After Wednesdays blog about the little used Canon macro lens, today I tried more shots on differing camera settings with not a lot of success. OK they were acceptable but not what I would have hoped for. I have therefore come to the same conclusion as previously... The macro lens is only good for still life subjects and when mounted on a tripod!!! This is probably completely wrong but I put forward my case with the following snaps. These were taken this afternoon with the EFS 18-200mm all purpose lens which is the one I use all the time.
Personally, as most of the pictures I take involve creatures that move and have a tendency to fly away when you stick a lens up their nose, I will stick with the telephoto.
The macro lens can go back in the case until I start taking still life pictures!!
3 comments:
I know nothin but the pics look pretty good to me!!
A lot of the really good macro photos you see are in fact taken in studio conditions, with insects that have been captured, sometimes given a spell in the fridge to cool them down (which slows them down too). It means the photographer can manipulate the light to best effect. In the field, if they are using a macro they will use 2 diffused off set flashes and 'work' an insect, often spending an hour or more trailing a particular beast and getting it used to the photographer's presence. You need to know the insects and be able to predict behaviour. Using the field set up is possible without a tripod but it is heavy and you need to develop a personal technique for steadying the camera. I've taken the view that I don't want to carry that amount of gear into the field, and anyway am probably not strong enough to keep the camera steady. Occasionally I will do studio shots, but really I don't spend enough time on photography to bother much. To get good with macros of insects you need to be prepared to put aside hours and hours per subject, sometimes to get a single good shot.
Start with flowers and move on to insects maybe.
I agree with that Susan. It is a fun hobby for me, nothing more and I don't have the time or inclination to go to that detail.
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