@alisonp@tori_shaw yep... the bit in focus is going to be incredibly minimal... at least that's my experience... i just try to figure out how to work with it...
Yep been there done that. If I'm looking for most of the insect to be in focus I shoot from the side. Say you shoot from 1 foot away your depth of field is only like .2 inches. I have tried focus stacking and it seemed to work great on stationary subjects. Good Luck and ready for some of the pros to chime in and give us all some great info.
@northy yes, the work involved in stacking is why I thought I would ask here first ... just in case I was doing something wrong :-)
@hollandcrew i could of probably tried the stacking on this fella ~ he was too fat to move quickly or move at all LOL ... If only I had thought about it at the time !
@davidgnc fab ~ got my calculations from the link at 30 inches away from my subject I can use f/13.5 and should get 1 inch of subject in focus, which should be enough for a bee
@alisonp I find that if I go for bugs head on then only the front part of the bug is fully in focus but if I change the angle and "flatten" the bug then I am more likely to get it in focus. If I am using the macro extension tubes or the reversing ring then you don't get the option to change the aperture so you have to cross your fingers and hope! lol
@willowdragon thank you ~ I have tubes and reverse ring, but could never get on with them [my manual focusing was rubbish [it has got better] so put them away and haven;t used them since .
@alisonp It took me a while before I got to grips with the extension tubes but once I upped the speed (and compensated by upping the iso too) I have found it much easier. I also use the viewfinder rather then the screen and I find the images are sharper. :)
A few images I got today while crawling around in my lawn. These are all using my 50mm lens on my 12+20+36mm extension tubes stacked.
In order to have enough light with all my extension tubes on my settings were ISO 4000 f/16 ss 1/250
@alisonp Yes, Focus Stacking will the the route for you to go to get wider DoF. It's a real pain to shoot; you will typically have to shoot at least 8-10 shots, each with a very minor manual focus change. And for a bug that might be moving, well forget about it. On a tripod too of course, and you have to be super careful not to disturb the frame as you reach to make the focus changes between shots even if the subject hasn't moved. I'd not close down the aperture to f/12 or f/16. Even for the best glass, this would typically be outside the "sweet spot" and will lack at least some sharpness, the very thing you are trying for. Also you will be jacking up the ISO to compensate the exposure, and the noise will not be good for a stack either, whether you get the noise out before you stack (losing sharpness rght then) or try after the stack merge. Google for "focus stacking" if you don't have suitable references or tutorials. Good luck and good shooting.
I have learned to embrace the shallow dof! I work with my macros limitations..using the shallow dof as part of the composition.My one time frenemey is now a true friend. :)
Macro = shallow DOF at all f-stops. This is the best thing about macro lenses. The macro wider apertures give even a shallower DOF. With macro especially and with all lenses the plane of focus is 1/3 into the image it is thin, smaller apertures increase its thickness a little, but never all through the image.
There's already heaps of great advice here. I'm sure you saw it with the DOF calculator, but the closer you get to something, the smaller the DOF appears to get. Stacking for stationary objects can achieve good focus throughout. For moving things, go up to f/11 at maximum and back off a little to allow more focus of your subject, then crop in a little in post.
When you figure it out let me know. Oh and when you work out how to keep the little critters, bugs, bees etc in one place long enough for me to capture let me know too :) I want to do the old wives tale thing and put bitter on their feet but I think that only works for pussy cats :)
I've been having this problem but I thought it was me. I've fiddled with the aperture and that turned into exposure issues. Of course you can crank up the ISO and end up with a grainy image.
@alisonp You are welcome Alison, it's probably been the biggest thing to help my macro shots of moving things. I look forward to seeing the results of your efforts.
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I think stacking is the way I will need to go unless someone comes up with a better solution for me :-)
@hollandcrew i could of probably tried the stacking on this fella ~ he was too fat to move quickly or move at all LOL ... If only I had thought about it at the time !
In order to have enough light with all my extension tubes on my settings were ISO 4000 f/16 ss 1/250