I have a new toy, an MPE-65 macro lens and have been searching my garden for spiders or insects to test it on. There's not much around but I found a few wood lice. For those interested in such things, this is a Common Rough Woodlouse - Porcellio scaber.
This was taken at a bit over 2:1 magnification, the wood louse was around 10mm in length. I then cropped it a bit for the web in order to give it a bit more impact.
Canon 400D with MPE-65 macro lens.
1/160sec, f14, ISO 100, Speedlight 580EXII with homemade diffuser, monopod.
All C+C appreciated.
Matt
Posted by John Robinson on March 25, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Love it !
Especially the blackberry eyes !
Cheers
JohnR
Posted by Paul Inglis on March 25, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Hi Matt,
So much detail, maybe too much! Kidding aside very nice capture!
Posted by Rene de Heer on March 25, 2008 at 4:17 PM
A dr Who creature, this is a kind of photography i dont seem to have the patience for, great detail, great shot!
Rene de heer
Posted by eric weight on March 26, 2008 at 1:27 AM
That's pre-historic Matt, great shot. Was focussing much of a problem, only you have it spot on here; right on the eyes but DoF looks really thin. Eric
Posted by Magnus Hird on March 26, 2008 at 3:45 AM
The world of insects so often looks completely alien and other-worldly! Great shot Matt
thanks for the comments. Yes Eric, focusing is very tricky because the DOF is so very thin. According to the table in the lens' manual, the DOF would be around 0.6mm at this aperture and level of magnification! The lens is manual focus only so you simply have to move it back and forth slightly until the focus is on the eyes. Ideally you'd use a tripod and focusing rail but that can be too cumbersome to use in the field, so I tend to use a monopod. Because images are lit entirely by flash this freezes any slight motion blur.
Very nice Matt, not an easy lens to use and you have done well. (the Manfrotto focus rail is great with this lens BTW)
Posted by Andy Shepherd on March 26, 2008 at 5:29 AM
Nice shot Matt , taken with a very cool piece of kit
Andy...
Posted by Daniel Read on March 26, 2008 at 5:40 AM
Hi Matt,
This is a great photo. The MPE-65 is the one reason i could be tempted over to Canon, as there is nothing like it for Nikon. I imagine it's pretty difficult to use well though, and you've done a great job here.
Discussion
11 repliesThis was taken at a bit over 2:1 magnification, the wood louse was around 10mm in length. I then cropped it a bit for the web in order to give it a bit more impact.
Canon 400D with MPE-65 macro lens.
1/160sec, f14, ISO 100, Speedlight 580EXII with homemade diffuser, monopod.
All C+C appreciated.
Matt
Especially the blackberry eyes !
Cheers
JohnR
So much detail, maybe too much!
Rene de heer
Matt
Nice shot Matt , taken with a very cool piece of kit
Andy...
This is a great photo. The MPE-65 is the one reason i could be tempted over to Canon, as there is nothing like it for Nikon. I imagine it's pretty difficult to use well though, and you've done a great job here.
Cheers,
Dan.
Matt
John