I wanted a lightweight portable macro lens, so I bought a used Canon 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro lens. This was a cost vs performance decision, but so far this lens seems pretty good.
I had just enough time after delivery of the lens to walk out into my yard and snap a few handheld shots (natural lighting only). There are a couple of Bradford Pear blossom shots, and one shot of an old oak leaf. This is certainly not the best way to get sharp results (a real test with tripod and lighting will come later), but I will post a few shots for your critique. Please let me know what you think, thanks.
Thanks! It was a bit of a challenge with everything blowing around in the wind, plus hand-holding, to keep things in that minimal depth of field :bigsmile: .
From your handle, I assume you have been involved with photography for a a while .Digital cameras are nice, but at times I miss the old Kodachromes and Kodacolors.
I mainly enjoy sunrise/sunset shots and scenic shots. I really had a ball shooting some scenics in Africa, but alas, I am but a poor novice compared to real photographers . My shots are mostly grab shots, and seldom do I get to use a tripod, or the time to really set up the shot. With this in mind, my photography is usually just a way for me to remember and relive nice experiences.
Sunrise over the Shashi River in southern Zimbabwe
It's quite important to use a higher F number (aperture) when shooting macros, otherwise you'll end up with a very shallow depth of field.
There is also a Canon macro converter specially made for that EF 50mm lens to get some closer up even. Could be a nice addition..don't know exactly, as I've never used it.your 50mm lens should also be good as a portrait lens.
I looked into the Canon Life-Size Converter before I bought this lens, but unfortunately it cost well above what I paid for my used lens. I can live with the 1:2 macro capability on my lens most of the time, but I really wanted the 100mm Canon Macro lens instead. Maybe some day I will run across a great deal on a used Canon converter.
I do have a 72mm diameter Century Precision Optics Achromatic Diopter with step up ring that I could use with my lens, but it is large and inconvenient due to mounting via the filter ring. It also makes lighting more difficult due to the close focusing distance and large diameter, (on camera flash use is an impossibility). I also have a cheap close-up filter set, but I am not happy with resulting image quality loss with these filters. I may order an extension tube set to try, but that won’t solve the lighting issues.
What? No pics of flashlights? So disappointing. I was expecting some macro shots of some LED's or knurling or something. :) Very nice shots though! Thanks for sharing.
Jim;
I love the Africa shots. Thank you for posting them. Would love to see more.
Digital is still in infancy so great and exciting things are coming. I do agree with you there was/is something very unique about properly exposed and processed Kodachrome.
I am probably the only person left with unexposed Kodachrome in his freezer. I kept some rolls for some experiments coming up.
My first ever picture on Kodachrome was of my mother. The last frame of film I shot which happen to be on Kodachrome was a portrait of my mother just before she passed. :_(
Hi there. Nice pics. I agree… macro on a budget is fun
with regards to life-size repro, you could use a relatively inexpensive extension tube in order to get to 1:1.
I have 55mm and 105mm macro lenses which only go to 1:2 (very old Nikkors).
95% of the time it’s good enough, but sometimes you just need to get closer.
Sorry to hear about your mother, but at least you have some nice photos to remember her by.
Since you asked, I will put up a few more African photos. Hopefully other BLF members won’t mind too much if I don’t go too overboard . Please keep in mind that most of my photos were taken handheld, and in a hurry, as they were just for memories, so not really the best photographic quality.
This shot was taken one morning as I was heading down into a valley to a river. I couldn’t resist stopping to photograph this scene. I didn’t have a tripod available, so it’s not too sharp, but it has a certain moody quality to it. There are actually three ridges here, the first in the foreground, the second that only the top of is visible, and a third that is obscured by fog in the distance. The whole valley area in completely enveloped in fog. The sun had just cleared this third ridge line, and was between the fog and a cloud layer.
This shot comes under the heading of “you never know what you might get by accident” :bigsmile: . I was heading out of camp one morning, and noticed this scene. We were in a hurry, and I didn’t have time to stop, so I just held my old Canon Elph up to the window as we were driving and fired, never thinking that I would get something not completely blurred by the motion from the heavy washboard bumps in the road.
Of course, you never know what you might almost literally stumble across in the African bush. Sometimes it’s not nice to be an uninvited breakfast guest.
I happened across a hillside just teaming with huge Aloe plants, and thought that they were rather colorful.
One afternoon as I was returning to camp I saw this windmill for a water tank, and decided it would make an interesting subject.
I will finish with an interesting sunset that showed a ray-like pattern on the underside of the clouds.
I have been to Africa several times, but only used digital cameras the last couple of times. Someday soon I need to get around to transferring my slides and negatives to digital files, but as with so many other things, I just never seem to get around to it :bigsmile: .
.Digital cameras are nice, but at times I miss the old Kodachromes and Kodacolors.
