macros with the Sigma 180 EX Macro

[KerryPierce]

Nikon D70s ,Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX APO Macro IF HSM
1/500s f/32.0 at 185.0mm with Flash iso800 hand held


Nikon D70s ,Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX APO Macro IF HSM
1/500s f/32.0 at 185.0mm with Flash iso800 hand held

[petal666]

I'd cut back on the shutterspeed a bit which would reduce the amount of flash required.

Anyway. Good photos.

[fozzie]

I see that you have found your way around the Sigma APO 180mm already. For hand held that are truly magnificant. I would need to use a tripod for something near your shot. Did the snail go on the eat the flower
What are your first impressions of the new lens

[digitor]

Nice shots Kerry, I like the colours in the flower! Must have been a bit of a struggle catching that snail before he got away though...

Petal, I'm not quite sure how cutting back on the shutter speed would allow you to reduce the amount of flash required - would you mind explaining?

Cheers

[petal666]

Well, suppose you cut the shutterspeed down to 1/250s, you would need half as much light. Now at 1/500s say 3/4 of the light is from the flash and 1/4 natural. At 1/250s the ratio would be ?? something like 1/4 flash and 3/4 natural (can't be assed doing the actual maths) meaning the light will be more natural looking.

That's what I think anyway

[digitor]

OK, I see your point - although maybe by using a speed slow enough to allow ambient light to have much of an influence would cause a blurry shot, as they are handheld. Letting the flash dominate the lighting pretty well eliminates camera shake.

Cheers

[petal666]

You should be able to handhold a 180mm lens at 1/250 sec but it would be easier at 1/500s

[KerryPierce]

Thanks for the kind comments, guys!

Fozzie; First impressions is that the lens is very nice. It seems to be very sharp to infinity. Focus is very fast for a macro lens. The focal length makes it much nicer, more comfortable to shoot bugs and other stuff that is a pain to get within the very close proximity required by other macro lenses. About the only thing that might be better is the 80-400 with the 500d or extension tubes, because of the ability to zoom for composition. But, using the 80-400 that way isn't quite as nice, because you're very limited as to the working distance.

Petal666; My experience with using flash for macro is rather limited, but thus far, I see no significant difference with respect to ambient light with a 1 stop difference in shutter speed. Camera shake with a macro lens at 1:1 magnification is not a trivial issue at these focal lengths. It's not the same magnification as a 180mm at infinity. Only very bright, direct sunlight, such as the snail shot, provides sufficient ambient light to reduce the amount of flash to even out the exposure in the frame. Most macro subjects aren't as willing to sit out in direct sunlight for the shot. The flower shot above, was shot in deep shade.

In the end, the problem is simply that technology doesn't yet exist to properly expose most of these macro subjects in ambient light, at f/32, on a hand held or even monopod shot. If we had extremely high ISO that we could use, like ISO 32000, then it would be different.

There are other issues as well. Eliminating motion blur on the wings of flying insects requires high shutter speeds. Lastly, I like the vibrant colors and subject isolation that comes with using the flash. Until I can figure out a better way, I'm more than happy with the associated tradeoffs.

[Jeff]

Hi I like the first shot.Good vibrant colours, sounds like your pleased with the macro lens.
Jeff

[KerryPierce]

Hi I like the first shot.Good vibrant colours, sounds like your pleased with the macro lens.
Jeff

Thanks for the kind comments, Jeff. Yes, I like the lens. I shot another 300+ with it today, many with the Canon 500d closeup lens attached to give more magnification, higher than 1:1. The combo worked very well, giving a much higher percentage of keepers, for that magnfication, than I've ever had before. Plus, the working distance was still very good.