please bear with me, I'm just starting out.

I took my K 3 and the used Tamron 70 - 300mm 1:4.5 - 5.6 LD tele-macro [1:2] to the Topeka Zoological Park in Topeka KS

I'm so new that I don't know what the "LD" or the [1:2} stands for, camera was hand held.

any how, I set it for "macro" used auto focus, physically moved slightly as needed to obtain focus and here are some of the results.

note how narrow the depth of field is.

please let me know your thoughts and advice

thanks

[Nass]

1:2 is the reproduction ratio, and LD stands for low dispersion (a marketing term for good quality glass). That's a very handy lens to start a bit of casual macro in, if you find yourself enjoying it then you could always add a Raynox on top for even more extreme closeups

[aslyfox]

I know. or, rather I think I know, that when I shoot macro, you get a narrow depth of field

but these seem extreme, note how much of the photo is in focus and how quickly it fades away

for example, the wings of the bee vs. the whiter "hair" - I expected the petals but ???

1 is it operator error (most likely in my personal experience)

2 the fact that the camera was hand held

3 limitation of equipment used

any thoughts

all help and advice accepted

thanks

K 3 + Tamron AF 70-300mm F4-5.6 LD Macro 1:2 (used at its macro setting)

photographed at the Topeka Zoological Park, Topeka KS

[Nass]

No, it's not you, it is simply and only due to the f/stop you've used (your 'aperture'). I use f/8 to f/16 on butterfly shots, but that's with the wing perpendicular to the lens as well - the latter makes it so that the whole wing is in focus at once. It's really worth experimenting a bit to learn about aperture and depth of field. Take a bunch of shots of the same object focused at the same point with different apertures and you'll see the effect a different aperture has.

[eaglem]

This may help, if you wish to get a sharper picture with more in focus I would set the aperture between F8 to F16 and 99% of my shots are hand held using manual focus. I usually use the TAv mode on my camera which will allow you to set the aperture and the shutter speed while the ISO is set automatically by the camera. Most of my shots are set at 250/per sec. Hope this helps.

[Tako Kichi]

As others have said it's your aperture that's causing the very narrow depth of field and it's compounded in macro mode. Try practising at home with some inanimate object (coin, stamp, toy car, etc.) on you desk (or other suitable location). Set up your camera on a tripod so it can't move and then shoot a series of shots using different apertures and note the differences.

If you really get into macro photography then you can buy a focus rail (I have this one http://www.adorama.com/mcfrss.html?amp; ) and use a process known as 'image stacking' where you combine a series of images together to increase the depth of field. Macro photography can be a fascinating subject but like all things it takes time (and practice) to learn the processes involved.

Here are a few examples of mine from when I was testing my new Sigma 105mm macro lens in a light tent (also new) so I was having to learn a new lens and how to shoot/light with a tent (Note: I did not use image stacking on these shots).







Hope that helps.

[aslyfox]

I will keep in mind what has been said. Here are a few I took today, this time the subjects are a little bit bigger than a bee: a screech owl and a lizard.

be sure to take a look at the closely cropped photos of the eyes of the owl and the lizard reflecting the building

K - 3 + Tamron 70 - 300 mm macro zoom 1:2

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Last edited by aslyfox; 09-24-2016 at 07:43 AM.