My siblings kindly got together and bought me a Pentax 50mm f/2.8 macro lens for my 40th birthday earlier in the week, and so I gave it a bit of a test run today. I'm very much a novice at this macro stuff, but this lens seems to be a big improvement over the 70-300mm telephoto/macro that I've been playing around with up till now.
Anyway, here are a few of the first shots from today. These were shot at 800 iso (without flash) using either f/8 or f/2.8. I'm guessing that it would be worth investing in a decent external flash? Any advice or comments are most welcome!
Thanks Matt. I forgot to mention that they were taken using the K100D. No in-camera sharpening, and no subsequent manipulation other than cropping and resizing in PS7. Do you think sharpening in PS7 would be worth trying?
You are right about the flash - this will let you shoot at f10+ and give you a bigger depth of field.
I went for a 580EXII Speedlight as it gave the most control over power and had the most features, though I don't think it really matters what flash you get - the critical thing is diffusing the light and getting the light to the front of the lens as your subject is usually quite close. I have seen plenty of setups with dedicated flash brackets down to diffusing the light with a milk bottle. Google macro flash setups and you will find plenty of ideas, and the dearest isn't necessarily the most effective.
I won’t say that you must have a good macro lens, as that’s like saying to a master chef you must have a good set of pots and pans!
Dennis, I think in this case the quality of the lens is the key - all I did was hold the camera and press the button! Hopefully I'll improve with more practice...
a ring flsh might be up your alley.
Love the colors. I didn't know you could take picture that close up.
