scale picture (say, f/16), the depth of focus is going to be significantly compressed when shooting macro.
You did try to shoot your grasshopper in about the same plane of focus, which should also help.
@archaeofrog I used a free program called CombineZP to stack the 10 images to create the detail in the above photo. This one was my 5th try. Like I said, once I figured out how to do it properly, it was a piece of cake. Have fun with it! I look forward to seeing your work!
@claireclinch Thanks for putting Roberts advice up here. I am waiting for my extension tubes to arrive from ebay. I'm not sure I understand the advice fully yet but I'm sure I will be back on here when they arrive, rereading that advice.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJiEw4VCcYU
"If you are using cheap tubes with no electrical connection to the lens you have to manually set the aperture. before mounting the lens on the tube set, With the camera on and the lens directly mounted set the aperture on M or Av to about f/8, press the exposure preview button and hold it down while dismounting the lens. This will cause the reduced aperture to remain fixed, otherwise you are shooting at the widest aperture of the lens which yields the shallowest DOF. Feel free to ask for more in depth explanation if you need more help. "
:)
You did try to shoot your grasshopper in about the same plane of focus, which should also help.