Thanks, Tanner--that set of images really shows the difference between fresh and old specimens. I wonder what goes on when the eyes age, and presumably dry--my first thought is that changes in protein folding occur. Recalling a conversation with a researcher who studies formation of human cataracts,...

My set of the 8.5x ones just arrived. . .and will be returned immediately. Should I try another pair, or are they just not going to work for me? As we know, with binoculars, one adjusts the interpupillary distance until one sees the world as if through a single circle. With the unit I just received,...

Mind you Chris, the abdomen get mushy and leaky after a few days and will not stay in shape. . . . (snip) And then there is ID-ing them... :roll: Fred, you present two good reasons for me to stick to my knitting, which currently does not include arthropods. A couple of years back, I was involved in...

Pricing in Europe for RAM doesn't really look attractive. . . . Drat. . . .and the downside is that you need multiple locking knobs - one for each arm segment. The single locking knob on the noga / hydrostatic arms is really a benefit. For myself, I find the single locking knob to often be a benefi...

Sonynut, sorry for my slow response. Pretty cool time lapse at your link, and more at the rest of Stevesphotoworld. Is that your online world? If so, may we refer to you with a real first name, and call you Steve? As I suspected, it seems you have a lot to teach the rest of us—or me, at least. Thank...

Craig, if you try out the item in your first two links, I hope you’ll post a review. Looks pretty good in the video, but I keep thinking it would sag by a few degrees of arc after tightening, which would drive me nuts. I’d love to be wrong, though--and a test by a trusted community member would be a...

Hey, Fred—Yep, that’s me, the fellow with the Bratcam. Ever-evolving, indeed. A family member has teased me by threatening to kidnap the Bratcam and sell it on "Pawn Stars" (an American TV show about a pawn shop--not sure if it has graced the other side of the pond). Thanks for your kind words. Try ...

LOL, Fred, at your later image. Glad I don't have an avatar. . . . Regarding the original question, my preference is for the first of the two images. The reflections of the diffuser in the second image give me the impression eye structures that the spider doesn't have, and in general, photographs th...

This condition, pristine exosketon, is seen in all the NA Aeshnids I have looked at (quite a few). In contrast, most Gomphids I have seen are covered in 'junk'. Perhaps ship builders could learn something about the anti-fouling properties from Aeshnid nymphs. Fascinating observation, NU. I wouldn't...

As a starting point, see http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10354 . There are much longer discussions, but I don't have the links handy. Thanks for this link, Rik--missed that thread. When possible, I much enjoy reading every post--but when traveling or violently beset with work,...

The innermost thin rings probably are reflections of the objective, but I believe the broad outer ring is a reflection of light coming straight from a diffuser that is wrapped around the subject. If this is correct, then masking to keep light away from the objective will eliminate only the inner th...

Nice image, Matthias. Great way to begin! Does anyone know how to prevent the lens-reflections on the eyes? Well, it may look funny but it's not reality at all ... While I have not photographed a salticid, here is what I'd do with general subjects. Those reflections occur when light from your flashl...

I do lot's of time lapse commercial work. It is always fun. but you do go thru cameras in a hurry Sonynut, I'd suspected that this time lapse/moving camera stuff would be old hat for you, and that you'd have a lot to teach the rest of us. You tend to be a poster of few words--I for one would like t...

So now I'm wondering if this was actually shot under moonlight, with long exposure to produce the more sunlit appearance. Do you folks have any other explanations? Rik, that segment jumped out at me, too. I like to shoot starry nights myself, and always considered the first requirement to be, um, n...

Craig, I’d missed your earlier post to Patryk Kizny’s work—which, like Randy Halverson’s, is mesmerizing (borrowing your word, but at a loss for a better one). Thanks for pointing it out. From the link you posted, I wandered to the link below, where Kizny documents two of his workflows (regular and ...