Please help! I am so discouraged with my macro lens that I bought a few months ago. Really battling to get sharp photos. See the above photo - the left wing is in focus but right wing is not. I use manual settings. As you will see my shutter speed was low ( 1/40) which i realise is not good for camera shake but if I do a faster shutter speed it means I will have to do a lower f stop to get exposure right and then I will again have even less in focus. ISO was already at 1600. Does this make any sense? How do i get better focus for macro photos? I see all this extremely sharp macro photos on this site and have no idea how you do it. Read such good reviews about the lens so not sure why I am not getting it right :-(
I'm in the same boat as you, with a new macro and still needing to learn a lot.
I think it comes down to having really shallow depth of field, even at moderate fstops, because we are so close. In this photo it looks like your plane of focus was just ever so slightly tilted relative to the plane of the creature's wings. You might have been able to tilt the camera a touch to get it all in focus. Or maybe the wings aren't flat, and then it wouldn't have been possible.
Like you, I've been compromising on ISO in order to get a bit more depth of field. I think what I really need to do is use a tripod more of the time, at least with still subjects.
I hope this is any help. I'm following your project now.
@bsheppard Thanks so much for your feedback Beth. The wings weren't flat and I never thought about that so thanks so much. Will follow you back and eager to see your macro shots.
Im in the same boat as you guys! I have a new 105mm macro and was just thinking today that I need to maybe use this lens exclusively for a few weeks to work out all these things! I think my problem is I want to get too close to my subject. Because I want such a close up I fill the frame but its just too close! I need to figure out how far away to be to hit the sweet spot. Also, I'm wondering if you need to adjust the f stop...maybe its too narrow to get it all in focus? We should set up a group to help us all along with the process! What do you think? @moya@bsheppard
Four thoughts:
- Macro lenses are built with a shallow DOF. You may want to consider using apertures smaller than f8.
- Your camera will auto focus on the closest part of the subject/thing. It might be good to move the focus green square to where you want it.
- Use some hyperfocus techniqes or the 1/3 focus spot.
- In post-processing removing noise and sharpening can help a little.
Perhaps the right wing moved and the left one didn't? 1/40 is a very slow shutter if you want to stop action this close to the subject. I assume you are close. If you are "straight on" and directly over the subject, the two wings should be at the same distance from the focal plane, so it's a little puzzling.
If the subject is static, you can try "focus stacking" techniques. There was a challenge on that in a technique challenge not long ago. But that really does require a tripod to do this close in, and with this problematic light.
Can you get more light into the frame? If you can't, you are stuck with the constraints of the exposure triangle. While I know you are wary of raising the ISO on your 500D, you just might find it's the only way if you can't get more light. Something like a reflector, or simply a large white sheet of paper might help some too.
Sometimes setting it to automatic and then reviewing the settings helps you understand how the lens picks up images. Also a light meter helps find the right speed, iso, and fstop for the situation. I find when playing with iso the light meter really helps me narrow down the other settings.
Using Live-view, manual focus and magnifying it by ten times works nicely to get spot on accuracy with focus. This works best on things that are less likely to move and you still need to watch out for shallow depth of field though. If you still struggle then it's time to learn about focus stacking! Youtube has plenty of tutorials, for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkh6RHNbBdA
@dianen Hi Diane, I have the same thing - trying to get in too close ( but isn't that what macro is all about!) Love your idea of a group and will be great if we can get some of the expert 365'ers to give some advice on the group
I agree focus stacking is very useful in macro photography.
You could also use the tripod with a remote so you will be able to slow the shutter speed and close the lens as much as needed.
If think this site could be useful for you. It will help you to calculate the DOF with the settings you are using. http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
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I think it comes down to having really shallow depth of field, even at moderate fstops, because we are so close. In this photo it looks like your plane of focus was just ever so slightly tilted relative to the plane of the creature's wings. You might have been able to tilt the camera a touch to get it all in focus. Or maybe the wings aren't flat, and then it wouldn't have been possible.
Like you, I've been compromising on ISO in order to get a bit more depth of field. I think what I really need to do is use a tripod more of the time, at least with still subjects.
I hope this is any help. I'm following your project now.
- Macro lenses are built with a shallow DOF. You may want to consider using apertures smaller than f8.
- Your camera will auto focus on the closest part of the subject/thing. It might be good to move the focus green square to where you want it.
- Use some hyperfocus techniqes or the 1/3 focus spot.
- In post-processing removing noise and sharpening can help a little.
If the subject is static, you can try "focus stacking" techniques. There was a challenge on that in a technique challenge not long ago. But that really does require a tripod to do this close in, and with this problematic light.
Can you get more light into the frame? If you can't, you are stuck with the constraints of the exposure triangle. While I know you are wary of raising the ISO on your 500D, you just might find it's the only way if you can't get more light. Something like a reflector, or simply a large white sheet of paper might help some too.
You could also use the tripod with a remote so you will be able to slow the shutter speed and close the lens as much as needed.
If think this site could be useful for you. It will help you to calculate the DOF with the settings you are using. http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html