Macro shots with DSLR or iphone, extension tubes whats the wrap ? Options

[Ember]

I have never tried using a green screen and then Photoshopping in the background, I use Elements which I think lacks that feature.

Anything that has a magic wand selection tool and the ability to add in layers can be used to replace a 'green screen' with a real background. It's basically easy to do. Very easy to do badly Takes some patience and skill to do well.

Embs

[RichD]

I have never had much luck with the magic wand, I have usually had to crop out unwanted stuff bit by bit to get something that I can drop into a composite picture. In this picture the lifgthouse and fence were from one pictures and the cars were from another picture. I wanted the background to be visible through the car's windows.

[mickman]

Regarding Photoshop,

The magic wand can be real hard to master... I find playing with the tolerance setting is vital & once you have done your first selection & are resonably happy with the selected area, hold shift while selecting more area or to subtract an area hold Alt. note: you can also hold Alt & drag around an area you wish to subtract for your initial selection...

Once you are happy with your general selection... you should try increasing the total area by 2 pixels by going into SELECT > MODIFY > EXPAND.

another alternative is to start your initial selection with the Magic Wand.. & then switch tools to the Quick Selection Tool.. (use shift & Alt to add or subtract )

Try it you might be surprised how much easier it is to use.

[mickman]

An even easier method to select an area,

1.) duplicate your layer.

2.) Image > adjustments > threshold (change the value to something smaller like 64,( if it is not enough... ctrl+z to undo last action) & change the threshold until you get something you are happy with.

3.) Now use magic wand on the high contrast layer.... you will get a definite area selected... & then simply change layers and your selection is still selected.

Here`s an axample I was playing wiht a few weeks back.. not perfect but it gives a good impression of what i was trying to achieve in regards to backgrounds.

[martyfuffkin]

Wow, nice one. It makes such a difference.

How easy would it be to delete the slots on the track?

[Ember]

Deleting the track slots is as simple as painting over them with the cloning tool using the surrounding textures. Always, and I'll say it again and louder, ALWAYS work on a separate layer. It makes things so much easier to adjust and/or undo.

[RichD]

Removing the slots is no problem, putting them back once you have cloned over them is more difficult. You also have to make sure to restore track joints and also be sure that shadows are restored. What ever you do save the doctored picture under a new file name!

[mickman]

Hi All,

I recieved a Lens Reversing Ring adapter thingy today for my 50mm f1.8 lens.

So here's a few loose shots I took straight up. One thing I will mention if you venture into reversing a lens is to be aware that you should protect the opening of the lens as it is fully exposed & can gather dust hair easily.. I wouldn't go there with an expensive lens but hey, a nifty 50 is cheap as.... but great fun can be had & a cheap alternative to purchasing a dedicated macro lens. I'm still waiting for my 77mm 2 element filter for my 70-200mm L series lens to arrive that will blow this out of the water.



ok.. this next shot I didn't reverse the lens... but it was a fun shot anyways

[lordjw]

As you can see from the pictures depth of field is problematic with SLR´s

Ultimate macro photography with SLR´s requires photgraphing target in slices (taking multiple pictures from various distances), otherwise parts of the object will be out of focus.

Slices are put together with special software.

[Ember]

As you can see from the pictures depth of field is problematic with SLR´s

Ultimate macro photography with SLR´s requires photgraphing target in slices (taking multiple pictures from various distances), otherwise parts of the object will be out of focus.

Slices are put together with special software.

Disagree with that completely. It is not the fault of the camera, but a fault of the operator. Depth of field has absolutely nothing to do with the style of camera. It is certainly not a limitation of the single lens reflex It's more a case of knowing your way around the camera.

Are you suggesting there is another type of camera format that will perform the function better? Or are you suggesting that the function is impossible without the addition of software?

Depth of field is not problematic of SLR cameras but of macro photography in general. But, it is only a problem if you make it so.

[Race-Jan]

DOF is something you'll have to understand

Next 2 pics I just made with my DSLR (entry-level Nikon D40x with the kit lens... no filters or reversing... f: 14, ISO 800...
Oh yeah, I used a proper tripod..

first one is reduced size, 25 % of the original:


second is a full size crop of 800x600:


Works for me

[lordjw]

Video camera = small sensor = very small aperture achievable = good depth of field

SLR = big sensor = sensor size limits smallest useable aperture = harder to get good depth of field


You can get adequate pictures with SLR too, I do not argue that. But you can get the same pictures much easier with camera with small sensor.

Ember, have a look at the picture below, it has very great depth of field, it is fast taken, cars look sharp. The picture is taken with video camera. I challenge you to take similar picture with SLR.



And have a look at these video camera macroshots. Again just point and shoot, no fiddling with lenses or filters, always sharp pictures. Video camera beats more expensive SLR´s hands down with ease of use. (... and with results too)





Cheers!

julius

[RichD]

I will have to agree that with cameras that have a tiny lens you can avoid thinking in many cases. Why buy an expensive DSLR with a big honking lens if you are going to use it in full automatic mode all of the time? It is really not a big deal to put the camera in aperture priority and go to a higher F stop. If you need a shot of something really small and you have a scanner you can often get good pictures with that.

[Ember]

I repeat, the fault is not in the Single Lens Reflex format which has been around forever. Dip into the film stock and that can be beaten in the actual macro realm without any issues at all.

Sorry Julius, but I really don't think that is anything wonderful. It requires either a fast lens or, in your case, an 'infinite' field lens essentially (seen on instamatic and video cameras). Alas, my lenses are not 'fast' being both f4.8 maximum, and 10 years old. Depth of field is actually a combination of lens speed and light available.


This is taken with the relatively slow f4.8 lens under fairly low available light conditions with an 80mm lens and x5 close up filter. Front of image is less than 10mm from lens. Front of car is around 50mm from lens. The fence is approximately 400mm from lens. Light levels are extremely low. Overall depth of field could be calculated at around 300mm at the back of the shed where the hanging tools are in distinct focus. Note, this image was certainly not taken to display depth of field but taken as a 'mood shot'.

With better available light the depth becomes considerably more.

Once again the whole board depth is 400mm and in focus. The available light is considerably more than previously. One could calculate the full depth of field as being a full 400mm or more. The rosmary bush behind is a good 50m away. Therefore it is difficult to estimate where the fied depth runs out.

[mickman]

The shots I took using the reversing ring coupled to a 50mm f1.8 lens reveals a lot of blurring around the edges. This I believe is difficult to resolve. If the object being photographed is parallel to the lens it helps in terms of reducing the depth of field blurring. trying to get a good shot is soooo difficult. i had to move the lens distance physically back and forth and there is only maybe a 1cm envelope for sharpness and then it blurs off. Take into account I was using a canon 550D so there's no way of adjusting DOF with a reversing ring attached. but hey, all things considered, its a cheap way of fiddling with macro photography & fun.
The easiest way to get credible close up shots with an SLR camera is to use a tripod, the highest depth of field possible eg. f22 on a long exposure... and then later in post, simply zoom in and crop your image.