David in Normandy wrote:
In article ,
Stuart Noble says...
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.

I beg to differ. Surely such a photo is the bees knees?

:-)

Stuart Noble wrote:
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.


Just try it hand-held, you may be surprised.


Zoom range not enough on the 995 to be worth the effort of the extra macro
lens. And its on-board Macro was amongst the best in its day.


( I have a number of friends with 995's and its relatives )

- Nigel



--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

In article , Martin
writes


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.

Your freudian slip is showing


Er yes, I actually wrote paint the first time
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

In article , David in
Normandy writes
In article ,
Stuart Noble says...

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.

I beg to differ. Surely such a photo is the bees knees?


Well perhaps it's Long John bee? As it's in the singular.
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 25 Nov, 23:50, Martin wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:21:08 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

In article , David in
Normandy writes
In article ,
Stuart Noble says...

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.

I beg to differ. Surely such a photo is the bees knees?

Well perhaps it's Long John bee? As it's in the singular.

Shiver me timbers!
--

Martin


This must take us to Treasured Island beds and thus to Black Spot and
so back to gardening.
David Hill

On 26/11/07 12:57, in article
, "Dave
Hill" wrote:

On 25 Nov, 23:50, Martin wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:21:08 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

In article , David in
Normandy writes
In article ,
Stuart Noble says...

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.

I beg to differ. Surely such a photo is the bees knees?

Well perhaps it's Long John bee? As it's in the singular.

Shiver me timbers!
--

Martin


This must take us to Treasured Island beds and thus to Black Spot and
so back to gardening.
David Hill

And Jim Lad who mows the grass and Parrotia persica?
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Nigel Cliffe wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
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.


Just try it hand-held, you may be surprised.


Zoom range not enough on the 995 to be worth the effort of the extra macro
lens. And its on-board Macro was amongst the best in its day.


( I have a number of friends with 995's and its relatives )

- Nigel




Yes it seems to have a cult following. I like the swivel which allows
you to take snaps of people while appearing to be just fiddling with the
settings. Rather like a box camera

In article , Sacha
writes


And Jim Lad who mows the grass and Parrotia persica?

Hard landscaping done by "pieces of slate, pieces of slate" ?



--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 27 Nov, 12:57, Martin wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:36:13 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes

And Jim Lad who mows the grass and Parrotia persica?

Hard landscaping done by "pieces of slate, pieces of slate" ?

(Fell off Grif's Pembrokeshire cottage roof?)

Yo ho ho and a bottle of organic rum.
--

Martin

....and off they go accompanied on His pianiola

David Hill

On 27/11/07 12:36, in article , "Janet
Tweedy" wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes


And Jim Lad who mows the grass and Parrotia persica?

Hard landscaping done by "pieces of slate, pieces of slate" ?


And paling for a stockade? ;-)

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 27/11/07 18:04, in article
, "Dave
Hill" wrote:

On 27 Nov, 12:57, Martin wrote:
On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:36:13 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes

And Jim Lad who mows the grass and Parrotia persica?

Hard landscaping done by "pieces of slate, pieces of slate" ?

(Fell off Grif's Pembrokeshire cottage roof?)

Yo ho ho and a bottle of organic rum.
--

Martin

...and off they go accompanied on His pianiola

David Hill

David, that is so bad that it's historically brilliant! ;-)
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 27 Nov, 23:15, Sacha wrote:
On 27/11/07 12:36, in article , "Janet

Tweedy" wrote:
In article , Sacha
writes

And Jim Lad who mows the grass and Parrotia persica?

Hard landscaping done by "pieces of slate, pieces of slate" ?

And paling for a stockade? ;-)

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Is that stockade for the Northern Rock?

David Hill

On 28/11/07 17:24, in article
, "Dave
Hill" wrote:

On 27 Nov, 23:15, Sacha wrote:
On 27/11/07 12:36, in article , "Janet

Tweedy" wrote:
In article , Sacha
writes

And Jim Lad who mows the grass and Parrotia persica?

Hard landscaping done by "pieces of slate, pieces of slate" ?

And paling for a stockade? ;-)

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Is that stockade for the Northern Rock?

David Hill

Somebody *has* been in the knife box. ;-))


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'