Go Green

[Shebang]

Here's another semi-willing subject for me to practice on. This is SOOC. Missed the rule of third here. Why is there so much area in front of this bug that is in focus rather than the back half of the bug? I focused on the eyes and this is what I got. Is this the circle of confusion thing? Or the sweet spot of your lens thing? Or focal length? I don't know how to control this.

[caleb]

I believe that your lens is either front focusing. Or if it's set on AF-S, you may be focused correctly then move ever so slightly before fully depressing the shutter button. Or if it's set on AF-C, something similar may be going on except the lens cant refocus quick enough.

I think this is a fine macro even with the slight front focus. composition and rule of thirds is much less important in macro than general photos imo.

[SmartWombat]

I think you had the focus point over the eyes, but the camera was confused by the antennae coming towards you, and focussed a bit in front.
Manual focus is best (if your eyesight is up to it) in circumstances where the AF can be confused. Or for Loupey, MF all the time

Strange as it may seem, I've got good results with P&S cameras. Because of the small sensor size and very short focal length lenses they need, the depth of focus is greater.
These were taken at 1600x1200 full resolution of a Casio 2800 - resized to 800x600.

[OldClicker]

I'm not so sure that it is focused more in front. Looks to me like plane that is in focus under the hopper is staight down from the eyes.

With f/7.1 and 1/400th sec, I think you could have kicked the aperture up to f/11 and still have had a fast enough shutter speed. That would have given you more Depth of Focus. With that DoF and focusing a little farther back, you would have gotten considerably more of the hopper, though probably still not all of it.

TF

[Shebang]

I believe that your lens is either front focusing. Or if it's set on AF-S, you may be focused correctly then move ever so slightly before fully depressing the shutter button. Or if it's set on AF-C, something similar may be going on except the lens cant refocus quick enough.

What is/causes front focusing? I manually focused this. Because of your post prompting me to go read, I now know a little more about One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo (I have a Canon 40D) -- and I discovered I have the * button for better control of autofocus, but I don't know about AF-S and AF-C. Same features but different terms on something other than Canon? Thanks for your help and inspiration.

I I think this is a fine macro even with the slight front focus. composition and rule of thirds is much less important in macro than general photos imo.

Thanks for your kind words.

[Shebang]

I think you had the focus point over the eyes, but the camera was confused by the antennae coming towards you, and focussed a bit in front.
Manual focus is best (if your eyesight is up to it) in circumstances where the AF can be confused. Or for Loupey, MF all the time

Strange as it may seem, I've got good results with P&S cameras. Because of the small sensor size and very short focal length lenses they need, the depth of focus is greater.
These were taken at 1600x1200 full resolution of a Casio 2800 - resized to 800x600.

Poor eyesight is a serious problem for me -- pop bottle lens, as they say. I did manually focus this -- or tried, anyway. As I told caleb, I learned a little more about the AF features of my camera -- if I could just get this DOF thing figured out! Your pics are fantastic! I'm posting a side view of this bug of mine, out-of-focus eyes and all, so you all could see what an interesting, or so I thought, creature it is. Thanks for your help!

[Shebang]

I'm not so sure that it is focused more in front. Looks to me like plane that is in focus under the hopper is staight down from the eyes.

With f/7.1 and 1/400th sec, I think you could have kicked the aperture up to f/11 and still have had a fast enough shutter speed. That would have given you more Depth of Focus. With that DoF and focusing a little farther back, you would have gotten considerably more of the hopper, though probably still not all of it.

TF

Thanks, OldClicker. This DOF thing is really hard for me. I understand what it is -- I'm not understanding how to control it. Your help is much appreciated!

[Shebang]

And here is a side view just for grins.

[OldClicker]

What is/causes front focusing? I manually focused this...

Front (or back) focus is when the actual focus is closer (or farther) than the Auto Focus thinks it is. It does not apply to manual focus. - TF

[OldClicker]

In the camera, DoF is dependant on aperture, distance and the focal length of the lens. It is also dependent on how you view it. It is generally calculated at something like an 8x10 print viwed at 3 feet.

Here is a DoF calculator. Put in some numbers and see what you get.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

You can also see the background focus change with f/stop in this demo.

http://dryreading.com/camera/index.html

TF

[Loupey]

Why is there so much area in front of this bug that is in focus rather than the back half of the bug? I focused on the eyes and this is what I got. Is this the circle of confusion thing? Or the sweet spot of your lens thing? Or focal length? I don't know how to control this.

I think you nailed the focus on the eyes. But it appears that the katydid's head is cocked down (chin away) so the only things in sharp focus are the eyes and the top of the head.

The thin DOF is normal when photographing fairly large subjects like this at high magnification. But focusing on the eyes is typically the way to go. If you can't get enough DOF, consider finding another shooting angle so that you can pass the plane of focus through the parts of the subject that you want to show. You may have to shoot from the side or dead-on to the forehead to keep the "face" in focus for example.

[GB1]

I haven't read all the posts but I think you did well here. The background blur is nice IMO but I am not as sure about the lower left blur. Also did good on getting the critter's eyes - however, and this is a nit pick, that one antenna blocks his left eye a bit. Also, I would sharpen it up just a little more in PP.

G

[Sushigaijin]

In the camera, DoF is dependant on aperture, distance and the focal length of the lens. It is also dependent on how you view it. It is generally calculated at something like an 8x10 print viwed at 3 feet.

Further refining, at high magnification (close to life size) the depth of field is determined ONLY by magnification factor and f/stop. You can expect similar results with ANY focal length lens, 25mm or 400mm, although the OOF areas will render differently.

So that makes it easier: to get more depth of field, either reduce the magnification or increase the f/stop. Or both. That's all there is to it at the macro level. I can usually handhold a macro shot at 1/80s - try closing the aperture as much as possible to keep your shutter speed as low as you can handle.

I think your shot has fine DoF. I suggest a square crop to get rid of the useless area to the right and lower left.