Hi all, here is another burnet from the other night, have totally changed my processing and sharpening method, used method detailed by Simon Litten, think this is better but still not sure I am on right track, comments welcome . I realise that the moth is not in the best of nick but looking for comments on quality and sharpness.
Many thanks
Better indeed Shaun.
It seems somehow too- I dont know hard to explain - kind of dark. The sharpness doesn't seem quite spot on. maybe its the 1/4 second shutter ?
Why use the 1.4 on the macro by the way ?
Keep banging away anyway. top marks for doing it as well . There are a lot who know how to do stuff but don't do much
Cheers
JohnR
I would compose the shot then switch the live view on and zoom in on the head and do the final focus adjustments by hand, That way it will be pin sharp, Nearly there but not quite
Dave
Posted by Andy Astbury on June 25, 2010 at 2:28 AM
F18 will be the cause of your greatest sharpness problem Shaun - as I said before, don't use apertures greater than f11 on your D300.
Stop using the 1.4x - your 105mm has an angle of view equal to a 150mm when mounted to a D300 without the tc and will give you excellent results.
Using the combination of 1.4tc and apertures higher than f11 is basically chucking your potential for sharp crisp imagery out the window and I'm quite surprised that others are not telling you this.
The composition is fine and you've got a good smooth BG so you're more than half way there
Like I said in my reply to your previous post drop me an email or give me a call - happy to help.
good advice from Andy. This one does look soft I'm afraid. I used to use the 1.4 on occasions with my 150mm as it does help to smooth the backgrounds, but I was always able to detect a slight loss of sharpness so now I always use the lens on its own. The softness here would seem to be due to diffraction softening at f18, but also the very slow shutter. In my experience it is extremely difficult to take sharp shots at 1/4 sec of macro subjects even when you're using cable release, MLU etc. It only takes the faintest breath of breeze to lose critical sharpness.
I really think the answer is to heed the advice given both here and on your last post by Andy Astbury and it is well worth taking him up on his offer!
Here is an example of one of the 5-Spots that I took about a year or so ago and you can see from the techs that it conforms to the advice already given and might be somewhere close to what you are trying to achieve, although I could have increased the DOF slightly to get little more detail in the antennae. Hope it helps..?
Mr Astbury may be old and ugly but he knows what he is on about
In your last post he told you what to do with regards to what aperture to shoot at etc you have ignored it and achieved the same result another soft image
My advice is the take him up on his rather generous offer of help and give him a call
Discussion
6 repliesMany thanks
D300 Nikon 105mm macro and 1.4tc f18 1/4 sec.
It seems somehow too- I dont know hard to explain - kind of dark. The sharpness doesn't seem quite spot on. maybe its the 1/4 second shutter ?
Why use the 1.4 on the macro by the way ?
Keep banging away anyway. top marks for doing it as well . There are a lot who know how to do stuff but don't do much
Cheers
JohnR
Dave
Stop using the 1.4x - your 105mm has an angle of view equal to a 150mm when mounted to a D300 without the tc and will give you excellent results.
Using the combination of 1.4tc and apertures higher than f11 is basically chucking your potential for sharp crisp imagery out the window and I'm quite surprised that others are not telling you this.
The composition is fine and you've got a good smooth BG so you're more than half way there
Like I said in my reply to your previous post drop me an email or give me a call - happy to help.
Matt
I really think the answer is to heed the advice given both here and on your last post by Andy Astbury and it is well worth taking him up on his offer!
Here is an example of one of the 5-Spots that I took about a year or so ago and you can see from the techs that it conforms to the advice already given and might be somewhere close to what you are trying to achieve, although I could have increased the DOF slightly to get little more detail in the antennae. Hope it helps..?
5-Spot Burnet
Kind regards,
Brett
Mr Astbury may be old and ugly but he knows what he is on about
In your last post he told you what to do with regards to what aperture to shoot at etc you have ignored it and achieved the same result another soft image
My advice is the take him up on his rather generous offer of help and give him a call