There are several folks who mount a single flash on the hot shoe, and then use a diffuser that directs the light forward and downward. There are definite advantages to shooting 'flash forward', but the armatures for doing that also add to the weight and awkwardness of a rig. I just took delivery of...

Cyclops wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 10, 2020 4:31 pm

Great shots!

Thank you!

Late to the party, but.... would you be willing to share some detail on your diffusion? Yes indeed: thank's for asking! Sorry I'm late responding. The introduction of flash diffusion to my macro shooting was the biggest single source of improvement in my results. Currently I'm using my Pentax KP's ...

That first green one has interesting rear legs. One's initial thought is "pollen baskets," but no. It looks like it's wearing pantaloons!

Very cool!

Wonderful shots! Well done!

I'm in the market for a good macro lens, so I've been doing some research lately. I'll be using it more for insects than herps. I have a couple questions about macro equipment/techniques.... Second, has anyone used a reverse mounted lens for macro work? I work with very small insects so a magnifica...

Neat shots. The closest one shows variation in eye element size I wasn't aware of in these. Very interesting.

At least it didn't move around while you were shooting. Do the police have any suspects?

Finally trying out a lens I've had for a while. These were taken with a reversed Cine Yashinon 38mm f1.4 D-mount 8mm movie camera lens, with 26mm of extension (via deglassed TC), on Pentax KP. Magnification is approximately 1.7x. All are hand held single shots. Mating Ambush bugs: https://live.stati...

Wonderful details and nice compositions, especially on the first one. What appears to be a yellow jacket wasp I believe :-k Thank you! I quite like the first one too. I'm always glad when I've got the time to actually "compose" something. I'm usually trying to think of composition, but sometimes it...

Guido wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:12 am

Fine shots!

Another pentax shooter

Thanks!

We're kinda thin on the ground, but Pentax works for me and what I do.

I've learned that goldenrod is a great plant to find a wide range of insect species. These were taken handheld with a Tamron 52BB 90mm f2.5 macro lens with Raynox 250 on Pentax KP. Built in flash with homemade extender/diffuser.

I definitely wouldn't get one of those (very?) expensive f/2.8 zooms with just the hope that it would be better. I would want to compare the specific lenses in a way that is meaningful to how I use them. For example, it's only when I printed at about A2 size that I noticed an issue with my extensio...

A larger aperture lens could be better if diffraction is an issue with your current setup...? At the cost of DOF. I guess it depends on the magnification and aperture you're using now. Re using different reversed lenses in general, it can definitely make a difference. I've only made one comparison,...