Insect photography

[peter_wyborn]

<p>We have just made the jump to digital, and bought a Nikon D80, i need some help with a suitable lens to do really close up insect photography.<br>

Any help would be appreciated<br>

Pete from Australia</p>

[cwphoto]

<p>A macro lens in the 90-105mm range. You will also need to become proficient with using flash off camera.</p>

[todd_angood]

<p>I have the Nikon 105 f2.8 VR G type micro lens and absolutely love it. Attached is a picture of a deer fly I took last summer with my D80. ( I just traded it for a D300.) Have fun with whatever you buy!<br>

Todd</p><div></div>

[leif_goodwin8]

<p>I think you need at least 100mm, and unless you use flash, a good tripod and head. With flash, the 105mm is best and it is not too heavy.</p>

<p>Here is an example using natural light and a 200mm micro lens:</p>

<p><img src="http://www.leifgoodwin.co.uk/Other%20Insects/_DSC1425%20Fly%20crop.jpg" alt="Fly" width="800" height="550" /></p>

<p> </p>

[n. gale]

<p>I use the nikon micro 60mm f2.8, which is the sharpest lens i have ever used. You would get more working distance with the 100, but the 60 is a great prime for lots of things, including portaits. i highly recommend it. lately i have also used my 80-200 f2.8 with an extension tube to get similar ratio but much greater working distance - though never as sharp as the 60mm. Have fun.<br>

Nick</p><div></div>

[tpernal]

<p>Todd:<br>

Sorry, but the deer fly has a significant lack of DOF.<br>

I have a 105mm Micro Nikkor, and truly find it to be a wonderful addition to my lens arsenal.<br>

I can see how a 60mm micro would also be a welcome addition...<br>

Here's my contribution to the photos in toto.</p><div></div>

[Matthew Brennan]

<p>Peter,</p>

<p>For "really close up" insect photography you will require at minimum a dedicated 105mm macro/micro lens magnifying to 1:1, the 55mm / 60mm micro lenses require the lens to be too close to your subject - your insect will take fright and move away all too often - 105mm focal length allows a bit more working distance from your subject.</p>

<p>For subjects like small wasps, bees, flies etc of no longer than 15mm, auto focusing will be of limited use if any use at all so don't discount an older manual focus macro lens - I had a Nikkor 105 AF-D micro lens and sold it in favour of a much less expensive but equally as good in IQ (my subjective opinion) Kiron 105mm manual focus macro lens which i find ideal for insects around 12-15mm in size. Your D80 is capable of metering correctly with these older manual focus type Ai and AiS mount macro lenses.</p>

<p>If you want to <em>really</em> get serious about close up insect work a 150mm or 200mm macro lens is ideal as you can shoot a little further away from your subjects and not spook them as often as you might with a shorter focal length lens. Needless to say a rock solid set of legs and a decent ball head is also goiing to be required to gain acceptable sharpness in many of your your exposures.</p>

[Matthew Brennan]

<p>Native Hover Fly 50% crop Kiron 105mm macro at 1:1</p><div></div>

[walterh]

<p>Tom since you give a very general statement I like to respond to your comment on insufficient DOF:</p>

<p>First of all we should not assume that <strong>all </strong> macro shots <strong>should</strong> have the largest possible DOF. There are good reasons (e.g. artistic?) to limit DOF in a given image. But even for documentation the widest DOF is not always the "best" solution (ignoring that "best" or "significant lack of" really depend on the individual case and intention). In the criticized insect head for example the intention may have been to show individual ommatidia and the required resolution may have been impossible to obtain when closed down to give "excessive" DOF.</p>

<p>It is typically <strong>THE challenge</strong> to find the "best" compromise between DOF and resolution. This is why image stacking of a focus series is often used to increase DOF without the penalty of reduced resolution.</p>

<p>You may have an example though that shows an insect head without significant lack of DOF and superior resolution. That would be very educational to show. :-)</p>

<p> </p>

[leif_goodwin8]

<p>Just to add that Matthew's comments on working distance are the reason I recommend the 105mm over the 60mm. The 60mm can be used with good results, but sometimes you end up very close to the insect.</p>

[joseph_smith3]

<p>I prefer a 200mm macro lens over a 105mm macro lens in that it gives you a greater working distance from the subject and comes with a tripod collar mount. Also, the Nikon 200mm F 4.0 lens can accept extension tubes, which will get you more magnification, while the Nikon 105mm VR macro lens will not be fully functional with Nikon extension tubes as it is a G lens. The older 105mm AF version does accept them and is fully functional with them. <br>

While depth of field can be important in macro work, sometimes it is achieved at the expense of sharpness. I try never to set my f stop smaller than f 16 and prefer f 11 for most shots to insure max sharpness. For more info check out "diffraction" at Luminous Landscapes.<br>

Good macro work requires an excellent lens or lenses, tripod and ballhead and off camera flash system that you know how to use. And you need to know how to control and manage backgrounds.<br>

Joe Smith</p>