Gerbera flower

[John Young]

Nikon D600

F 7.1

1/200

ISO 200

Close-up filters


I have posted this in here but its not really a 'proper' macro. Nothing like the proper macro lenses as I just used some close-up filters

It could do with being sharper but its a little awkward to get it right with the filters and I never used a tripod - so well thought out eh

 

[nikonpup]

i like the center, once i dial out the pedals.

 

[John Young]

i like the center, once i dial out the pedals.

Thank you... not a fan pf petals or are they distracting

 

[WayneF]

I like the pedals, and the picture. The colors are fantastic, pleasing, and it seems a nice composition. Would be more breathtaking if it were sharper though.

Exif data says f/7.1 at 1/200 second, ISO 200. Any such closeup needs a tripod. And any such closeup, and closeup filters in particular, need to be stopped down more, like f/11 or f/16. That increases shutter speed, so maybe more ISO instead, D600 can go way above ISO 200 easily. Or a speedlight flash is relatively instantaneously fast, stops motion (camera shake) even with a a very slow shutter speed.

 

[Don Kuykendall_RIP]

This might be better if yoiu backed away a little and included the entire flower. Would also make it easier to get more in focus,.

 

[John Young]

I like the pedals, and the picture. The colors are fantastic, pleasing, and it seems a nice composition. Would be more breathtaking if it were sharper though.

Exif data says f/7.1 at 1/200 second, ISO 200. Any such closeup needs a tripod. And any such closeup, and closeup filters in particular, need to be stopped down more, like f/11 or f/16. That increases shutter speed, so maybe more ISO instead, D600 can go way above ISO 200 easily. Or a speedlight flash is relatively instantaneously fast, stops motion (camera shake) even with a a very slow shutter speed.

Thanks, yeah it needs to be a little sharper and my 'set-up' was a little quick, did not even use a tripod. Its not to soft at 100% on the original file but definately room from improvement

This might be better if yoiu backed away a little and included the entire flower. Would also make it easier to get more in focus,.

Thanks for the feedback.....I shot it like that as that was the composition I wanted. I did shoot a few further back and they were all in focus but it was trickier when closer, the filters leave little room for error

Like I said above its not perfectly sharp but good enough for what I want it for

 

[nikonpup]

Thank you... not a fan pf petals or are they distracting

to me a distraction, the color overwhelmed me before I could see the detail in the center.

 

[John Young]

to me a distraction, the color overwhelmed me before I could see the detail in the center.

OK fair enough.....

 

[hark]

And any such closeup, and closeup filters in particular, need to be stopped down more, like f/11 or f/16. That increases shutter speed, so maybe more ISO instead, D600 can go way above ISO 200 easily. Or a speedlight flash is relatively instantaneously fast, stops motion (camera shake) even with a a very slow shutter speed.

I agree with Wayne. I would have liked to see a little more detail in the pedals themselves, and f/11 or f/16 would have allowed more detail to show. The center is sharp enough, but the pedals, which aren't that far away, seem to be too blurred in comparison. And I like the composition as it is. Nice though!

 

[John Young]

Thanks hark, yeah I agree the petals could have been sharper its because the filters I use give a tiny little depth of field.

 

[WayneF]

Closeup filters hurt sharpness near the edge of the frame, less sharpness than in the center (an optical quality issue). Stopping the lens down considerably helps that, and also improves depth of field. Say to f/11 instead of f/7. Or to f/16 maybe, which can be a bit much sometimes, causing more losses due to diffraction, however other times the other gains offset that (due to depth of field and edge of frame with closeup filter)... and is worth it.

Experiment a little with that, with a subject with detail to the edge, and a tripod to insure both steady and same view every time, and you should see it.

A tripod is simply always best with such closeups. Closeup magnification also magnifies camera shake. It is indeed a tough problem. You can use the camera self-timer at a couple of seconds, so you can get your finger off of it and let the shake die down before the shutter trips. Alternately, a speedlight flash is very fast and can freeze camera shake, however this assumes sideways shake, since the flash cannot help focus differences from to and fro motion.

 

[John Young]

Some great advice there - thank you.

It was a bit of a rushed job to be honest, the weather was naff and I wanted good daylight so grabbed the camera between the black clouds