Hi Folks,
I've seen the beautifull dragonfly photographs of people like Jukka and Spectre here, and so I looked for these creatures on my weekend walks. I was surprized to see there are soo many of them..!
So I thought I might try to capture them on the sensor myself. I do not have the proper gear, nor the skills, but hey! Gotta start somewhere!
Just to see if it is something I enjoy, I put my 18-200 VR on my D300, since at 200 mm it gives the largest reproduction ratio of all my lenses, put my flash and home-made diffusor box on it, and went to the spots where I knew the dragonflies would be. Below are some of the shots I took the last couple of days. Bear in mind that they are just first tries: background, focus, noise, posture of the insect.... all need improvement....
Now I know:
- one needs time and patience, to learn where, when and how to find them;
- one needs the proper skills in capturing them, which can only be acquired by doing;
- one needs the proper equipement
About the equipment, I have some questions.
Ofcourse, a 18-200 VR at 200 mm, closest focusing distance is surely not the proper lens for this kind of work. It is soft, small aperture wide-open which is not good for focusing, and most of all, the focusing ring is far too sensitive. I am seriously considering a dedicated Macro lens, but I am not sure which one.
I noticed that camera movement causes most of the blurr. Handheld shots, even with flash, gives a low yield. I tried with a monopod, but that was only slightly better. Flash duration is short enough, but in order to balance ambient light / flash shutter speeds are too long at 200 ISO. I need to boost ISO considerably, but that gives more noise. I would like to keep ISO as low as possible. But that requires using a tripod..
Handheld, it's relatively easy to approach the dragonflies.. up to a certain distance. When I get too close, I start touching the green they are perched on. Then they're gone.. And if they're not gone, either camera shakes or focus drift makes the captures blurry.
As far as equipement is concerned I am thinking about (is order of cost):
- Sigma 150/2.8 macro ("Bugma")
- 105 VR/2.8 Macro
- Sigma 180/3.5 Macro
- 300/F4, with extension tube
- 200/F4 Micro
All, save the 105 VR, have a tripod collar, great for balancing the camera on a tripod. I consider this a must. The 150 Sigma is both cheapest, has a collar, relatively large apepture wide open.. sounds great. BUT: is the focal length OK? When using a tripod, one needs to keep distance in order not to disturb the flies, and I wonder if 150 mm is not too short.
So I wonder, what is the approximate "working distance" for each of the lenses above? Which one is is most comfortable to work with? I would consider buying used, just to keep the budget acceptable...
I already searched the forum, but..anyone able to give some sound advice?
Kind regards,
Thymen
I've seen the beautifull dragonfly photographs of people like Jukka and Spectre here, and so I looked for these creatures on my weekend walks. I was surprized to see there are soo many of them..!
So I thought I might try to capture them on the sensor myself. I do not have the proper gear, nor the skills, but hey! Gotta start somewhere!
Just to see if it is something I enjoy, I put my 18-200 VR on my D300, since at 200 mm it gives the largest reproduction ratio of all my lenses, put my flash and home-made diffusor box on it, and went to the spots where I knew the dragonflies would be. Below are some of the shots I took the last couple of days. Bear in mind that they are just first tries: background, focus, noise, posture of the insect.... all need improvement....
Now I know:
- one needs time and patience, to learn where, when and how to find them;
- one needs the proper skills in capturing them, which can only be acquired by doing;
- one needs the proper equipement
About the equipment, I have some questions.
Ofcourse, a 18-200 VR at 200 mm, closest focusing distance is surely not the proper lens for this kind of work. It is soft, small aperture wide-open which is not good for focusing, and most of all, the focusing ring is far too sensitive. I am seriously considering a dedicated Macro lens, but I am not sure which one.
I noticed that camera movement causes most of the blurr. Handheld shots, even with flash, gives a low yield. I tried with a monopod, but that was only slightly better. Flash duration is short enough, but in order to balance ambient light / flash shutter speeds are too long at 200 ISO. I need to boost ISO considerably, but that gives more noise. I would like to keep ISO as low as possible. But that requires using a tripod..
Handheld, it's relatively easy to approach the dragonflies.. up to a certain distance. When I get too close, I start touching the green they are perched on. Then they're gone.. And if they're not gone, either camera shakes or focus drift makes the captures blurry.
As far as equipement is concerned I am thinking about (is order of cost):
- Sigma 150/2.8 macro ("Bugma")
- 105 VR/2.8 Macro
- Sigma 180/3.5 Macro
- 300/F4, with extension tube
- 200/F4 Micro
All, save the 105 VR, have a tripod collar, great for balancing the camera on a tripod. I consider this a must. The 150 Sigma is both cheapest, has a collar, relatively large apepture wide open.. sounds great. BUT: is the focal length OK? When using a tripod, one needs to keep distance in order not to disturb the flies, and I wonder if 150 mm is not too short.
So I wonder, what is the approximate "working distance" for each of the lenses above? Which one is is most comfortable to work with? I would consider buying used, just to keep the budget acceptable...
I already searched the forum, but..anyone able to give some sound advice?
Kind regards,
Thymen
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