Fly extreme closeup

[Duncan C]

I got a set of Kenko tubes for my birthday, and today is the first time I've gotten images using them that I've been happy with.

There were some small flies buzzing around a decomposing log in our backyard, along with a large number of ants I uncovered when I rolled it over. My intention was to shoot some ants, but they never did sit still long enough for me to get a decent shot.

The flies, on the other hand, were unusually cooperative. They would land and sit in the same spot for quite a while, and didn't spook if I approached them slowly.

The following image was shot at closest focus with my Tamron SP 90 mm 1:1 macro, plus all 3 tubes (36mm + 20mm + 12mm = 68mm) and lit with my SB-800 plus a pop-up diffuser on the end of the lens, as described in a recent post here.

Here's a reduced sized image of a 100% crop:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

But you should really click on the following link to see it at full size:
Fly 100% crop

Shot in raw, levels adjusted, sharpened, cropped, converted to an 8-bit sRGB image, and saved to a JPEG in PS CS3.



Regards,

 

[sam821]

dude... that is insane!!!! What was the zoom equivalence?? You said you had 68mm of extensions, so how does that add up with the 90mm??

Oh yea, spectacular photo!

 

[quyd300]

Awesome! I have the same combo, but never try it that way. Very well done!

 

[cleoent]

that thing is disgusting.

great detail though :smile:

 

[TomP]

I am really impressed with your shots, what do you think the magnificaion is, 3x or more ??

 

[thrdprophet]

That is one cool and awesome shot.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Duncan C]

I am really impressed with your shots, what do you think the magnificaion is, 3x or more ??

Tom,

If I'm figuring it correctly, the magnification is around 1.75:1

(Magnification is a factor of extension/focal length. The way I figure it, the Tamron already has 90 mm of extension to get 1:1 magnification. I'm adding an additional 68 mm of extension, for 158/90, or 1.75555:1

Remember, 100% crops of a 10mp image have a LOT of detail. That makes te image look more magnified than they really are.

 

[Seneca]

OMGOSH...what a stupidly awesome shot. It's like he's saying..."Hey dude...like my shades?" Wow I am impressed - the detail just makes your eye look at everything. He has eyebrows.

P.S. Ok my son says stupidly awesome (which means - totally rocks).

 

[Seneca]

Tom,

If I'm figuring it correctly, the magnification is around 1.75:1

(Magnification is a factor of extension/focal length. The way I figure it, the Tamron already has 90 mm of extension to get 1:1 magnification. I'm adding an additional 68 mm of extension, for 158/90, or 1.75555:1

Remember, 100% crops of a 10mp image have a LOT of detail. That makes te image look more magnified than they really are.

...you lost me at "If I'm figuring it correctly"

 

[DJVCuda]

wow!

thats really cool!

 

[TomP]

Tom,

If I'm figuring it correctly, the magnification is around 1.75:1

(Magnification is a factor of extension/focal length. The way I figure it, the Tamron already has 90 mm of extension to get 1:1 magnification. I'm adding an additional 68 mm of extension, for 158/90, or 1.75555:1

Remember, 100% crops of a 10mp image have a LOT of detail. That makes te image look more magnified than they really are.

Well that show you what I know:smile: i thought the magnification was all in the glass, never considered a built in Ext. tube:biggrin: Learn something new everyday. What shutter speed did you use??

 

[BUCKEYE BIKER]

Amazing shot, Duncan. The sharpness is unbelievable considering the magnification you have achieved and the thin DOF. Well done.

 

[CAClark]

Awesome shot, that fly is a thing of sheer beauty.

I still haven't had a good chance to try my Kenko tubes yet. Maybe when the weather settles more hopefully.

Cheers!

 

[spalding12]

Duncan,
FANTASTIC

 

[misupix]

That's a great shot! Magnification is breathtaking....

Mind if I join with one of mine: taken with a 60mm Micro and all three extensionTubes with SB800 firing into a GF....
http://www.pbase.com/mcschuster/image/80633013/original

 

[Skittledoo]

The eyes are absolutely amazing...

 

[Duncan C]

Another fly closeup

Here's another shot of the same kind of (or the same?) fly.

First, the whole fly:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

(click the image to see a larger version with EXIF data)

And a 100% crop of the same image

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Be sure to click the image and see the full sized 100% crop of this one. The reduced size image doesn't do it justice.

 

[archangel]

wow. that is insane!!! that first pic you posted scared the crap out of me :smile:

 

[Duncan C]

Looks like the zoom is about 2:1

Ok, rather than trying to calculate the magnification, I decided to try and measure it.

I shot a picture of a metric ruler, and checked to see how many mm are in the frame at closest focus. I got somewhere a little over 11 mm. Call it 11.5 mm.

According to dpreview.com, my D200 has a sensor that's 23.6 mm across.

So, I'm expanding a 11.5 mm subject across a 23.6 mm sensor. That means I'm magnifying it by 23.6/11.5, or about 2.05:1. Sounds like 2:1 to me.

BTW, I posted a couple of other sample images to this thread, but they got buried in the thread. Here they are again, hopefully easier to find:

Here's another shot of the same kind of (or the same?) fly.

First, the whole fly:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

(click the image to see a larger version with EXIF data)

And a 100% crop of the same image

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Be sure to click the image and see the full sized 100% crop of this one. The reduced size image doesn't do it justice.