The Olympus MC-14 Teleconverter with the Olympus 60mm 2.8

[1of1snowflakes]

I see you have also got the MC-20 now. How do you feel the two compare optically? I think I preferred the pictures you posted with the 2x TC better, but you may have refined your lighting or stacking technique. Can you use either of them (withought the diopters) handheld?

I have not tried hand-held as of yet - too busy photographing the garnet sand grains I am finding. I do prefer the 2x as it seems to work very well to get 8.5x magnification for the garnets. I also purchased a GODOX LED126 light that I mounted on my hotshoe. This combined with a lower ISO of 64 or 100 and a higher exposure time is providing excellent results as seen here....as a reminder - these garnet sand grains are each about 1/4mm wide

[SteveB]

Wow your images are stunning, yet still getting better and better!

[Lou Jost]

Very lovely but they all seem slightly soft to me. Maybe compression during uploading?

[Troels]

Lou,
My first impression was the same.
The gem like crystals do have some soft edges.
But taking a closer look at the base stones I discoverede very fine details.
Especially at picture no. 4 the difference is striking.

I guess the gems already had soft edges before being photographed?
Should be no surprice since they are found on a sandy beach.
One good reason to mount them on a base with significant details.

It would be interesting to see a 100% crop.

[Lou Jost]

Troels, yes, you are right. The edges of the crystal facets are rounded, so they have indeed been polished by the river.