D70 with Ike and 60mm Macro at Wakatobi

I just got back from a brilliant week in Wakatobi with my (relatively new) rig.

I had been shooting, up until this trip, with an 18-70 Nikon lens. Before the trip I stopped in Singapore, and picked up the 60mm. I borrowed a 105mm port from a friend, and it worked fine with the 60mm.

Firstly, Wakatobi is a very photogenic place. Probably more suited to macro than wide; although you could argue there are amazing sites for wide.

The 60mm was really amazing. The AF is excellent, and very quick - even in low light. I was contemplating the 105mm, but found the 60mm gave me as much macro as I was ready for. I did find the viewfinder a bit difficult to see for the close up shots (I wear glasses above the surface, but nothing while diving). I think I will definitely do something about this next trip.

I also tried out my DS-125 strobe for the first time. I was very impressed. The modelling light for night diving is truely amazing. The "smart" charger is also a dream.

As for Wakatobi, they have doubled in size. It is very nice, but not quite as intimate as before when they just had the long house (there is a new restaurant now). The diving is still great. As an added bonus, they now offer Nitrox, which was very nice.

The only downside, is that my wife wants to upgrade to an SLR after seeing my images compared with her Sea and Sea 5000G.

Feedback on the pictures welcome.

Don

And...

And..

Maybe just me, but pics look soft and seem to lack punch.

good first round set of pixs for a new rig.

Maybe just me, but pics look soft and seem to lack punch.

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I agree they are on the soft side. Any suggestions?

Most shot at 1/100 and F22+

Post processing (just colour correction - no sharpening) in Photoshop.

Thanks,

Don

Levels - all of my pics need it.

Also they could use some sharpening.

Be interested to see if they loose the 'soft' look after that.

Paul C

Levels - all of my pics need it.

 

Also they could use some sharpening.

 

Be interested to see if they loose the 'soft' look after that.

 

Paul C

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Any suggestions on sharpening in Photoshop - unsharp mask? Which settings? I didn't have any luck when searching on "sharpening".

I forgot to add that most of these macro shots are croped by up to 1/2 frame. Maybe too much. Also, levels adjustment has been done.

Rgds,

Don

My impression on most of them is that USM is necessary, but the photos themselves are likely okay. The exception is the last pic, which I think is out of focus.

There are lots of sharpening techniques, I'm sure you can find web resources. Personally, *after* resizing the image to the target resolution (for web or print), I USM with a radius of 0.3 for web, or 1 for print (at 300ppi). Sharpening amounts from 50-100 usually. Print can handle more sharpening. Watch out for halos around light-dark edges, and experiment. Be conservative, and print examples.

My fast print batch action does USM amount:70, radius:1, threshold:1, combined with some other weak local contrast enhancement. This might be too conservative sometimes.

Those are very pretty pictures!

try to set the level in PS, it did great to my photos when I used the D70.

nice picture.

thanks

Gadi

I use Filters>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask on ALL of my digital photos. My starting point is 125%, 1.0 pixels with a threshold of 0.

Levels is always a good idea to increase contrast in the photo. Another good one to play with is selective color. Try pushing the black level in the blacks and midtones, and pushing the black level of the reds, yellows, etc. My secret weapon is reducing the Cyan channels in the midtones in selective color.

I did some subtle changes to one of your shots, and I think it pops a bit more. i might have tried a smaller aperture for less DOF, or just getting closer. That's where a 105mm would be better than a 60mm macro, IMO. I'm thinking about a 150mm, or perhaps a 1.6x converter for my 105mm.