Focusing Issue and not macro enough

[Creaswomanonthego]

Hi so I am using a Nikon D3500 with a Nikkor 105mm micro lens. I've been trying to take close up photos of bugs but my camera is having a hard time focusing. Is this normal or do I need to been in manual mode? Also to get photos that are close to bugs can I take that with just my lens or do I need an attachment on top of my lens to get better macro photos?

 

[Jack]

Hello Creaswomanonthego . i don’t have a Nikon camera or any Nikon lenses, but I guess that functionalities are the same . Depends what kind of bugs you are shooting and how close you want to get. I would also recommend to use a tripod and shoot in manual mode, but depends what bugs, if its a slow moving bug, then manual focus should do.

Do you shoot inhouse ?


I believe our @Mentor or @Admin can give you a better advice here.

 

[MinitecaPhotographie]

Hi so I am using a Nikon D3500 with a Nikkor 105mm micro lens. I've been trying to take close up photos of bugs but my camera is having a hard time focusing. Is this normal or do I need to been in manual mode? Also to get photos that are close to bugs can I take that with just my lens or do I need an attachment on top of my lens to get better macro photos?

Hi Creaswomanonthego. I've been using a Nikon D3200 with 105mm and at the closest distance of focus you've got a 1:1 magnification thanks to the lens, but because your camera is an Apsc sensor, you need to consider the crop factor of the sensor to know the effective magnification ratio. So your effective magnification ratio is 1,5:1 at closest focus distance. In way to shoot bugs, you need to have enough light and there are many ways to get a good exposure. The first way is to use a tripod to be able to shoot with a low speed and so to get a good exposure with a sufficient aperture to get a good depth of field. The second way which I use all the time is to use a flash with diffuser. It allows to get a 1/250s speed which is enough to be able to shoot bugs hand held. A bit of training is necessary for both methods but the result will be there.

 

[Creaswomanonthego]

Hi Creaswomanonthego. I've been using a Nikon D3200 with 105mm and at the closest distance of focus you've got a 1:1 magnification thanks to the lens, but because your camera is an Apsc sensor, you need to consider the crop factor of the sensor to know the effective magnification ratio. So your effective magnification ratio is 1,5:1 at closest focus distance. In way to shoot bugs, you need to have enough light and there are many ways to get a good exposure. The first way is to use a tripod to be able to shoot with a low speed and so to get a good exposure with a sufficient aperture to get a good depth of field. The second way which I use all the time is to use a flash with diffuser. It allows to get a 1/250s speed which is enough to be able to shoot bugs hand held. A bit of training is necessary for both methods but the result will be there.

thank you
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Hello Creaswomanonthego . i don’t have a Nikon camera or any Nikon lenses, but I guess that functionalities are the same . Depends what kind of bugs you are shooting and how close you want to get. I would also recommend to use a tripod and shoot in manual mode, but depends what bugs, if its a slow moving bug, then manual focus should do.

Do you shoot inhouse ?


I believe our @Mentor or @Admin can give you a better advice here.

i typically shoot outdoors with a speed light that is softened

 

[Jack]

i typically shoot outdoors with a speed light that is softened

Then I will recommend definitely a tripod, maybe a rail as well, and would also recommend a diffuser for your speed light . You can build own diffuser , there are some tutorials which can help you achieving that.

Resources

macroderie.com

 

[Guest 1012]

but because your camera is an Apsc sensor, you need to consider the crop factor of the sensor to know the effective magnification ratio. So your effective magnification ratio is 1,5:1 at closest focus distance.

Hey, I don't think this is true, at least not optically. When you go with 1:1 on an APS-C sensor you still have 1:1 but reported to that sensor size. So for example, if you shoot 1:1 on APS-C you get a subject that fills 23mm x 16mm. When you shoot 1:1 fullframe, you get a subject that fills 35mm x 24mm. If you compare the same shot taken with FF vs APS-C, you will have the same magnification (1:1), it's just that on a crop sensor you have discarded(cropped) information around the sensor. If you crop the FF photo in post, you get the same result as when you shoot APS-C.

Let me try to explain this better: If you shoot something 1:1 that has 2mm length, it's projection will fill 2mm on whatever sensor you have (MF/FF/APS-C/M43), optically.
Of course, you will have the sensation that the photo taken on APS-C is bigger because of the edges that get discarded, but it's just your perception. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't know if this is clear enough.

 

[MinitecaPhotographie]

Hey, I don't think this is true, at least not optically. When you go with 1:1 on an APS-C sensor you still have 1:1 but reported to that sensor size. So for example, if you shoot 1:1 on APS-C you get a subject that fills 23mm x 16mm. When you shoot 1:1 fullframe, you get a subject that fills 35mm x 24mm. If you compare the same shot taken with FF vs APS-C, you will have the same magnification (1:1), it's just that on a crop sensor you have discarded(cropped) information around the sensor. If you crop the FF photo in post, you get the same result as when you shoot APS-C.

Let me try to explain this better: If you shoot something 1:1 that has 2mm length, it's projection will fill 2mm on whatever sensor you have (MF/FF/APS-C/M43), optically.
Of course, you will have the sensation that the photo taken on APS-C is bigger because of the edges that get discarded, but it's just your perception. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't know if this is clear enough.

I'm agree but, as I said, it's an effective magnification. The reference is always a FF sensor for everything in photo. Someone who see a picture without exifs doesn't know if it was made with a crop sensor or a FF so that's why I talk about effective magnification which consider the crop factor too.

 

[rcorteschile]

You may consider to add a Raynox DCR-250 closeup lens, and attach to the front of your lens.

 

[Helix_2648]

I think that MinitecaPhotographie and rcorteschile gave already some good tips and explanations. It depends on your subject respectivly of the size. You won't be able to get a full frame picture of a 2mm bug with a "normal" 1:1 macro lens. But there a lot of ways to increase the magnification without buying a new lens.

e.g. retro adapters to mount the lens in inverted position, special lens attachments like the ones from Raynox, extension tubes and so on.... all of them have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Retro adapters are mostly just mechanical adapters to mount your lens inverted. Should mean you've to focus manually. There are some electrical versions available as well which supports AF and aperture control, but those are more expensive.

Lens attachments like the ones from Raynox are a good and flexible solutions to increase the magnification from 2:1 up to 4:1 (with the Raynox MSN-505). Such attachments won't affect the exposure but slightly the image quality (e.g. blurry circular areas outside of the center). The costs are not really high... 55-60€ for the DCR-250 up to 150€ for the MSN-505.

Extension tubes supports AF and aperture control but you lost a lot of light. But the advantage is that they don't affect the image quality because you don't have any kind of additional optical elements. The price depends on the quality... You can buy a set for 50€ or 150€. Please keep in mind that a mix of different extension tubes might become a bit unstable because of the tolerances within the (mostly cheap) bayonetts.

 

[Yohanna_D]

I could not have helped you better than those who already answered your question; I use Canon and I've been using it since my beginnings of photography; Nikon I know little.
But with all these pieces of advice, you will make it, I guarantee you.
And Practice Makes Perfect as they say, so don't dispair, try again and again; you will make it!