Nigel Cliffe wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article , Stuart Noble
writes
K wrote:

Main enemy of focus on supermacro is low light levels - if the
subject is lit badly, the pic is out of focus.
Absolutely. If you're 2" away, the camera itself is usually blocking
the light.
I find macro photography endlessly frustrating, and much better
close-ups of anything you care to mention can be seen on various web
sites.

I take your point but sometimes you see a pant or flower that you
want to identify or remind yourself of it's height and spread if you
are buying one. Then you need to get as good a picture as you can.

Janet

Agreed. I take endless pics at the garden centre, often of labels and
things I can't be bothered to write down, but macro photography is
something else. A closeup of a bee's kneecap is not my style.


See my earlier post in the thread about "practical cheap macro" method.

Most cameras suffer from the problems you mentioned earlier - need to do
Macro about 2in (or less) from the subject which casts a huge shadow, and
distorts the picture.

This method works best if
(a) the camera has a long zoom range, the longer the better (x6=good,
x10=amazing, etc), and
(b) it helps if the camera has a screw-filter mount (or manufacturer offers
one as an optional extra).


Buy a cheap x2 and x4 closeup lens. They are £4 each at 7dayshop.com, other
places may have them as well. Fit to camera, and zoom to the long end.
Camera will now focus for a macro shot, yet you stand 1 or 2 feet from the
subject.

One can bodge the same with the closeup lens held in the hand, but you
really need a tripod (or friend) to hold half the bits !



- Nigel



Alas I can't fit anything to my point and shoot, but I may take a look
at the old Coolpix 995 which I know has some kind of thread. I really
should use it more, but it's big, slow, and power hungry.