# Midge



## lesno1 (Sep 27, 2021)




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## Jeff15 (Sep 27, 2021)

Cool, what's the magnification used...?


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## lesno1 (Sep 27, 2021)

Jeff15 said:


> Cool, what's the magnification used...?


Hi Jeff used a Sigma 105mm lens and cropped it


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## Space Face (Sep 28, 2021)

I think the crop has reduced the IQ but being so small it's a difficult subject.

I got rid of my Sigma 105.  Never really got on with it.  Much prefer the 60-65mm range for insect work.  It's more challenging for sure but also rewarding.


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## jeffashman (Sep 28, 2021)

I like this shot, nice detail. I like the Sigma 105mm, but it is taking some getting used to. It definitely works better with manual focusing in live view.


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## lesno1 (Sep 29, 2021)

jeffashman said:


> I like this shot, nice detail. I like the Sigma 105mm, but it is taking some getting used to. It definitely works better with manual focusing in live view.


Thanks Jeff the Sigma 105 and 150 are very highly regarded lenses for macro and portraits i use it with back button focusing  so fast


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## Space Face (Sep 29, 2021)

Personally, I wouldn't bother with AF on such small subjects or with close working distances.  This may be contributing to you slightly missing the focus on a number of your pictures.

I'd recommend manual focus or set the focus and move the camera and lens back and forth slightly to hit the focus.  Tried and tested method and commonly used by macro photographer's.


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## lesno1 (Sep 29, 2021)

Space Face said:


> Personally, I wouldn't bother with AF on such small subjects or with close working distances.  This may be contributing to you slightly missing the focus on a number of your pictures.
> 
> I'd recommend manual focus or set the focus and move the camera and lens back and forth slightly to hit the focus.  Tried and tested method and commonly used by macro photographer's.


I couldn’t imagine not having it.
It just makes sense and is a lot more intuitive IMO.
I can keep the back button pressed and focus on pressing the shutter when needed and know the focus will be right.
It’s a personal preference, the only person who knows whether it’ll work for you is you. 
There’s no ‘right’ except what’s right for you.


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## Space Face (Sep 29, 2021)

lesno1 said:


> I couldn’t imagine not having it.
> It just makes sense and is a lot more intuitive IMO.
> I can keep the back button pressed and focus on pressing the shutter when needed and know the focus will be right.
> It’s a personal preference, the only person who knows whether it’ll work for you is you.
> There’s no ‘right’ except what’s right for you.


Oh, I know exactly how bbf works and use it exclusively for everything I do except macro. 

Thing is tho in many, probably the majority of your macro photographs your focus is out, albeit often only slightly,  so it's clearly not working as efficiently as perhaps other methods could.  I'm merely suggesting an alternative which if employed might improve a percentage of your shots.

At the end of the day they are your pictures and if you are happy with them, well crack on.


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## lesno1 (Sep 29, 2021)

Space Face said:


> Oh, I know exactly how bbf works and use it exclusively for everything I do except macro.
> 
> Thing is tho in many, probably the majority of your macro photographs your focus is out, albeit often only slightly,  so it's clearly not working as efficiently as perhaps other methods could.  I'm merely suggesting an alternative which if employed might improve a percentage of your shots.
> 
> At the end of the day they are your pictures and if you are happy with them, well crack on.


I just took a look at your posts  "little moths" for one and if thats the best you can do using your method i will definately stick to BBF  but thanks for the suggestion


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## Space Face (Sep 29, 2021)

lesno1 said:


> I just took a look at your posts  "little moths" for one and if thats the best you can do using your method i will definately stick to BBF  but thanks for the suggestion


Well, they are in focus where they have to be ie eyes, head etc.


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## NS: Nikon Shooter (Sep 29, 2021)

lesno1 said:


> i will definately stick to BBF  but thanks for the suggestion


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## lesno1 (Sep 29, 2021)

A


Space Face said:


> Oh, I know exactly how bbf works and use it exclusively for everything I do except macro.
> 
> Thing is tho in many, probably the majority of your macro photographs your focus is out, albeit often only slightly,  so it's clearly not working as efficiently as perhaps other methods could.  I'm merely suggesting an alternative which if employed might improve a percentage of your shots.
> 
> At the end of the day they are your pictures and if you are happy with them, well crack on.


and im merely suggesting that if it doesnt work for you why will it work for me


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## Space Face (Sep 29, 2021)

lesno1 said:


> A
> 
> and im merely suggesting that if it doesnt work for you why will it work for me


That doesn't make sense.


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## NS: Nikon Shooter (Sep 29, 2021)

lesno1 said:


> … 105mm lens…





IMO, the 105 is a better choice of focal length because of 
the distance granted between the lens and the subject.


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## Overread (Sep 29, 2021)

The main problem with using autofocus in macro photography is that a subject moving toward/away from the focus point is one of the harder things for a camera to keep up with. With macro photography if you are hand holding the camera you will have a "breathing" effect in that you will slightly move toward and further away from the subject all the time, unless you've braced yourself against something static like the ground. 

As a result AF can have a really hard time keeping up. It doesn't help that many macro lenses tend to have much slower AF drives in general as well. 

Canon did actually start to address this with some of their newest lenses - the 100mm IS macro had a hybrid anti-shake system that worked not just in the up/down left/right axis (as most IS do) but also in the back/forward motions as well to give a massive amount of help to the AF systems. 


However most lenses do not have this type of hybrid anti-shake system. As a result many macro photographers will use manual focusing; setting the focus to what they want and then moving the camera and lens into range to take the shot. In theory you aren't moving the focus whilst shooting, you adjust it to suit and then focus by moving closer/further away. Basically the same body motion you'll be doing with AF. You then have to learn to gently squeeze the shutter button so that when you press it you don't add shake to the setup as well (something that is important to learn for both auto and manual focusing with regard to macro).

AF systems have come a long way over the years, and more modern cameras are more capable than the old, however in general many macro shooters still prefer to use manual focusing for general shooting. With practice it brings more consistent results because you're not longer having to contend with your own natural swaying when hand shooting; and the AF system at the same time.



If I were shooting with backbutton AF I'd certainly be using the limiter switch on the lens (which I assume you are already doing).; however personally I find it easier to use the manual focusing method outlined above.


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## NS: Nikon Shooter (Sep 29, 2021)

-

ADDENDUM

I have  the 60 macro but use it exclusively on the repro bench.


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## K9Kirk (Sep 30, 2021)

SF isn't wrong, the rolling technique is pretty much common knowledge. I cant country the number of times I've seen it suggested on this site and others. I've used it often because what the camera thinks is focused usually isn't. Its why people use the alternative but to beach his eye. Have a great day gentlemen.


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## BrentC (Sep 30, 2021)

I have to say I have also noticed on your posts, both focus issues and not getting close enough to your subject being common.   You also lose a lot of detail for how much you are cropping. 
I think it is very good advice you are getting about using manual focus and using distance to get subject in focus.   I think you will see a big improvement.   I use AF a lot for my shots on my Olympus but my AF is very fast and I have fantastic IBIS to help.   But if I use my Raynox or have magnification 1:1 or larger then I use manual focus and distance.
Before dismissing something, try it out.   Most macro photographers will give you the exact same advice.  It is obvious from your past posts that focus is an issue on a lot of them.


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