robboh wrote:Great shots Kerry.
Every time I see your shots, it makes me want to get a macro lens. But then when Im out walking the dog etc, I hunt around for spiders and things like that, but never see any.
Hi Rob,
I'm afraid I can't be much help in that regard. You guys are going into winter now and I have no idea what kind of insect patterns you might have down under....
Id love to know how you always manage to get your shots looking so good. The colours in them are vivid, but not overly saturated and funny looking (which is how mine end up in
PS) and they are nice and contrasty, but not with the hard shadowed areas I seem to end up with.
The lighting and how you use it, is of paramount importance. Oversaturation, especially with reds, is a real problem, if the camera is set up for high saturation and contrast.
My cameras are set up for low contrast and sharpening, normal to low saturation and I often underexpose shots -.3EV to -.6EV deliberately, depending on the subject and lighting.
That allows me the most latitude for PP but usually gives me a well saturated and vibrant photo, if I've gotten the exposure correct. Using fill flash or iTTL flash is a huge help in a lot of situations, but most certainly with macros.
Do you typically take these in early morning/night, but OUT of direct sunlight?? How do you do your metering?? Do you expose for highlights (ie let matrix do its thing) or do you expose to the right?? Or do you do use a greycard?? What about WB?? Auto or greycard or one of the presets?
Unfortunately, I can't schedule my shots for optimum lighting. I do generally try to shoot in direct sunlight though, for most of my shots, especially flowers, macros and normal landscapes.
My methods run contrary to conventional wisdom, especially with shooting flowers in sunlight, but I prefer the vibrant colors that direct sunlight brings to the shots, that I don't normally get with overcast or shade. With macros and the high aperture settings I prefer, I can't get enough light.
For metering, I change to suit the subject. With macros, I usually use a small center weighted meter. I try to shoot a test shot and check the blinking highlights. I don't use the histogram and don't really understand how it works as an aide to real time shooting.
If I have time and will be shooting a lot of the same scene, I'll use the expodisk to set WB. Otherwise, I just use Auto WB, unless I want a certain look and then I'll use one of the presets.
Cheers
Rob.
Edit: Just looking at these again later in the day and have a question for you. Does the D70, with the crop factor, give you a better than 1:1 out of macro lenses as well?? Whats the max ratio that the Sigma 180 gives you?? And would you recommend people start off with a shorter lens for macro, or go with the longer lenses that give you better working distance?
AFAIK, a 1:1 lens for film is the same for digital. A 1:1 macro is where the subject takes up the same distance on the sensor as it does in life. A 1:1 macro of an object 23mm long would take up 23mm of the 23.7mm of the Nikon sensor. The crop factor doesn't make any difference, in that regard.
The Sigma 180 is a 1:1 lens. My tests show that it is very slightly higher than 1:1, maybe 1.1:1, but no biggie. Using the Canon 500d or a 1.4x TC gives me about 1.4:1 or 1.5:1 Using them both together gives me about 2:1 and using a 2x TC with the 500d gives me about 3:1 magnification.
As to your question regarding working distance, that depends on what you want to shoot. If you're out in the wild, shooting insects, the 180 is an excellent lens. Some insects just won't tolerate you getting close to them. The longer the working distance, the better. The longer working distance also helps make maximum use of the flash.
Shorter focal length lenses have some advantages, such as deeper DOF and easier focus, perhaps, but lighting can be a problem without a ring flash and it's very difficult to get that close to many insects.
If most or all of your macro shooting would be of static subjects, then the shorter focal length lenses would be the ticket.
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:31 am
Birddie will take good care of you. 
