Chortleberry
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Macro photography | Forum |
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Forums: Techniques: Macro photography
| Showing 1 - 13 of 13 posts. |
 The RevPosted: 3rd Mar 2008 Time: 11:16 AM |
It's something that i have just started looking at and i found a technique which you may or not know about, using binocular lenses to enable macro photos without paying thousands of pounds for a specialist camera, i had a quick play about with this yesterday, i got a cheap pair of binoculars for £1.25, and removed one of the front lenses (the big one) and turned it around so that it was positioned over the lens of the camera in a concave fashion and held it in place with masking tape, then i put the camera onto its furthest possible zoom and took a few pics of things like a really small nail, pollen stems on a lilly, and what was really striking was not only the level of detail that escapes the naked eye, but the "depth of field" perception, especially with the lilly, the closest pollen stem was displayed with amazing detail, and the ones that got further back were visible but the further back they were the more blurry they got it looked really quite professional and i was very impressed, im going to be practicing over the next few days and see if i can get some really nice (creepy) macro photos of insects and such, the good ones i'll post in my gallery. anyone else had any luck with this (or indeed a similar) technique? any advice? |
 WheelybirdPosted: 3rd Mar 2008 Time: 11:47 AM |
Was this with an SLR camera? I'd give it a go, but the only binoculars I own are a sturdy Russian pair with yellow tinted lenses. I'd need lasers to open the monsters. |
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The Rev Posted: 3rd Mar 2008 Time: 12:01 PM |
Yeah, i used the Konica Minolta Dimage A2
It's an 8 mega pixel camera and has 7x optical zoom, so the binocular lens added an amazing advantage to it when i set it to full zoom, i'd highly recommend trying it if you can get a really cheap pair of binoculars, mine were from the kids toy section, the but i would say take care when taking them apart, i just squeezed them and the plastic snapped and took a rather large chunk of the flesh along my thumb with it! |
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Tioadli Posted: 4th Mar 2008 Time: 6:02 PM |
Have you tried reversing the lens and using the camera on a manual setting? I used to do this. Just use a tube of black card between the camera body and lens to stop any stray light getting through to the sensor. |
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The Rev Posted: 5th Mar 2008 Time: 8:17 AM |
Thats a damn good idea! i'll definately give it ago =)
Thanks for the tip! has anyone else used a similar idea? or indeed is anyone else into macro? |
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Harlequin Posted: 5th Mar 2008 Time: 4:56 PM |
Rev,
Tioaldi makes a very good suggestion. You can get purpose built reversing rings for lenses really cheaply. Then use step up/down rings if there is a size issue. Holds it all together nicely, you don't need to spend on a dedicated macro lens and you don't have to fanny about with bits of paper and gaffer tape! I used to do a bit of macro stuff but am concentrating on extreme sports at the minute (ski bum at hear) Looking forward to seeing some of your results! |
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The Rev Posted: 5th Mar 2008 Time: 9:34 PM |
Hey thanks for all the feedback and ideas guys!
I appreciate any help/advice/tips i can get, because i am still relatively new to the photography scene and i know i'll never stop learning. I hope to have a good session with the Macro stuff on saturday and will sort the good from the bad and get some of em uploaded some time on sunday =) |
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mortcdz Posted: 7th Mar 2008 Time: 9:08 PM |
Some general Macro tips -
Keep the subject as still as possible - if its an outdoor shot shade from the wind (without castin a shadow) or use a stick and wire ties to tie plants etc in place Use a tripod where-ever possible - even minor shakes will move the point of focus. If you are going to hand hold the camera make sure there's lots of light Look at using dioptres (screw on magnifying lenses) with normal lenses if your camera supports them - they can be cheaper than a purpose built macro lens and produce good results. Careful when using flash - it can easily wash out colours |
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Tioadli Posted: 7th Mar 2008 Time: 10:49 PM |
A couple more thoughts on reducing shake,
Using a cable release should go without saying, but there you go, I said it anyway. Also, if using an SLR, fire three continuous shots. The middle one will be sharpest as any shake caused by the mirror lifting and closing will be eliminated. It may sound trivial, but in macro it is vital. |
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mortcdz Posted: 9th Mar 2008 Time: 10:58 AM |
Things only go without saying if you already know them 
For a DSLR a cable release or IR switch majorly helps reduce shake from manually pressing shutter release, on a compact camera think about using the self timer. If you don't have a tripod (and to be honest why not - you can get great little table top ones off ebay for £5) use a bean bag - and for the really cheap home made option you can always use a plastic bag plus some lentils/chick peas Handheld macro work is only worth considering in the best of lights - last year I went to a butterfly farm and took several hundred macro shots, of which I've kept about 20 - the slightest shake on a macro shot will ruin the focus. For insect macro's look at early morning, whilst they are still cold and slow moving. Failing that there is a "cheat" - collect insects (or better still get your kids to do it if you have some!), keep them in a small plastic pot and chill them (cool bag plus some freezer packs), release them and snap away. Hey, its the way that professional photographers get some stunning shots, so why not |
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The Rev Posted: 10th Mar 2008 Time: 8:23 AM |
Ok as promised i managed to take loads of macro photographs, but only a couple of them made the grade and i have uploaded them to my gallery =) |
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Tioadli Posted: 11th Mar 2008 Time: 8:24 PM |
I've checked the pics.
I like the nail best of all. The effect that the binocular lens has is quite pleasing, the blurry edges to the picture I mean. |
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The Rev Posted: 12th Mar 2008 Time: 8:17 AM |
Hey thanks for looking! i must say the nail and the stamen are my favourite ones, im going to try and get some more done quite soon (hopefully this weekend) i want to try and get some done of the unusually large spiders around the garden =)
And thanks also to mortcdz who left me a comment  i noticed also that it does give quite a shallow DOF and although i doubt there is much i could do to help that i think with certain pictures it has quite an endearing effect like Tioadli pointed out, almost like a dreamy memory effect.
Well over the forthcoming Easter bank holiday im off on my jollies round Bridgend in Wales and im hoping to return with some more beautiful pictures to show off with ;P Thanks again to all who have replied, and for all your tips/advice/critique it is all welcomed! |
| Showing 1 - 13 of 13 posts. |
