Show Macro

Thanks, I really like those things, and they even taste awesome! Now I finally have a lens that can handle it properly.
I already sold the Lowa 60mm f 2.8 Macro, my three Tamy zoom lenses work well enough for close up (not macro) and I am thinking of adding a Raynox magnifier for a bit more magnification. I'll see how things go this year before I think about getting a dedicated macro (with less focus breathing this time) lens ... Actually it has pass my mind a few times to go back to Micro Four Thirds for macro work, the extra 2x DoF should make working at f 11 to f 22 easier and get automated focus bracketing, a setup like that would cost a bit more then a dedicated FF macro lens but not by much.
 
Actually it has pass my mind a few times to go back to Micro Four Thirds for macro work, the extra 2x DoF should make working at f 11 to f 22 easier and get automated focus bracketing, a setup like that would cost a bit more then a dedicated FF macro lens but not by much.
I didn't realize going to MFT (presumably from FF) doubled your depth of field, although I know it doubles your effective focal length. But with a smaller sensor, wouldn't smaller apertures be more susceptible to diffraction, which softens the image?
 
I didn't realize going to MFT (presumably from FF) doubled your depth of field, although I know it doubles your effective focal length. But with a smaller sensor, wouldn't smaller apertures be more susceptible to diffraction, which softens the image?
Yes, it does. For that reason, Micro Four Thirds lenses tend to be highly exceptional in terms of sharpness but they do diffract from f 5.6 (instead of f 11 on FF), the high-grade lenses help up well up to f 11 (f 22 DoF equivalent) and they can do f 16 with a penalty to the image quality but you get f 32 DoF in practice. There is one way to combat this effect, like focus bracketing (which only one EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE Sony camera can do).

I have tried with 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 magnifications on Sony a7r Mark II and a7 Mark IV and even at f 11 and f 16 I can't get enough DoF to cover small subjects. I have tried focus bracketing in post with not much success:
OVI05901-Edit.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


OVI05871-Edit-Edit.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


OVI05496-Edit.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


Maybe my frustration is running ahead of me but I would take the hit to IQ of shooting Micro Four Thirds setup at f 16 with flash and diffuser if I can get less field curvature (like the one above) and less stacking halos (like the ones below)

OVI05024-Edit-Edit.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


OVI04974-Edit.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

I don't know how much narrower I should go, f 22? That aperture seems to be less common these days then f 16.
 
There is one way to combat this effect, like focus bracketing (which only one EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE Sony camera can do).
And lots of recent Fujifilm cameras 😺 When I took a chance 2 years ago and bought a Fuji almost at random (I had only noticed that whenever I saw a photo online that blew me away, it was taken with a Fuji, but I had barely even heard of the brand), I was very lucky that they had added this feature. When I first heard of focus bracketing, it sounded like black magic, but it makes so much sense. A lot more convenient than those micron-resolution automatic rails (although I guess they have their place for bugs and such).
 
And lots of recent Fujifilm cameras 😺 When I took a chance 2 years ago and bought a Fuji almost at random (I had only noticed that whenever I saw a photo online that blew me away, it was taken with a Fuji, but I had barely even heard of the brand), I was very lucky that they had added this feature. When I first heard of focus bracketing, it sounded like black magic, but it makes so much sense. A lot more convenient than those micron-resolution automatic rails (although I guess they have their place for bugs and such).
I appreciate the advice, I have been thinking of Fujifilm from time to time and I have been quite curious about it. Fujifilm doesn't have a lot of options for autofocus macro lenses (and the reason that's important is that the Focus Bracketing requires autofocus lenses to work), the new 30mm f 2.8 Macro is nice but not a lot of working distance, the old 60mm f 2.4 is 1:2 life size macro so not great for insects (small ones), the 80mm f 2.8 macro is incredibly expensive and big. Most of Fujifilm lenses are not optimised for close focusing and the cheapest Fujifilm that can Focus Bracket is X-T3 (I think).
By comparison the cheapest Olympus camera that can Focus Bracket is the E-M1 Mark I and Mark II (16 MP and 20 MP difference) that are priced around 250 £ and 450 £ used. For macro lenses there's the Olympus 30mm f 3.5 with 1.25:1, Olympus 60mm f 2.8 with 1:1 and good working distance (both lenses under 300 £ on used market) and very soon they are coming out with a 90mm f 3.5 2:1 autofocus macro lens (which I don't believe it has ever been done before in this form).
One of the biggest advantages of Olympus for macro is hand-held work (when you need it, it's an option but not always the best one) with the best stabilization, and the fast read-out speed makes bracketing tens of pictures easy (but hundreds it is not, that's when a tripod is required).
With a bit of patience, research and luck, I might be able to get a good macro setup for about 500 £ in good condition.
 
It wasn't really meant to be "advice", just wanted to make sure people knew that focus bracketing wasn't limited to a single Sony and the Oly line 😺 I remember looking into MFT before buying Fujifilm, but most of the "non-pro" photos I saw from them just looked a bit too noisy/lacked resolution for my taste. Of course, this was all right before the post-processing software got its act together! But with all the cropping I do, I probably need "large format" APS-C lol.

Behold a young sunflower with the addition of the Raynox 150, 29 frames stacked:

Sunflower 2023-02-12-11.09.14 ZS PMax-topazAI121-sharpen (Custom).jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Not a pro by any means, but I'm almost always happy with the results I get with my macro set up on MFT. As with macro on any system, lighting is key to getting good results, poor lighting means higher ISO requirements and therefore more noise, but get your lighting setup right and the settings to work with it and the results are as good as any other system, and the 2x crop factor means that the magnification with MFT for the same focal length is significantly higher. My setup is an EM1ii + O60 f2.8 + Godox TT685 + homemade diffuser, and when required I also use a Raynox DCR-250 and a set of 10mm+16mm extension tubes.

This was a shot from last spring, single image (not stacked) without any specialist noise reduction... I think that the level of detail and the small amount of noise it pretty darn good.
Z5090074_1.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Not a pro by any means, but I'm almost always happy with the results I get with my macro set up on MFT. As with macro on any system, lighting is key to getting good results, poor lighting means higher ISO requirements and therefore more noise, but get your lighting setup right and the settings to work with it and the results are as good as any other system, and the 2x crop factor means that the magnification with MFT for the same focal length is significantly higher. My setup is an EM1ii + O60 f2.8 + Godox TT685 + homemade diffuser, and when required I also use a Raynox DCR-250 and a set of 10mm+16mm extension tubes.

This was a shot from last spring, single image (not stacked) without any specialist noise reduction... I think that the level of detail and the small amount of noise it pretty darn good.
View attachment 365712
That $1,500 OM lens that's just been announced, I think it's for people with your sort of proper knowledge and useage. I'm sort of hoping you get it.
 
That $1,500 OM lens that's just been announced, I think it's for people with your sort of proper knowledge and useage. I'm sort of hoping you get it.
I wish! I'm happy with the 060 and £1300 to spend elsewhere at the moment, although I wouldn't say no if somebody wanted to gift me or lend me one 😉
 
No bugs out to play at the moment (still a bit early in the year) so it's flora for now.

These grass heads (I think they are grass heads???) are about 1-1.5mm in diameter, taken with O60 + DCR-250 and a 15 image stand to get both heads in focus.

Z3040448-Edit.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Back
Top