Shooting with 100mm Canon macro in AF.....TOUGH AS HELL!

I really need a pointer here.....

i just got Canon 100mm macro, and tried to practise with land macro shots...wow, what a steep learning curve....

I'm using 300D, and 1st of all, the tiny bit of movement blurs the pics.

2nd, Depth of Field is way too shallow, if your aim is slightly off, the intended subject is blurred.

3rd, AF seems to take years to lock on subject.

now, with all these factors, HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO SHOOT UNDERWATER?????

now i'm frustrated....

help me b4 i dive without the gas tank....

radiikal, some things that work for me:

Motion blur: shoot with strobes.

Depth of field: Shoot at f16 - f22+. This takes either big/close strobes to get the horsepower. I shoot in manual.

I shoot macro with AF disabled. It's usually too much for my pea brain to select which area to use, mode, etc. So I just focus manually to approximate, then move the housing forwards or backwards to sharpen my center of interest.

Keep at it, the results will be worth it!

All the best, James

What settings are you shooting in. Hopefully it isnt the stupid Flower mode. That is a sure way to get bad pictures.

Use Manual exposure of 1/200s F/16 and flash on. With fast shutter speed and the flash you should not have too much problem with camera shake. The small aperature will increase the Depth of field but it is still at most only a few millimeters at 1:1 I use MF to get in the right range and then let AF lock before I take the picture.

This lens is a great lens but I have had similar problems with AF.To get the most out of this lens, I shoot manual with higher F-stops for better depth of field, higher strobe power, and focus lock while moving the camera in and out until the subject comes into sharp focus. My old Canon D60 (now deceased due to contact with pressurized salt water) would hardly ever focus underwater using this lens. My 10D is better but I still use this technique quite a bit. A good focus light might help here as well although I can never seem to get these things pointed where I'm shooting.

A fellow wetpixelite, Kasey, gave me some really good advise when I was complaining about the lack of DOF and wishing to use f22, but getting underexposure. he said "don't be afraid of pushing your strobe way forward". I took that advise and have been pushing my strobe close to the lens, sometimes even in front of lens (just make sure you won't see it in the pix). Then I just blast the subject with light and am able to keep aperture at f22. The DOF is still miniscule, but it really helps a lot and you'll get a hang of it in no time. Actually, it is a bit easier uw than on land, because the water cusions the "handshake movement" you have on land. Also, the upside is that your buoancy skills will become really finetuned as a byproduct

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, but the AF is really useless IMHO, focus manually and move the camea gently back and forth to achieve focus. Then be quick to set off shutter when you have the focus.

Got some great practice keeping still last Sunday when I found that I had somehow left camera in selftimer mode... focus... keep the focus for 10 seconds... repeat....

I disagree -- AF on the 100mm USM macro lens is lightning quick if you are already close to the intended focus state. I almost always use AF to lock on the subject, and then move back and forth until the eye is sharp.

I use the Tamron SP 90 Macro and this is much slower than the 100 USM macro (that 2 of my dive buddies have), we all shoot autofocus and use the lens to shoot anything from darting Anemone fish to nudibranchs to pygmy seahorses... just remember 1 thing and you'll get sharp pics....PRACTICE! AF is much faster and much more accurate than you...

my 2 cents

Stu

Remember that a 100 or 105mm macro lens, like all other lenses, require contrast for the lens to "find its lock". In my experience a subject with similar negative space creates a difficult shooting situation for AF. Most macro lenses are for just that, MACRo, and in those modes ambient light is minimal. Use an aiming light to aid in lighting the subject. If there is enough contrast, it'll lock. I shoot in both modes (AF & MF) depending on the situation. Eric's comment about locking in with AFL, then moving the camera in and out to get the eyes in focus is an important skill to learn. Most long lenses require high shutter speeds and reasonable F-stops to get DOF and no motion effect.

If you use a wide open aperature and slow shutter topside, use a tripod. The slightest jiggle will ruin your picture.

Joe

I just took a digital photo course with Rod Kline (Fathoms Magazine). He recommends shooting in manual mode. For macro photography underwater shutter speed of at least 1/250 with your f stops between 11 and 14 to control your "blue water" and your lighting. I was having a hard time with my 100mm macro lens shooting in auto mode. I am having a lot of success following Rod's advice...

I'll just briefly recap what I posted in response to an earlier question:

In my experience, the Canon 100mm USM is an amazing lens. The AF is remarkably fast provided you've got enough light and contrast for it to work. MF for quickly moving objects (small, rapidly swimming fish for example) is just not going to work with the incredibly shallow depth of field inherent to a telephoto marco lens. You can't turn the focus knob fast enough to keep up with the moving object. For stationary objects of low contrast or in low light, MF is very useful.

Small apertures are pretty darn important to get any sort of depth of field with this lens, but I felt that above f16 I was getting softer pictures.

Mark

Check out the thread on "canon 100mm AF or MF" (or something like that). The great thing about this lens is that with the full time manual focus (FTMF) you can have the best of both worlds, manual and auto focus at the same time. Because the focus ring does NOT turn when the lens autofocuses, you can have a manual focus gear attached in autofocus mode. Thus you can autofocus as best you can then override with manual focus to touch up. Best of all is using custom function 4 to put the autofocus control on the "*" button. Then you can hit the shutter button without the camera trying to autofocus (Sorry does not work on the rebel cameras but does work on all EOS film and digital bodies). Ikelite makes a nice manual focus port and the control lever for the * button is easily accesible by your right thumb on the 10D housing. You can also change this custom function while camera is in the housing. I think this is the most versatile set-up available for macro shooting.

I agree with what has been said in this thread about autofocus and light levels and contrast. I also find that it is pretty easy to manual focus on a stationary subject or use the "pre-focus" and move technique. I was used to shooting this lens UW as a true 100 mm on a film body and it has taken a bit of adjustment to the 1.6 crop factor on my 10D but for the really small stuff, it's actually an advantage.

Mike in Miami

I found AF to hunt a little if left on 0.31-infinite and trying to focus on something that is further away, it's much faster if left on 0.48. It's not a problem once you know a little how the lens will work on a said subject

Maybe you can try a few dives on the 0.48 position and then switch to 0.31, it worked for me

it's a wonderful lens !

very sharp even wide open