This is a photo that was taken for a contest on the Fourthirdsphoto forum site...
It's for pictures taken in the midday sun (as you could probably tell by the miserable contrast).
Not been feeling too well since I got back from my work trip to Oz so hadn't done much since or had time to sort out the Oz photos. Anyway jekostas your macro with the 70-300 got me to have a go. I'd never tried it on manual before to get the maximum mag so I had a play this morning. Most of the shots were rubbish but this one I liked so I tweaked it slightly in Picassa3. First time I've tried Picassa too (seemed quite good to me, very easy). Hope you like the end result. For a tele zoom it's done pretty well in macro. DoF can be tiny though hence the poor keeper rate. Well thats my story anyway .
Last edited by Phill D; 07-16-2009 at 07:25 AM.
Around every picture there's a corner & round every corner there's a picture
- the fun's in finding them
This is a photo that was taken for a contest on the Fourthirdsphoto forum site...
It's for pictures taken in the midday sun (as you could probably tell by the miserable contrast).
For what it's worth, I would have focused more on the structure. Grass and leaves hardly ever turn out well under harsh light, even with HG lenses.
Originally Posted by jekostas
First try at a moon shot, just 'cause I couldn't sleep. Any ideas? Weather wasn't perfect, but Don, you should have some pointers.
Few things to try next time. Back off to 270ish, you may see some improvement in IQ by not maxing out the lens. Keep in mind I didn't try this with my 70-300 when I had it but have read several sources that claim "they" can tell the difference.
I've also had better results with a slower speed and iso 100, even down to 1/40... nailing the exposure and keeping the iso down will give you the max detail.
There definitely is a focus issue, try live view at x10 and manual focus. And last but not least, continue playing with post processing techniques. Each time I shoot the moon, I try something different and slowly I am able to drag out a little more detail
Originally Posted by Phill D
Not been feeling too well since I got back from my work trip to Oz so hadn't done much since or had time to sort out the Oz photos. Anyway jekostas your macro with the 70-300 got me to have a go. I'd never tried it on manual before to get the maximum mag so I had a play this morning. Most of the shots were rubbish but this one I liked so I tweaked it slightly in Picassa3. First time I've tried Picassa too (seemed quite good to me, very easy). Hope you like the end result. For a tele zoom it's done pretty well in macro. DoF can be tiny though hence the poor keeper rate. Well thats my story anyway .
Hope you're feeling better soon Phil,
Your bee shot is pretty darn good, great colors and bokeh, the only thing I would have tried is getting a different angle or "pose", easier said than done, eh?
FYI - I casually watch the hits on images I've posted on various forums and the most viewed is this macro of tiny blue flowers shot with the 70-300
Cheers, Don
Last edited by Don Kondra; 07-16-2009 at 09:43 AM.
Thanks for the kind words Don yes I'm feeling a lot better. I caught this swine flu on my travels & it's taking a while to shake it off. Still coughing & sniffling but I'm nearly good enough to be let back into society. Yes getting a pose was pretty much pot luck the bees were quite lively & there was a bit of a breeze too. I tried the manual focus but it was pretty much impossible so I tried setting it at max mag and moving the camera back & forward to get focus and just shooting hence the low keeper rate. My biggest complaint was with the led numbers in the vufinder I just couldn't see them as the sun was sideways & washed them out. That's the one thing that I really wish was better on the E510, all too often outside I just can't see the settings & have to guess.
Around every picture there's a corner & round every corner there's a picture
- the fun's in finding them
Few things to try next time. Back off to 270ish, you may see some improvement in IQ by not maxing out the lens. Keep in mind I didn't try this with my 70-300 when I had it but have read several sources that claim "they" can tell the difference.
I've also had better results with a slower speed and iso 100, even down to 1/40... nailing the exposure and keeping the iso down will give you the max detail.
There definitely is a focus issue, try live view at x10 and manual focus. And last but not least, continue playing with post processing techniques. Each time I shoot the moon, I try something different and slowly I am able to drag out a little more detail
Cheers, Don
Thanks Don, I'll try the live view focus and backing the lens off slightly. Atmospheric conditions weren't perfect, so I'm not sure I could wring much more detail out of that shot, but this close to the ocean the skies will never be perfect.
Regarding the shutter speed, the moon travel was so short the night I did this that anything under 1/100 turned out blurry because of movement, so I ended up having to boost ISO to keep it sharp enough. The next time I get a waxing quarter I'll try it again so there's at least a little more light.
As for the lens, well, I'd love to add a Bigma or a 50-200 + EC-20 but with school coming up, I just don't have the funds for a new lens right now, so the 70-300 will just have to do.
For the Midday sun one, the focus was set on the observation tower and then it was pushed slightly out to the side for composition. Did you mean make the tower larger, then? I could certainly see that.
The 12-60 is a great lens although I did not remember it being $900. It rarely leaves the camera. I cannot recall the last time I used the standard kit lens even though it is smaller and lighter. I even loaned my 11-22 to a friend when I bought the 12-60 and do not miss that much. Of course, I added the 9-18 to make up for that loss.
Reply With Quote
. 
Originally Posted by jekostas
