SONY A700 & 180mm (Curse of the Spider)

[DonSchap]

Well ... I popped in on a Spider and sat down beside her .... with the new A700 & the new TAMRON 180mm f/3.5 Macro.

I'm not making any excuses, but I have to admit that it is my first attempt with this lens ... trying to get something small & ... living. When I first came across it, it ran like heck ... as I had startled it by opening the shed and saw it, as it ran ... so I gave it a few minutes to relax and came back, knowing it would probably head right back into the center of its spread web ... only this time, I was armed with the camera, flash and lens. It stayed steady, at only eight inches away.

It was during lunch and I really didn't have a lot of time to fool around with it. So, here it is:



It's a little larger than lifesize ... but, still big enough to scare the crap out of ya. Heck, the web is at least three-feet tall, as well as wide ... this little gal is hungry, she's put out a big spread! And yeah, it really is that hideous pinkish and orange color, too.

I know, nothing to write DCRP about. LOL

[DonSchap]

I took this image with the SONY A100 and the cheapest lens I ever bought, the Phoenix AF 28-105mm f/2.8-3.8 zoom lens.

SONY α700 w/ TAMRON SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di LD (IF) MACRO 1:1

It turned out to be quite a shot ... clear and sharp. That lens just amazes me, as I got that Phoenix lens for $5.00. No kidding! TGFE (Thank God for ebaY) ... LOL

The A700, returns the favor ...

SONY α100 w/ Phoenix AF 28-105 f/2.8

[Roy NN7DX]

Well ... I popped in on a Spider and sat down beside her .... with the new A700 & the new TAMRON 180mm f/3.5 Macro.

Nice Don... I didn't get pleasing results with my new Tamron 180 using the A100 but all that changed with the A700 and a bit of on camera flash...
I handhold and use autofocus a lot... I set the a700's focus speed to slow in the menus... I use the little AF/MF button that falls right under my thumb to toggle AF on or off as I need it...

Up very close at a real macro range I'm mostly using manual focus (or just moving my head back and forwards to fine focus)... At 1 or 2 meters plus I get great results using this fine 180/f3.5 lens as a telephoto if I MF to near focus and manipulate that thumb button for AF to work... Fast, very fast with good tracking even for birds in flight, etc...

Have you tried the pop-up flash? It can be a big help for macro but I change from the big lens hood to a narrow 72mm metal one that doesn't make a flash shadow... Now, I also have a 2500D shoe mounted flash with 5x7" LumiQuest diffuser on it... Nice, natural looking bugs even under things where it is really dark and scary...

Me? I have been dropping by here to look and read occasionally but I registered at DCRP tonight just to encourage your creepy critter shots and give some positive feedback... An appropriate new skill set just in time for Halloween...

Regards,
from the Oregon Coast,
Roy Scanlon

[TheObiJuan]

LOL, I like the difference of noise between the images.

That ain't a spider-this is a spider:

[DonSchap]

LOL, I like the difference of noise between the images.

That ain't a spider-this is a spider:

That it is ... this kind of brightly-colored Arachnid would get picked off almost instantly by the birds we have hanging out in this part of the woods. Bird flu hasn't done much to diminish their number ... and they're hungry.