these pics are NICE
i have a dedicated macro lens (tamron 90mm) but don't have the time to dedicate to taking macro pics..
feel like im wasting the lens..
its a hardache to take macro b/c most of the time you would probably need a tripod in order to take shots in less than ideal lighting... imo

what are the extension tubes for? what are they exactly?

is the tamrom 90mm an expensive lens?

tamron 90mm goes for 450-500 usually. uses a screw drive motor for AF. if you wait until jan, prices will go up to 500-550 due to a new version with internal motor.

most macro lenses go for 400-600 dollars for tamron, sigma, and tokina. all are good.



extension tubes allow for a magnification greater than 1x. however, you usually lose AF unless you buy kenko extension tubes (quite expensive)

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/3328/img0033dr0.jpg

first shot with canon rebel xs

tweaking settings is more tricky than i thought =p

Yumm

is that some home made spicy pho??

I wish I had some home made pho...

Tamron macro lens is quite good for very cheap. You can find one of craigslist for around $250 or so. Its a good lens too, gets the job done nicely. I have a friend with one.

http://i39.tinypic.com/243hq87.jpg

How you doin?

These were taken not to long ago at Seymour during a snow shoeing trek.
I didn't have a macro, so I improvised with my Canon 17-40 F4. Now please be easy, these were taken without a tripod, held by hand with no reverse ring. You can see where in the second image the light was able to splash in through the top.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/...9ecd0b96_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/...200a8a22_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3320/...34318b31_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3387/...8716ce3a_o.jpg

Sweet macro's Mananetwork! Nice work with that lens!

Here's one i took a few days ago. Starting to warm up a bit, but nothing much to shoot still.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2463yh2.jpg

Straight ugly! Cool eyes tho!

I picked up a Tamron SP 90mm F2.8 (not the current 90mm model) off Craigslist for $175 a few months back. Haven't had time to do any nice macro work yet.

Ant portrait, hope you like! Its quite close.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3596/...ba863312_b.jpg

Cool shot. What lens do you use for your shots?
Have you tried increasing the f-stop and using an external flash so you can get the whole ant in focus? Not that this picture is wrong or anything :)

My setup is 40D + MPE-65mm + MR-14EX flash @ F10. This shot is about 3.5 - 4X life size, with a bit of a crop. So with the MPE you are your aperture x magnification = actual aperture. So around F40. To get the whole ant in focus you would need to focus stack. Then you would need a stationary object, of which ants aren't. In other words, its tough.

^^ ah, nice setup. The MPE-65 is all manual focus isn't it? I have a similar set up, well, sort of. I have a 40D as well + 100mm macro + I use my 580ex for flash, which works pretty well for most of my shots :)

Keep posting. Pics look awesome! :)

Thanks! Yeah its alot of fun to use forsure! Sometimes not so fun tho, because it is full manual. It doesn't tell you when you have anything in focus so its totally your eyes. The DOF in so thin its crazy sometimes!

I haven't used every Canon lens out there, but i would imagine the MPE would be the toughest lens in the lineup.

They tend to become stationary after you put them in the freezer for about 30 seconds. Permanently stationary after about 2 minutes. ;) You can also invert one of those cans of canned air so it shoots out the liquid to freeze them.

^^^ The hands are in the wrong position, and your DoF is cutting right through the brand name. As a product shot, a big no-no. :)

I would definately say so. No AF makes it very tricky. How close do you have to get with your lens to get those results? I recently took a shot of my cat's fang that just happened to be laying on my couch, and I think I was about a foot away to get this kind of result:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/...6ca2ae77_b.jpg

Cool picture niforpix!

I would say that i'm around 1 inch or so away from my subject when your getting into 4-5x magnification. DOF is soo thin its ridiculous!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3324/...14a6b147_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/...486e39d6_o.jpg

Good pictures! With the first picture it would have been nice to see the eyes of your subject. The eyes always tell the story. Thats what i usually go for with macro shots. Here's a recent one..

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/...12f2b5e5_b.jpg

40D + mpe @F10 @2.5 or so lifesize + ringflash...

And for my next trick (straight out of camera of course, no PP)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3643/...2f77b9f2_b.jpg

Nice shot Jason! Was that at Reifel?