First Day with sigma 105 macro - macroing is hard... advice needed!

[Sean Dempsey]

I have been trying to take stuff with the Sigma all morning. After getting over the surprise of the focus barrel extending like 3 inches, I went out to grab some shots.

How exactly do you guys do it?

At 1:1, I can't get anything in focus, even the slightest movement and it's out. Is a little tripod totally essential for 1:1 work? my shutter speeds always drop to like 60 or 40 this close, even in direct sunlight. And AF is out, much easier and faster to just manual. I am afraid all the travel time will just eat my battery.

Second, DOF... if I want a greater dof for extreme closeups, I set my aperture as high as I can with my shutter speed still staying reasonable, right?

This is gonna take some serious adjustment to get used to. If anyone has tips with using a lense like this, they would be appreciated. What are the expectations of macroing? What should I be counting on and against? How does field macroing work when out in the field and I see a lizard?

Thanks!

[Michael Fanelli]

At 1:1, I can't get anything in focus, even the slightest movement and it's out. Is a little tripod totally essential for 1:1 work? my shutter speeds always drop to like 60 or 40 this close, even in direct sunlight. And AF is out, much easier and faster to just manual. I am afraid all the travel time will just eat my battery.

Yes, the DOF at 1:1 is extremely shallow. Use a tripod and, if you can afford it, a microrail attachment.

Second, DOF... if I want a greater dof for extreme closeups, I set my aperture as high as I can with my shutter speed still staying reasonable, right?

If the amount of light can support the high values of aperture. The use of a tripod helps for slow or non-moving subjects.

[ichiu]

There's so many posibilities with macro. It really changes how you look at certain things too. But, a sturdy tripod and a bright viewfinder is essential to macro photography. Because you're soooo close to your subject the plane of focus is sooooo narrow. If you're looking to bring more things into focus, I would suggest f11 and above. Even at f8, the things you think are in focus are actually not. Have fun and show us your results.



Ivan