9 replies to this topic

[Malice]

After reading a thread here about macros of insects, I decided to try something along those lines. Instead of using a macro-lens (I don't have one), I tried to get as close as possible to those little critters with my Tamron tele-lens (Tamron AF 70-300mm 4-5.6 Di SP VC USD) on my D3100.

 

As focussing mode I used a single focus point with continuous focus. Shutter speed was set at 1/500 sec. (I tried to minimize the wing blur), aperture and ISO I left for the camera to decide. The lens was fully extended to 300mm.

 

So here are the results:

 

 

1/500 sec; f / 5.6; ISO 140 (auto)

 

 

 

1/500 sec; f / 5.6; ISO 160 (auto)

 

 

 

1/500 sec; f / 5.6; ISO 160 (auto)

 

 

 

As you can see, even though bumblebees are not really the fastest of insects out there, I still had major trouble hitting them in time with my selected focus spot and release the shutter. I did a little better when they were sitting in a flower, but even there the keeper-rate was pretty low.

 

So, my conclusion: sitting and waiting about 1.5 or 2 meters away from the target area and trying to "zap" bumblebees or bees accessing flowers isn't the method of choice to get clean close up pictures of the insects.

 

If I get the chance, I will probably return to the same spot next week and try again. But this time I'll probably let the camera do the focussing and see where this will get me.

 

Either way, I'd also appreciate any and all comments or advice on how to do get better results in situations like these.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

[Jerry_]

Interesting captures for a first try.

Some ideas for the next shooting:

- try to set the ISO on higher values, to gain both on DOF (aperture) and shutter speed.

- When you use a single focuspoint, try to have the insect on that focus point - and if you set a non-centered focus point, try to place it in a way that could suit the composition of the capture. (I.e. Bees flying from right to left, set it rather to right of the center)
(Some (more expensive) lenses having an A/M modus will allow you to autofocus, but manually override)

- some extra DOF will give some extra margin when the insect moves on - as well as allowing for having more of the insect in the field.

[Merco_61]

Try to follow the insect and let the AF do it's thing as the finder in the D3100 isn't the easiest to use for manual focus.

Use manual exposure, but let the AutoISO finetune. This means that you can set 1/800 and A=11 or so to freeze the movement in the wings and get a bit more DOF, with the added value that you will not be using the lens wide open, where it isn't at it's sharpest. Your D3100 has very good high ISO for it's age, use it.

I agree with Jerry's advice on using an AF point that helps the composition, but remember that there is a larger risk of the AF losing the lock with the 10 non-cross-type points. It is still the best way to work, and insects usually have some kind of vertical pattern to focus on.

If I remember correctly, the Tamron is sharpest at f/8 to f/16 @ 300 mm, so try to be in that sweet spot.

[Malice]

Thanks a lot for your input, Jerry_ and Merco_61!

 

You're right, I should try to get to higher aperture values, to gain a little more depth. Usually I try to stay as low with ISO values as possible, as I often find my images grainy or noisy even at ISO 100 (mostly visible when I have larger monochrome areas in a picture, like e.g. a stretch of blue sky). I can get rid of this noise with Light Room in post-processing, but (as you know) at a certain point this is counter productive when trying to preserve small details in the exposure. When I try to counter this effect by increasing the sharpness in LR, this results in artifacts.

 

Some of this might go back on LR maybe not being the best tool for this kind of processing, but I'm sure the major part is my lack of knowledge about how to use there tools correctly.

 

Regarding the focus points, this is actually what I tried to do, but most of the time, the insects were too quick for me. Even though I was sitting quite close to the plants/insects (pretty close to the minimum focal distance for the Tamron at 300mm), small movements of my hands still had a pronounced effect on the angle of my line of sight. I.e. I often hit left and right of the insects instead of following them with the focus point. Therefore I was thinking of letting the camera choose the focus point/area. But I'm not really sure the D3100 is up to this kind of decision making process.

 

Again, thanks for the advice.

 

If I get a patch of dry weather on an afternoon next week (at the moment it's pouring down here), I will return to the same spot and try again with higher apertures and different AF modes and see what works better.

 

And Merco_61, you're right. The bumblebees follow a vertical bottom to top pattern, when "farming" these plants. So parts of their movement can be predicted. Maybe with a little more patience and practice my hands will also be a little steadier when aiming with the Tamron (which is quite heavy in relation to the body of the D3100).

[Merco_61]

To minimize noise, make sure that you don't underexpose. Post processing noisy images in LR is much easier if you get the Google NIK filters, as dFine preserves detail much better than the LR noise reduction does. 

[Malice]

I've heard the NIK filters mentioned quite often, but up to now haven't really gotten into finding out how to work with them. Maybe it's time to do so. ;-)

[Jerry_]

I've heard the NIK filters mentioned quite often, but up to now haven't really gotten into finding out how to work with them. Maybe it's time to do so. ;-)

.. Especially as you can now download the Nik collection for free
https://www.google.com/nikcollection/

Another point: shoot RAW, this is a better starting point for post processing (even so the LR raw converter is not the best)

[Malice]

Thanks for the link!

 

And yes, I do shoot RAW.

 

What is the problem with LR's RAW converter? What would you recommend? (if there's a link to an existing thread here, I'll gladly read up on the topic).

[Merco_61]

DxO, Capture NX-D and Photo Ninja all get a better result with less work than ACR, even if you can get pleasant results from ACR as well. I find that I spend much less time in post with Photo Mechanic as a DAM solution and Capture NX-D for the raw conversion than I did in LR.

[Malice]

Thanks for the suggestions. DxO and Capture NX-D, I've heard about. Photo Ninja is completely new to me.

 

Since I'm looking for an upgrade from my current LR4 anyway, it's a good moment to switch software.