More fun with the new macro...

[OldClicker]

I'm loving this lens. What do you think? - TF

EDIT:
Sony A350
Minolta AF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
ISO 400, f/8, 1/15 sec.

[caleb]

pretty cool and good shot aside from focus issues... i'd like to especially see the front 1/3 or 1/2 of his body completely sharp.. also, did you (over)saturate this?

[OldClicker]

pretty cool and good shot aside from focus issues... i'd like to especially see the front 1/3 or 1/2 of his body completely sharp.. also, did you (over)saturate this?

If I set the f-stop all the way up to 32, I would get the 3/4 cm that I would need for half a bug. (Assuming I'm using the calculator right.) That would give me a shutter speed of > 1 sec. Don't know if I can get the little guy to hold still that long. I'll give it a try. Other ways to get the depth would be to move it further away or change the length of the lens, correct?

Being heavy-handed in PS Elements is something I'm trying to cut back on. (Note to self - don't move the saturation slider just because you can.)

Thanks for commenting. I appreciate the help.

TF

EDIT: Here is the same one with just a crop, one hit on the Auto Fix button and a little Darken Highlights. Better? - TF

[Frog]

I can see why you're having fun with your new macro.
I do think you are going to have to figure out the focus.
In this and your other photo which I failed to comment on, I can really find nothing in sharp focus.
I don't have a real macro lens and have only used extension tubes and focus gets critical and I have more failures than successes. I'm wondering if you are closer than your lenses minimum ;focal distance.
I do like your composition in both shots.

[caleb]

manual focus on the eyes instead, then?

[OldClicker]

Frog and caleb - Thanks.

It was manually focused on the eyes and I started by setting the lens at the minimum focus distance and backing the camera up until it went into focus an back out.

It is what I believe to be a good 100mm 1x macro lens.

If nothing is focused, it doesn’t mean I missed, it means I have an overall problem, right? I’m using a (very cheap) tripod and the 2 second timer to try to minimize camera shake. The A350 does not have mirror lock up. Though the bug may have been moving, if the other photo (pine cone and berries) also had problems it probably isn’t the subject moving. I’m doing this in a homemade light box in my basement (photo attached) so I don’t think it’s wind, etc. There is very little cropped, so I’m not out-cropping the resolution. Any ideas other than putting some weight on the tripod?

Again, I really appreciate all who tell me what’s wrong.

TF

[Sushigaijin]

Hey I think I have that same light box!

I don't think this is a focus issue. Looks like camera shake to me. Having shot 9,000 macros this year, I've seen it a couple of times

At 1/15s and 100mm, it's tough. If you are using a tripod, make sure to turn image stabilization OFF.

There isn't much you can do to increase depth of field except for F/stop since DoF is a product of magnification, not focal length. You could back away a bit (less magnification).

Other than the sharpness issue, this is a pretty good shot. Composition is nice and colors are good too. If it were mine, I would add a bit of contrast to the dark side of the tone curve, but that would be about it.