Getting closer to the subject

Good Luck Bluepixel

I hope you'll have great success with your new setup and lots of little amphipods are willing to model for you.

I am curious to read your report and maybe see some pic's.

Thilo

As you say, if you want super macro, I mean real super macro, you need special equipment beyond normal macro tools.

Joe

Thanks for the votes of confidence - I dont think I will have super super super micro macro shots - but it has to be bigger and hopefully better than what I am getting now. With limited funds I am hoping this will do the trick.

In my next life I will have a photographic memory and 9 gills

Peter,

I was very impressed with your close ups that I ordered the 10.5 mm from B&H last night.

Alex if your monitoring this thread, I’d like to change my order for your Magic Filter to fit the Nikon 10.5 mm.

Thanks,

Marc

The 10.5 is for wide angle. I would not order it for macro. How Peter got a nudi shot like that means severe crop or the thing was a foot long. I have Jelly fish pictures that were literally laying on my port that are 4-5 inches and they still don't come close to filling the frame.

Joe

The only thing that comes close to filling the frame on my 10.5 is a diver (ok, or maybe a jewfish) and that's when they are very close! The coverage of the 10.5 is so wide that your strobes will appear in the photo if you don't pull them back far enough.

Hi,

I think we have got a misunderstanding of this thread.

When Peter posted that he can go very close with his 10,5 I think he did not want to tell us that this is his favorite macro lens.

Its just the typical situation when you take your camera with wide-angle set up underwater and suddenly you see a nice small subject and wish to change the lens instantly.

If you then take a good shot with wide-angle very close to a small subject, it is always amazing how close you can go and what a depth of field you get.

A while ago I shot a very patient medium-siz scorpionfish with 12mm and managed to fill the frame by massaging him with my domeport

But this is not the kind of pic I intentionally want to shoot when I set up my 12-24 lens. Just a lucky shot.

In this situations I am always scared to get a frame-filling scratch on my dome!

Thilo

I didn't get to try my converter and new port today as diving was cancelled. I will have to wait for next weekend to try it out and will keep you guys posted.

I share the same opinion as Thiol ,

I’ve been sitting on the fence for along time wanting to buy this lens especially for the over- under shots I’ve seen. All the statements I’ve read here bout the Len are favorable, and I just decide to treat myself.

Thanks for the push,

Marc

Marc, I think that the 10.5 is a "must have" lens and that you will not regret getting it - here is SA it is extremely pricy and unless we have very good viz, it is better to stick with macro. presently our viz is around 5m - 7m - not too great for wide-angle!

At last I got to try the following:

Nikon D70 + 60mm macro lens + 2X converter in Sea & Sea Housing.

The 2X converter makes the lens focus rather slow, and at times it is so out of focus, you can't hunt for the object you are trying to take a photo of, until you focus in a bit, search and aim, and then fine-tune your focus.

You can also get a heck of a lot closer to the subject with the converter.

I will recommend the 2X coverter, but if you want to see the pics, e-mail me on imort@iafrica.com and I will gladly share the pics so you can see what I mean with the great difference it made.

Hi Bluepixel,

I’m glad you are getting acceptable results with your extender, my experience was horrible.

I bought a Tamron Pro 2X extender for my Tamron 90 mm macro. My D2X did not focus properly, it would hunt very slowly and only occasionally lock on. I never recorded any images, back in the box, back to B&H.

PS

I called Tamron and they advise me that they could not guarantee focus compatibility with the D2X.

Marc

Hi all,

I have used the 60mm plus a 2x and woody'd diopter to get fantastic results. The challenge is to steady the camera and at the same time shoot a subect that will cooperate. In the picture posted, it was a very small hermit crab. This picture is deceiving. It looks like a hermit is out and peering in open water. In reality, the crab is in its shell deep. It is actually peering out of one of its spiral chambers way inside of the shell. This is a pic of it simply peering around the corner, but you would never know. Thats why this would never win a competition. If the judges knew the degree of difficulty and how the image was composed, the equipment used, it might do well.....asuming they judged that way.

I love the shot and will forever know deep inside how difficult the shot was to take.

The challenge for you ( and me) will be:

Don'tmove

Be patient

Keep your eye on the viewfinder

Pre set your strobes as close to the subject as you can

be as negative as possible

Shoot a lot of pics (the dof is a killer)

And you might nail a winner.

Good luck.

Koe

Marc, I must also say that I found the focus a real challenge at times, more of a problem if you have to hunt for the object thru your viewfinder if you can't even see it until you focussed!

I am however pleased that I got the amphipods I was looking for. I borrowed a port, now I suppose I must buy one! Can you not borrow a Kenko 2x? Our shop lets you return in 7 days if you are not happy.

Koe/Kelpfish - your story is very interesting - I have previously tried those inside joppies and just couldnt get to them. Perhaps this is how to get there! Yes, the dof is a real killer - I wonder why we do this to ourselves..... :-))

I will try again next week.... Oh ye, and of course my FIRST scorpion fish - and it got away before I could even compose the picure!