Need some Macro help

[Yarrow]

I love the look of macro photog. and I love to zoom so close till I cant anymore.
I am having somewhat of a hard time figureing out how close to be to the subject. Ive been told you have to get right up on the subject to get those super close out of the oridinary views shots, but Ive tried that and all I get is a blurred photo.

How true is that? and how do I do that and not get blurred photos?

I havent been able to shot anything in macro using my 150mm lens, but I have great luck with my 45mm. They are not macro lens but I use the macro mode on the camera, and also I have lens attachments for macro shooting +1, +2, +4, +10 that I have been trying out with no such luck.
I get better macro photos using my 45mm lens and in protrait mode on my camera..

Any advice or tips to getting great macro shots I would greatly appreciate.

[mjs1973]

The best way to get macro shots, is with a dedicated macro lens. There are other, less expensive alternatives that will help you get the close up photos you're looking for. One of those alternatives are the macro "filters" that you have. Other options are extension tubes, and some people use a standard lens mounted backwards on their camera.

Focusing is very criticle for macro work. With macro photography, you are usually working with a very shallow depth of field. This makes focusing very important. Manual focusing is your best bet at getting good results with macro work.

As far as getting right up on your subject to get those types of shot, it depends on the lens you are using. The shorter your focal length, the closer you're going to have to be.


Check out this thread to see some great examples of what extension tubes allow you to do.

Extension Tubes - Full Disclosure

[Frog]

Each lens has a focal distance and you should be able to find it in the lens manual.
For instance, my Sigma 70-300 cannot focus at anything less than 37 inches.

[Yarrow]

Thank you mjs1973 & Frog for the input.
I have heard of the tubes but I dont really understand how they work so I ll will look into them further and see if I can aquire some.

[freygr]

The lens on a camera is fixed as to the max. distance it can travel. To get one to one image ratio on the film, I will use a simple 50mm lens as a example: the lens must be 50mm from the object and 50mm from the film plane. On the 150mm lens the focus travel is insufficient to bring the close in subject into focus, and you can use extension tubes or a bellows set to get the extra travel. The nice thing about using long lenses is to get one to one ratios you don't have to be on top of the subject so the lighting is not as much of a problem.

[Yarrow]

Where can i find tubes? And do they need to be cohesive with my lens or are they universal?

[mjs1973]

If you go with tubes, you will need ones designed for your camera mount. This way you can retain the metering system of your camera. I have a set of Kenko tubes for the Canon EF mount, and they work great.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/3results...&sb=ps&sq=desc

[Frog]

I know you can get a set of 3 kenko extension tubes with the electronics for a nikon for $105 on ebay.
Ones wihtout the electical connections are much cheaper but then you have to do everything manually.
Generally, you'll still have to focus manually but this is generally the rule for closeup/macro work anyway.
Loupey did a nice write up on extension tube use in the nature forum.
Here's the link Extension Tubes - Full Disclosure

[Yarrow]

Thanks for the great information..

I am actually making my way through Loupeys thread...it is very informative..