Photo Comp - Chat Thread

Originally Posted by Reeder

Go away....

[Richie]

just received this... a tad late me thinks :0) lol
as it's now March !

Originally Posted by stuartyboy

WooooHoooooo

Just seen this. Cheers Richie

Originally Posted by bluefishman

bleedin hell, hardly ever here, comes on, and wins with his bleedin billy elliot photo, then on his way again

Sorry folks - my huge bad. I didn't realise I had to post the next competition and I've only just seen the PM 20 mins ago.

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

Go away....

Non

[Richie]

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

Cheers Filipe...will have a fiddle at some point.

Originally Posted by Reeder

Originally Posted by Milky Bar Kid

Go away....

Originally Posted by Reeder

Non

Why do you want to play the violin ?

[Brettus]

Originally Posted by stuartyboy

Sorry folks - my huge bad. I didn't realise I had to post the next competition and I've only just seen the PM 20 mins ago.

Gutted, unlucky mate. If I should get a win (yeah, sadly not that likely heh) you have first refusal to post the topic of your choice.

well just been oot in the garden trying to get some macro type shots, not easy with a d90, my compact is better, but got some half decent shots won't post my entry till later in the month, but here is a couple of shots i took, The bottom two have been cropped, and so zoomed in, anybody got any tips for macro?, cheers andy.

Originally Posted by bluefishman

well just been oot in the garden trying to get some macro type shots, not easy with a d90, my compact is better, but got some half decent shots won't post my entry till later in the month, but here is a couple of shots i took, The bottom two have been cropped, and so zoomed in, anybody got any tips for macro?, cheers andy.

Get a dedicated Macro lens or a set of diopter filter adaptors, and a tripod.

The Macro lens option is more expensive, and it'll probably be of a focal length you already have covered with other lenses, making it almost redundant for anything but the Macro shots. The one we use over here is the Tamron 90 mm f/2.8, which is absolutely brilliant, and not as expensive as the Nikon ones. The f/2.8 max aperture is also nice to have if you want to grab a quick headshot portrait of someone, but due to the optical formula, by the time you focus to headshot distance you're down to f/3.5 or thereabouts, eating away some of the advantage.

The diopter option is a lot less expensive, especially if you go for cheap stuff. They're just an optical element, filter like, that screws in front of your current lens and allows you to focus much closer than normal. The image quality won't be anywhere near a dedicated macro lens, but it'll allow to you have a play with the lens you currently own without spending a fortune.

As for the tripod, you'll need it, and a good one at that. At macro ranges, the depth of field even at very small apertures is virtually non-existent, so any movement from your part will translate in blurry out of focus pictures. And since you will need very small apertures to carry as much depth of field as possible, your shutter speeds will go stupid slow, making it impossible to grab anything without blurring it.

Final note: there are some tele 70-300 zoom lenses on the market that claim macro ability. While these are not true macro (they will usually go to 1:2 or 1:4 magnification, while real macro is 1:1 - the size of the object is the size it gets recorded on the sensor), they might be a decent way of killing two birds with one stone... you get extra telephoto reach to play with in normal situations, and very close focusing ability. Again, these will probably not be as good as a good telephoto like the Nikon 70-300 VR and a dedicated Macro lens, but depending on what you want out of them, they might be good value for money.

My entry this month was taken with D90 and 18-105 with a cheap Sigma Achromatic close up filter I got on eBay for cheap. I use a step down ring which allows me to use the 52mm filter thread on my 67mm filter thread the Nikon lens has. While no where near the quality a decent macro lens would give it still allows some form of close up photography. I just got a pretty powerful close up filter called Raynox dcr250 but yet to really give it go.
Using a flasgun while adjusting the power output against aperture is a good way to freeze movement. However I don't want to open another can of worms in regards to flash units.
As Filipe said some 70-300 zooms allow pretty decent close focus. I used to have the Tamron 70-300 which was cheap but surprisingly decent for the money.
If you do look at filters go for achromatic type or Maybe a Raynox dcr150 which is not to powerful and has great image quality. I myself never use a tripod. I prefer to either use an off camera flash or raise the iso. The D90 has great high iso especially if you shoot in Raw and s process the noise.
You are better off switching focus to manual and zooming all the way to telephoto end if using a zoom kit lens. Then move to and fro the subject slowly. You may want to put camera in continuous shooting mode while you move slightly to change focus. Takes practice but I rarely find bugs that stay still while I move a tripod about. However there are some bugs as well as many other subjects such as flowers that a tripod will be useful.