- #1
Andre
- 4,311
- 74
It's a great joy to capture small creatures big on the screen without them even noticing it. There are several ways to do that. I used to utilize my old Panasonic FZ-18 bridge camera with a close up lens. Preferably #2 or 2 dioptries or 50 cm focus distance, with a moderate zoom 8-12x you get nice results.
Then came the Canon 450D and the same close up lens on the 70-300mm tele zoom at around 220 mm focus would give roughly the same magnification and shooting distance, however it's a lot to carry all day.
Then I decided to go for the 100mm macro lens, which is a bit a beast to handle with the large focus range. I kept wondering however if it was worthwhile. So today I did some comparison shots of a small (ca 5mm) spider and Althea flowers with all three configurations, all free hand. I compared 100% crops of the three, left the FZ18 with close up lens. In the center the canon with 100mm macro and to the right the70-300 zoom with close up lens. I think I'm happy with the 100mm macro lens, while it's not a good idea to use the tele with close up lens instead. Although I may settle for the FZ-18, if dragging equipment around was a factor.
All are unedited original jpgs
Original with the FZ18 (20% size):
The 100% crops:
Original with the FZ18 (20% size):
The 100% crops
Notice little difference in the petal due to the limited depth of field. But notice the difference of the pollen grains on the stamen.
Anybody with similar experiences?
Then came the Canon 450D and the same close up lens on the 70-300mm tele zoom at around 220 mm focus would give roughly the same magnification and shooting distance, however it's a lot to carry all day.
Then I decided to go for the 100mm macro lens, which is a bit a beast to handle with the large focus range. I kept wondering however if it was worthwhile. So today I did some comparison shots of a small (ca 5mm) spider and Althea flowers with all three configurations, all free hand. I compared 100% crops of the three, left the FZ18 with close up lens. In the center the canon with 100mm macro and to the right the70-300 zoom with close up lens. I think I'm happy with the 100mm macro lens, while it's not a good idea to use the tele with close up lens instead. Although I may settle for the FZ-18, if dragging equipment around was a factor.
All are unedited original jpgs
Original with the FZ18 (20% size):
The 100% crops:
Original with the FZ18 (20% size):
The 100% crops
Notice little difference in the petal due to the limited depth of field. But notice the difference of the pollen grains on the stamen.
Anybody with similar experiences?