One of my orchids is flowering again so I thought I'd try out the macro lens. Even with the tripod it's not as sharp as I would have liked. I'll keep trying!
Nice! Do you use Live View at all? If so, do you zoom in to 10x ? That way you can really fine tune the focus. I would suggest turning off Autofocus and do it by hand. Also turn off Image Stabilization because on a tripod mounted camera it can introduce its own movement problems. Because you are tripod mounted, set the ISO at 200 and close the aperture down to f/8 or thereabouts to increase the depth of field. This is going to increase your exposure time quite considerably but seeing as you are tripod mounted, that shouldn't be a problem (unless the orchid is moving in a breeze). If you have a remote release then use that to trigger the shutter or failing that, set the camera to ten second timer. This way the camera / tripod has time to settle after you depress the shutter button. If you shoot in Raw then you might have to do a little sharpening too. I hope that this isn't too much information to take in at one go! :o)
Nice shot. I'd echo what @steampowered says. I've recently learnt to do this when I have the camera on the tripod and it's made such a difference using Live View to zooming in to focus in manual mode.
@steampowered That is so good to read, thank you Paul! I don't know what Live View is but I can find out! I always want better focus. This orchid looks like a lot of promise for some great photos, Judith!
@maggiemae Hi Maggiemae. I don't know if your camera does Live View or not - I can't see it from the specs I have looked at but it is worth checking your manual to make sure that it does / doesn't do it first. Basically Canon Live View (and the Nikon equivalent) means that instead of looking through the viewfinder, the camera displays the image on the LCD screen at the back. Basically what you see is what the sensor is seeing (i.e. the mirror is lifted so you get no mirror shake when the shutter is depressed). It also means that no matter how good / bad the focus on your lenses are, whatever you can see on the screen is exactly what is falling on the sensor so you can get very good focus, particularly if you zoom in.
@steampowered I'm so impressed that you've taken the time and trouble to reply. I'll certainly give it a go. My old Canon Powershot used to have live view and I think with this new one it is something I can turn on and off. I've been out this evening so was amazed when I got back at the number of others who have been interested in your reply.
@maggiemae@steampowered Live view is great if you have it. It's how I was able to focus on the lily stamen in the shot I posted today. My vision is awful enough that without the magnification of live view, I'm stuck with auto-focus most of the time!
Judith -- this is a lovely orchid! Would upping the mid-contrast give you a little sharper image?
A comprehensive reply from paul and i echo his advice. Increasing the f stopis crucial because the DOF is so shallow when shooting macro. I looked at your exif data and your aperture is wide open so your DOF will be small. Manual focus is sound advice and of course the tripod
Judith -- this is a lovely orchid! Would upping the mid-contrast give you a little sharper image?