digital photog discussion den

[jredford]

Nice pics Ryan.

[drfous]

More shots of the desert bloom. Hiked Spur Cross/Cave Creek just north of town.

[ryan the geek]

Thanks! Nope that's my neighbors brother. I traded my photog skills for a case of beer! I just can't seem to charge people for taking pictures, so exchange of products seems to work well. : )

[ryan the geek]

Very rare that I get in front of the lens, but one of the other contractors and I had off one weekend last year, so we drove down to crater lake and took a shot overlooking the lake (me on left).

[hammer]

ha-ha ...... good shot. I'll have to tell you a story about Crater Lake sometime !
Everybody's seen my ugly old mug, but I didn't think I'd ever seen a photo of you.

I'm fascinated by your story of the Sigma 30 mm. In the foreseeable future, I'm only considering it, and the Canon 15-85. Test reports seem to vary wildly on the 15-85. De-centering problems with the IS system is evidently common to all manufacturers lenses in that focus range. Actually, I'm also following the new Sigma BIGMA..... 50-500 mm with a new OS system. So far .... it's getting good reviews, but that thing is a beast ! Almost 5 lbs. !!!

[jstrain]

Can't remember which photo thread I'm replying to at this point

Aaron, where'd you get your 60mm macro? All I'm seeing on Amazon is over $400.

[jstrain]

Second macro question... With razor thin DOF, how do you capture the entire subject in focus? Stop way down? Focus stacking?

I'm seriously thinking of jumping into a macro lens. What focal length do you guys recommend? I don't have ANY idea what I'm looking to shoot yet. Probably flowers, but I like macro shots of everyday stuff that looks cool up close (coins, rust, water droplets, etc). Cheaper is always better

[jstrain]

I'm thinking it's between te 60 and 100 macros. The 100 is more $, but is the 60 gonna be too close in non-macro uses to my 50 prime?

[VA_rider]

Originally Posted by jstrain

Can't remember which photo thread I'm replying to at this point

Aaron, where'd you get your 60mm macro? All I'm seeing on Amazon is over $400.

I got mine used on POTN ... they come up pretty regularly in the $275-$300 range....

as far as the 60 being close to your 50... well... you're absolutely right... but I hardly ever used my 50 because the MFD was too far away... on the 60, MFD is much closer, so I've used it more in the last few weeks then I ever used my 50... for "regular" shots, I think you'd end up grabbing the 60 more often than not... the 60 is truly a diamond in the rough... I think it's sharper than my 50 was... and my 50 was pretty dang sharp... I think after a short time... the 60 would completely replace your 50.... and you'd sell it.

For getting things in focus on the 60 with the thin DOF, you can focus stack on a static object from a tripod, or go to about f/8 or so.... but then you have to have the shutter speed to properly expose without going too high on ISO on the Rebel... It takes a little getting used to.... and of course for things like coins, rust, etc. If you're shooting them straight on, the thin DOF isn't an issue... since the item in question is all on the same plane of distance... if shooting from an angle, the DOF will get thinner, so it's really up to you artistically how you want to take the shot... (if that's confusing, I can grab a quarter and demonstrate what I mean.... )

['Dumbdog]

Originally Posted by jstrain

Second macro question... With razor thin DOF, how do you capture the entire subject in focus? Stop way down? Focus stacking?

I'm seriously thinking of jumping into a macro lens. What focal length do you guys recommend? I don't have ANY idea what I'm looking to shoot yet. Probably flowers, but I like macro shots of everyday stuff that looks cool up close (coins, rust, water droplets, etc). Cheaper is always better

think "plane of focus" if you are dealing with 1mm of DOF and you're shooting a dollar bill for example, then your dollar better be parallel to your imaging sensor in the camera, you shoot it at an angle you're screwed.

also when it comes to focal lengths you need to decide on what your needs are.

coins and jewelry? save your bucks and go 35 - 50mm.

Flowers and food? try 75 - 90mm

Insects and small animals? How skittish or poisonous are they? 90 - 200mm

and then weigh those factors with what else can you use the lens for... landscapes? general photography? portraits? birds? etc and make you choice!

[jstrain]

No, I think I see what you mean. Just wanted to make sure that the dof is smoothable by just playing with the aperture.

Ugh, now I have to make a decision...

[jstrain]

Well I like the everyday stuff jst because it's interesting, but if I'm looking for frameable keeper shots, it's probably gonna be flower / outdoor stuff. Maybe the 100 is the way to go.

[VA_rider]

flowers and most outdoor stuff, you'd be fine with the 60... for getting bees, spiders, and other things that will spook if you get too close, a longer focal length is handy... so you can back up from them a little bit...

but... you also have to consider other uses of the lens... on a crop sensor, 100mm is equal to 160mm on a full frame... so... it's basically a prime telephoto ... a 60mm is equal to 96mm ... so is still relatively "long" ....

When I was in CA, I used the 50mm a LOT on the honeymoon... and while it was great, even shooting outdoor stuff, I thought it was a bit long... there were some cool looking trees I wanted pictures of, and they were tall trees... to get them with the 50mm, I had to go like 300 yards away... this is really the only thing keeping me from getting the 135L ... I love the lens... it's capable of great things... but because of the length, I think I would hardly use it...

['Dumbdog]

Originally Posted by jstrain

Well I like the everyday stuff jst because it's interesting, but if I'm looking for frameable keeper shots, it's probably gonna be flower / outdoor stuff. Maybe the 100 is the way to go.

Tamron 90's are awesome.

I bought a Pentax 50 macro and returned it, spent more money for a 50mm 1.4 non macro and the 100mm macro.

the 50mm macro was to slow to focus for low light portraiture and wedding shooting and the 100mm is an awesome portrait lens.

it would've been nice to save some money, but other factors matter more than saving a buck.

[VA_rider]

here ya go Jeremy... just because I'm bored... an example of how angle works with DOF on the Macro... all of the shots are at MFD and at f/2.8 ...

Almost straight overhead


At about a 45 degree angle:


At the lowest angle I could get, and still have something to focus on...

[jstrain]

Thanks guys! The plane of focus stuff makes sense. Just need to play with aperture until I get the DOF I want I suppose.

Am I correct that doing strictly macro shooting, they are both about the same except for a slightly different working distance? It seems like the 100 is just a bit better in that regard since I can keep just a bit further away from the subject (spooking insects, casting shadows, etc).

It seems like the main advantage of the 60 is that it makes a slightly more useful general purpose lens. If that is it's biggest advantage, then the 100 makes sense for me since I can always slap my 50 on if I need a wider view in "general shooting mode".

If I didn't have the 50, I think I'd go with the 60, but I hate the thought of dropping all that cash on something so darn close to a lens I already have (and a good one at that). Now that I've typed all that out, it actually proved pretty helpful in making a decision!

Now I just have to decide if I want to drop $500 on another lens Why didn't you guys warn me that I'd get so sucked into this?

[jredford]

Originally Posted by jstrain

( Why didn't you guys warn me that I'd get so sucked into this?

I think we did...

[jstrain]

Haha, I know. The deed is done. I'm $530 poorer, but my camera backpack is richer

[jredford]

Two shots from this weekend with the 100-400mm dust pump. I think I am finally getting the hang of this lens...

[Faa Q]

The rule of thumb is you should crop vehicles so that there is more space in front of it than the rear. I like the second one.