New Macro Lens

Nero

Senior Member
So I've gotten some good (and even a few great) results from my current macro lens but I find that the DoF is too narrow at some points even at narrower apertures which has proven to be a pain.

Can anyone recommend an upgrade?
 

gustafson

Senior Member
So I've gotten some good (and even a few great) results from my current macro lens but I find that the DoF is too narrow at some points even at narrower apertures which has proven to be a pain.

Can anyone recommend an upgrade?

What is your current lens, and what subjects do you mainly shoot? Also, do you shoot handheld or on a tripod? Do you use flash?

If you don't normally use flash, then that might be something to try with narrower apertures on your current lens to gain back some DoF.

If you consider other lenses, you could potentially drop down in focal length to gain some DoF, but the trade off would be smaller working distance, which may not help with certain subjects.

Another option is to use a focusing rail and take a series of images at different depths and focus stack the images using software.

Hope this helps.



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Nero

Senior Member
What is your current lens, and what subjects do you mainly shoot? Also, do you shoot handheld or on a tripod? Do you use flash?

If you don't normally use flash, then that might be something to try with narrower apertures on your current lens to gain back some DoF.

If you consider other lenses, you could potentially drop down in focal length to gain some DoF, but the trade off would be smaller working distance, which may not help with certain subjects.

Another option is to use a focusing rail and take a series of images at different depths and focus stack the images using software.

Hope this helps.



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I mainly shoot flowers when it comes to macro and I shoot handheld. No flash.
 

nickt

Senior Member
What lens do you have? I have the Tamron 60 and then I got the Sigma 105. Both great. The 105 gives me a little more distance. Up real close at 1:1, the difference is not all that much between the two, maybe I can get 2" further out with the 105. Out at greater distances, I appreciate the extra reach of the 105. The dof will be thin with whatever you get. For a given focal length, aperture and subject distance, the dof is what it is. I shoot mostly with flash to get that aperture up really high. Like f20 and higher if I am real close. You can back up a little for more dof and crop, plenty of pixels in your d7200. I've shot bugs at 3 or 4 feet with the sb-700 blasting them and got good crops. You won't get f20 at that distance, but you won't need to go that high.

edit: I forgot to hit the button after i typed this, lol. So about 20 minutes went by before I realized it didn't post.
 
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Nero

Senior Member
in general macro shots are always going to be a very narrow DoF unless you do focus stacking which by necessity will be non moving subjects.
I'm aware, but I thought I read somewhere that the Nikon 40mm had a narrower DoF than other macro lenses. I may be mistaken though.
 
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pforsell

Senior Member
Re: New Macro Lens in

Depth of field depends on two factors, magnification and f-number.

Focal length, subject distance, size and circle of confusion (the radius at which blur becomes visible) together determine the magnification.

Depth of field does not depend on lens or camera design other than the variables in the formula so there are indeed general formulas to calculate depth of field for all cameras and lenses.

You could use something like dofmaster.com which works reasonably up to 1:1 magification. Please note that getting more accurate numbers will be hard work, since all lenses focus by reducing focal length, thus you'll need to determine the FL yourself at high magnifications. And this is the reason why relative aperture also changes at high magnifications.
 
I'm aware, but I thought I read somewhere that the Nikon 40mm had a narrower DoF than other macro lenses. I may be mistaken though.

Normally the shoeter the focal length the wider the DoF. I have the 40mm Micro lens for my D7100. A longer lens will not be better for you. You can shoot at a higher aperture and get a little more DoF but not a lot. Your only real hope of getting a lot more DoF is to do focus Stacking.
 

J-see

Senior Member
For macro, DoF depends on magnification and the actual focal length used is of little relevance to it. It's a different calculation in regards to DoF compared to "normal" shooting.

If I shoot a 200mm macro at 1:1 or a 40mm at that same magnification, both will deliver the same DoF. The main difference between the 200mm and 40mm is my distance to the subject.

Stacking or shooting at a lower magnification and scaling the shot are two solutions to get more DoF.
 
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Fortkentdad

Senior Member
DOF is one of the fun challenges of macro photography.

I am looking at the new IOWA https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/venus-laowa-15mm-f4-wide-angle-macro-impressions-and-samples
Claims to be the widest macro - and tilt to boot.
Wonder if DOF would be any different with a lense like this?
This photographer speaks of "deep depth of field" with the macro of his bugs. Very interesting video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZcYXUMkhek&t=213s

Not outrageously priced either - but all manual. I have tried it out - worked on my D610.
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
Stacking or shooting at a lower magnification and scaling the shot are two solutions to get more DoF.

....or use flash, then you can use a narrower aperture and get a deeper DOF.
For bugs, flash with diffusion is the most practical way to go.
I have a Nikon 55mm macro and a Nikon 105mm Vr macro, I prefer to use the 55 for most of my macro work.
 

Nero

Senior Member
Guess I'll save myself some money (or put it towards a different new lens :)) and just use my flashgun. Thanks guys.
 

Fortkentdad

Senior Member
If you still have the urge to spend, consider a ring flash for macro
Aputure Amaran Halo LED Ring Flash - Nikon Mount

DSC_8636+Amaran Ring Flash -0001 sm.jpgDSC_8651+Amaran Ring Flash -0001_2 SM.jpg

I went cheap - you can spend a lot more if you want to - I didn't.
 

Nero

Senior Member

Fortkentdad

Senior Member
Is it better to use a ring light rather than a flash gun? And do you know if it's worth spending more on a ring flash as opposed to getting a cheap one?

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As is almost always the case the answer is "it depends".

Flash guns if mounted on the camera will shoot over the subject so you need some sort of modifier to 'bend' the light down onto the subject. I build a few samples of Pringle Flash Benders from pringle chip tubes. Super Easy Macro Lighting Using a Pringles Can - DIY Photography or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I4y2u58zOk There are many other ways to achieve this end.

I've been there done that and it works - and bonus you get to eat Pringles.

There are other ways to send the light from the flash down onto the subject - for example ....

This fella's macros' are wondrous - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZcYXUMkhek&t=325s and this is how he uses a flash gun for macro
macroflash.JPG

Modifying your flash will probably mean your TTL won't give you as accurate exposure, you'll probably want to play with exposure comp to get the level of light you want.


ON the other hand the ring is neater and gives illumination right on the subject - and you may like the catch-lights it produces - or not.
The one I bought was about $75 and works fine, it is fully adjustable, can be used as a flash (get's twice as bright as a flash as full power constant light). You can turn on one side or the other or both sides. There are a few reviews of this cheaper gizmo you can look up on line.

You can pay more if you need more light. Depends on how far you want the light to go - this is good enough for macro work when the subject is within inches of the light - maybe up to a foot or two at the most. It is not a powerful light and LED lighting falls of pretty quickly. So 'it depends'. What do you want to shoot? Your little lead soldier collection, then this would be dandy.

I've not owned the expensive LED Ring lights to compare so can't really comment on what your extra few hundred dollars will buy you. I can read that it does get you TTL which may be useful - but I've managed with manual - you can look turn on live view and adjust the light to get what you want. I suppose if you are out shooting bugs TTL would be handy to get the perfect exposure if you only get one shot at that bug before if flies away. Maybe someone who has shelled out the big bucks for one of these will let us know the benefits.

There are other gizmo's that are used to position LED lights on flexible arms that allow you to put the light where you want it (I have that set up too) works but I find it a little ackward. I have a pair of small LED light panels and gizmo with two flexible 'arms' that position those lights. Handy but can be cumbersome.
 

captain birdseye

Senior Member
I have found that the longer the focal length of a macro lens, the shallower the DOF, (I may be wrong) as I have owned 60, 90, 105 and 150mm macro lenses.
One sure fire way to get more DOF without stacking is to use a camera with a smaller sensor.
 
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