Post Your Best Macro

[dogbone]

What are the price ranges for cameras that take these great pictures?

Usually it's the lens rather than the camera. Unless it is a fixed lens camera. Nikon have always been famed for the excellent macro capabilities on their fixed lens cameras. The ones I took so far in this thread, were all on a nikon 4500 which can be picked up these days for about $200, quite a good camera but a little slow to use.

And as far as a digital slr goes, the old non digital lenses will take just as good a quality shot as expensive autofocul macros. Remembering that for true macro shots you won't want to be using auto focus anyway. I use a 55mm micro nikkor on my D70 and every lens that nikon ever made will fit all their latest digital cameras, (I believe that no other camera manufacturer can say this of their lenses). You can pick up a 55mm micro for about $100. Another excellent old lens is the micro nikkor 105mm ƒ4. Some consider it one of the very best macros ever made.

macros by thomas kleiber

 

[jared_kipe]

not exactly a macro; 1:1 or greater. but nice chess piece

Why jump on the semantics wagon on this one guy? Lots of these shots are not technically macro. Look at a lot of the lower and bug shots.

Oh and since everyone is starting multi shot posting (rather than the one specified in the rules) I'll have to come up with some more.

 

[dogbone]

clixpix I like the blue and yellow shot in #41

Oh and since everyone is starting multi shot posting (rather than the one specified in the rules) ...

whoops didn't see that.

 

[Moshiiii]

Thanks! I'm really interested in buying a nice camera, I take pictures with my point and click 5 mega pixel and they are lacking. I really like the design of the Nikon 4,500 that you recomended, although fixed lens is a thing I need to consider. I'd think that the more I'd get into photography the more I would want different lenses for different shots, does this make getting a fixed lense obsolete? You pretty much sold Nikon to me, just have to figure out which model. What would you suggest for a entry level camera?

http://pix.bloemsma.de/album11/Vespa_Vulgaris_Pixolator - This shot blew me away, was this photoshoped? What was your setup on this picture? Thanks!

 

[dogbone]

Thanks! I just bought a digital camera and I'm not really pleased with it. Its just a point and shoot and I want to take high quality shots/close ups. Which camera would you suggest for an entry level photographer? I'd probably want a non-fixed lens because the more I get into photography the more I'd want different lenses. My price range would be 200-300$. This picture blew me away: http://pix.bloemsma.de/album11/Vespa_Vulgaris_Pixolator. What was the lense/camera set up on that?

Thomas says he uses a D70 and a nikon 4500. But that shot had some little 3D bits made in ZBrush

When I was learning photography I only ever used a 50mm lens it was a micro nikkor so it was very versatile. Just like with studio lighting where it is better to learn how to use a single light source (with some reflectors and gobos) rather than multiple lights, it is good to stick with a standard 50mm lens (which of course would be equivalent to a 35mm if used on a D70).

For the price range you have suggested, if I were you I'd be looking for a second hand D70 because you can get a pile of really cheap AI lenses (before the digital era) that will fit and be really good quality (the 35mm ƒ2 AI nikkor comes to mind). You won't have auto focus or auto exposure but that is not really a big deal with digital because you can see straight away whether you got the exposure correct. Plus even though the auto exposure does not work with old AI lenses you can still use the exposure meter on the camera, (you get an LED readout in the viewfinder). That's my $0.02, for what it's worth.

You might have to stretch a little bit more than $300 for a used D70 but it would be worth it, due to the cheap AI lenses.

 

[iBlue]

my mind is boggling as I type.

heh, I suppose that is open for interpretation.

Things I put in the Scanning Electron Microscope...

Probably the most shocking thing was a piece of dead skin I pealed off of myself from a sunburn. (sick, I know) It looked horrific under there. I printed it and put it in the lunchroom. (along with my shots of fly eyes, table salt, a pencil, crystalized honey and a fingernail) I misused the SEM all the time I guess.) Who says lab work isn't fun?

 

[dogbone]

heh, I suppose that is open for interpretation.

Things I put in the Scanning Electron Microscope...

Probably the most shocking thing was a piece of dead skin I peeled off of myself from a sunburn. (sick, I know)

I'm used to it having a compulsive skin/scab, peeler/picker as a gf. Let me guess, I bet you do that monkey grooming thing too.


You'll have to do the surface of core duo chip for the "Thermal Paste" thread.

 

[iBlue]

I'm used to it having a compulsive skin/scab, peeler/picker as a gf. Let me guess, I bet you do that monkey grooming thing too.


You'll have to do the surface of core duo chip for the "Thermal Paste" thread.

If I still worked there I absolutely would. It might destroy the chip but it would probably look awesome. I miss that job.

to answer question, well sometimes. That was a wicked sunburn. The piece of skin was like an 1-2 inches in diameter.

 

[Clix Pix]

What are the price ranges for cameras that take these great pictures?

As has been mentioned, it's not the camera body, it's the lenses which can help take these photos....as well as the photographer's skill and creative vision. It can be pretty expensive, going well beyond the $200-300 you mention. The camera body I used for the first macro image I showed in this thread was the Nikon D70 and the lens was the 70-200mm VR; the second and third images were both shot with the Nikon D200 and the 60mm Micro lens. I also have a 105mm lens that I use for macros, too. In other words, there is an investment here in lenses and camera bodies....

That said, yes, Nikon's Coolpix line (non-interchangeable lenses) is known for exceptionally good macros and people have gotten some amazing images with one of those cameras. I'm not familiar with the latest Coolpixes since I shifted to DSLR last year, but certainly that might be a more reasonably-priced option for you right now unless you're really ready to jump into working with a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera.
The D70, a discontinued model, can be picked up for a fairly modest price now, or you could look for either the D50 or the D70s. Fact of the matter is, though, with DSLR, it's not so much the investment in the camera body which is important, it's the lenses, and that's where the money can go very quickly, especially as one develops a raging case of "lens lust."

The good news, though, is that as mentioned, Nikon lenses, even the oldies-but-goodies, are useable on modern DSLRs, and that's pretty neat. Checking out camera shops which have used lenses for sale or checking out eBay or other sources online, one can pick up some pretty nice lenses for not that much money.

 

[dogbone]

The piece of skin was like an 1-2 inches in diameter.

Wow, you could have made your own bonito flakes.

Getting surnburnt skin off in large pieces is a lost art.

 

[iBlue]

Wow, you could have made your own bonito flakes. <img>

Getting surnburnt skin off in large pieces is a lost art.

That is so gross. If that's a lost art, good riddance and stuff.

I have to admit that peeling little sheets of skin off was sort of entertaining but really disturbing at the same time. I didn't label the picture I had of the skin in the lunchroom, but I enjoyed telling people who asked what it was when their mouths were full. I guess I have a bit of a sadistic side.

 

[dogbone]

...but I enjoyed telling people who asked what it was when their mouths were full. I guess I have a bit of a sadistic side.

This could be a new thread topic.

 

[virividox]

Why jump on the semantics wagon on this one guy? Lots of these shots are not technically macro. Look at a lot of the lower and bug shots.

Oh and since everyone is starting multi shot posting (rather than the one specified in the rules) I'll have to come up with some more.

most of the bug shots are greater than 1:1, granted a couple arent. its better to let ppl know what they are shooting isnt macro so they know in the future, so when they do want to do a proper macro shot they can

 

[dogbone]

I think it's about time that we clear up what 1:1 really means It is a ratio of the actual real life size of the object to the actual size that it appears projected on (in this case) the digital chip. It has nothing to do with the final reproduced size. Using film it would be the size of the object compared to the size it appears on a contact sheet.

 

[virividox]

I think it's about time that we clear up what 1:1 really means It is a ratio of the actual real life size of the object to the actual size that it appears projected on (in this case) the digital chip. It has nothing to do with the final reproduced size. Using film it would be the size of the object compared to the size it appears on a contact sheet.

yup - thats what i forgot to mention, has to be 1:1 on the film plane/sensor -

because you could take a 1:4 shot, enlarge it 4x, and it would become 1:1 - but still technically not a macro shot...blah blah balh

 

[gauchogolfer]

I took this one in Limoges, France this week. It's from the botanical gardens there near the Cathedral. The camera is a Minolta A2, 200mm 'macro' switch.

 

[dogbone]

...

Nice forms on the petals.

 

[Moshiiii]

The D70, a discontinued model, can be picked up for a fairly modest price now, or you could look for either the D50 or the D70s.

D70 is discontinued or was that a typo? I think I'm going to return my point and click and get myself a real camera.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

D70 is discontinued or was that a typo? I think I'm going to return my point and click and get myself a real camera.

The Nikon D70 was discontinued awhile back. It was replaced by the D70s, an improved model with the same sensor. Supplies of the D70s are going to be tight according to what my shop has been told. But the D70s has not been discontinued.

D70 is a common term in talking at the shops for both the D70 and the D70s.

 

[Moshiiii]

Looking arround I cant find a used Nikon D70 or D50 for arround 400$. Maybe I'll have to look into fixed lense Nikons.

 

[dogbone]

Looking arround I cant find a used Nikon D70 or D50 for arround 400$. Maybe I'll have to look into fixed lense Nikons.

Just checking online I was surprised to see that a new D70s body is only USD$619 USD for an extra $200 you'd get a larger lcd screen and a warrantee. Plus a camera that you will be happy with for years and a massive array of old cheap lenses. I can't see you regretting the extra 200.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Looking arround I cant find a used Nikon D70 or D50 for arround 400$. Maybe I'll have to look into fixed lense Nikons.

For $550~600 or so at reputable dealers you can get a Pentax *ist DL with a decent lens.

 

[uberfoto]

Not per say a "macro" technically but I couldn't pick out a real macro that I really liked. I don't shoot very many true macros.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Just checking online I was surprised to see that a new D70s body is only USD$619 USD for an extra $200 you'd get a larger lcd screen and a warrantee. Plus a camera that you will be happy with for years and a massive array of old cheap lenses. I can't see you regretting the extra 200.

Not sure where you are checking, but B&H - a company that even my shop respects when customers want to shop on price only - is just $50 less on the D50 and D70s bodies (my shop is even at $550 for the D50 body; and only $50 more for the D70s body).

I would hope that most local "mom & pop" shops would be at the high end (according to some here, the prices we have at my shop). To be fair to all the other "speciality" shops out there, I hope they try to strive to the level that we try to at my job.

First is in providing after sales support. We are all about the customer getting the most from their purchase. This sometimes means giving brief lessons on photography.

Second, after sales support may mean helping a customer get their rebates, or even further acting on their behalf in working with the manufacturer to get what the customer may feel is right. Do we win all the time with the manufacturers? No, (but I have seen things that have even surprised me - a retail vet! .

Also there is nothing wrong in going in to a local shop and asking them directly (yet politely); why should I buy from you as opposed to going on the net for the buy.

I would just ask that you be respectful. Don't go in to a shop seeing that the likes of B&H and my shop have pricing at $650~699 for the D70s body - and touchy/feely the D70s only to want to get it for $619. That IMO is just wrong. Ask if there are any value adds.

In my shop we offer customers 60 free 4x6 prints with any digital camera purchase (a $23 value). Also Canon, Nikon, and Olympus purchasers are offered a free class taught by the respective company reps (a $50 value based on non-customer desire to attend the classes).

I can't begin to count the number of vacations/graduations/birthday parties/and the such that I have seen from customers that come back to share and learn. And I and my co-workers have enjoyed it.

I used to sell computers to the US government. It was about relationships back then. In the retail sector; it is even more so. If there is a rebate that you never get, will some Amazon reseller really care? At my shop we do.

If a camera goes in for a 2nd or 3rd repair in the first year, does an Amazon type reseller care about how you feel about the problem? At my shop we do. We can't guarantee that we will meet your expectations; but will try to the best of our abilities with the manufacturer to try and make you happy.

Depending on the relationship that one builds with a particular sales rep, there may be "perks" when problems do come up. I personally have loaned a flash unit to a customer that had a unit in need of repair. He had bought everything from me and my store as far as I know it. He was in a tough spot, and we had no rentals available at the time.

And as much as Clix and I seem to be a "mutual admiration society"; if she ever truly needed access to a 18-200VR - because hers failed - I would gladly give her mine if not in use.

To be honest you have to be a VERY SPECIAL customer of mine to get this personal treatment of my own gear. I can't say that my fellow co-workers would go that far. But it shows what relationships in buying can bring.

I am sorry for the rant. But the "lowest" price mentality bothers me when you look at the likes of B&H and the shop I work for.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Not per say a "macro" technically but I couldn't pick out a real macro that I really liked. I don't shoot very many true macros.

You have to understand that in the "old" days pre 1980's perhaps. That macro meant some where between 1/2 life size and life size on the film format by popular definition of the time.

Now we have zoom lenses that allow for close focusing (to a range of 1/2 or less). Prior to these "zooms", macro photographers used macro lenses from life size to less than life size.

Those that went to 1/2 to life size were limited. Lens manufactures latched on to those that were greater that 1/2 life size as a market to reach. Now today "macro" has a diluted meaning.

Hope this helps.