Camera Labs

damselfly macro

1/160s, f/7.1, 90 mm, ISO 250

Went out to a local park today. Played about with the various lenses, the most challenging was insect shots with the macro lens. This has a narrow DoF when used wide, and you need it for the light. Even with a 90mm lens, for 1:1 macro the minimum range is some 20cm or so. I don't think I was at min distance for this shot. Getting that close to an insect before it decides to disappear is kinda tricky. All this not helped by the wind, which messes up the focus by moving stuff around. I used manual as AF was too wobbly as any movement made it want to lock elsewhere. Anyway, this was the best shot, and I'm really happy with it

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

I really like it. Love the color of the dragonfly! Good work.

WOW, Amazing shot! and with these conditions...
Love the colors and sharpness!

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Flickr
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Bodies: Nikon D80, Nikon FM2n, Zenit 3M, Olympus Pen EE-3
Glass: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 + Nikon 35-70 f/2.8 + Industar 50mm f/3.5 (M39 Screw mount)
Light: two Nikon SB-28's
Backpack: Kata DR467
Shoplist: Nothing for now

Hi popo and hello to everyone looking for the difinitive thread for dragonflies at Camera Labs!
Popo delivered a very good starting point for the ultimate collection of dragonfly-shots and their comments and critique. The idea is to keep all images of dragonflies at CL together for easy reference and enjoyment.

I've posted an article here to illustrate the idea and discuss about it.
In the meantime feel free to post your shots here!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Here's my own entry to this thread. A smaller variant with a very "fluttery" flying-style.



Gear: Sigma 300mm f/4.0, at f/4.0 1/1000 sec, ISO 200, magnification approx 1:3
And yes, I can attest to the challenges of getting the plane of focus adjusted correctly with the subject

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

wow.... great color!

Only thing that I thought could have made it better was that the head of the dragonfly was in focus rather then its wings. But even that is not that big of a deal. I really like it. Good capture.

I don't have a macro lens yet, but here's a close-up I took today of a dragonfly usng the Nikkor 18-200VR lens:



I love the way these things always seem to have a cheeky little smile on their faces!

This was shot handheld with the:
D300
Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 200mm
ISO 400
f5.6
1/640

I had to crop the original image because I couldn't get that close to it before it flew away, but here's a crop from the original at 200%



Obviously not great quality at 200%, but it just goes to show what you can do with the 18-200mm lens....very versatile!

I really want a proper macro lens though!!

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Mark
Nikon D300 / Sigma 10-20mm / Nikkor 17-55 f2.8 / Nikkor 18-200mm VR / Nikkor 50mm f1.8 / SB600 Speedlight
Mark Amy Photography
My Squidoo lens - Images of China

I noticed that 'Stumpy' seems a little deficient in the leg department.

Ben
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When in doubt..... Press the shutter.

Nice thread! Here is my little contribution..



Minolta 50mm/2.8 macro lens, handheld, F/7.1, ISO 800, 1/250 s.
Wow! I can't believe it let me get close 3 cm for 1:1 macro!

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Sony A200
Sony A700
Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II
Minolta AF 50 F1.7
Minolta AF 50 F2.8
FLICKR

Whoa! And at 3cm your subject didn't take flight?!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I just took a bunch of dragonfly photos in the past two weeks....
Sorry for the bad focus on this one. Was using a telephoto lens at full zoom.



Canon Rebel XTi
Lens: Canon EFS 55-250mm F/4-5.6 IS
1/200 second, F/5.6, 250 mm, ISO 100

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Wildlife/Bird Photographer
Canon 5D & Digital Rebel T1i
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM, EF 70-200mm F4L IS USM, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Kenko DG Auto Extension Tube Set - 36mm, 20mm, 12mm
My Photography: mydigitalmind : flickr

YAAY!

No, I already elaborated this in another thread - in Canada insects are not very shy and allow you getting very close for a shot
Seriously, I do not have any trouble getting close with my macro lens to any insect exept butterflies.

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Sony A200
Sony A700
Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II
Minolta AF 50 F1.7
Minolta AF 50 F2.8
FLICKR

MBrutus2009 this one looks very delicate. I bet it flutters more like a butterfly, not the hover-zip-zoom-bang type, eh?

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Hey all these shots of the creatures are brilliant, they really are a colourful species. Mbrutus, looks like your creature is hanging on for dear life.
Well done to everybody,i should imagine its one of the hardest insects to capture.

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canon 400D
18-55 lens
tamron70-300 lens
sigma 18-200 os lens

All my photos are clickable
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/27828538@N03/