Ideal Aperture settings for Macro Photogarphy

[jrmohan]

<p>What should be the ideal aperture setting for Canon EF 100mm F/2.8 Macro lens on crop sensor (Canon<br>

50d ) camera for macro photography in ambient light.</p>

[brett_w.]

<p>depends on how much ambient light!<br>

those nice macro bug pics use smaller apertures with good light, e.g. they use a ring flash</p>

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[jim_j2]

<p>You don't indicate specifically what the subject is, which the subject's size could make a difference.<br>

Let me take a stab at it this way and see if it helps.<br>

Light changes constantly, so your question is best answered by your own trial and error. There is no given "best/ideal" aperture setting. Yes, there are some guidlines like the "Sunny f/16, etc."<br>

The larger the aperture opening, i.e., f/2.8 the shallower the depth of field. The depth of field will increase with f/3.5 and so on with the same shutter speed.<br>

So, with your camera on a tripod (if doing true Macro) set the shutter speed to say 1/60th of a second and experiment with different aperture settings. You will of course have to use either a "remote" shutter release or the "Timed shutter release."<br>

The "Live View" feature of your 50D is also helpful in focusing. Probably best to turn the IS off.</p>

[SCL]

<p>Greater aperture for increased DOF, but going too extreme will introduce noticeable diffraction. If you are using a tripod your capability to produce an in focus picture with increased DOF in ambient light will generally allow you to use a smaller aperture. There really is no general answer to your question without more conditions being specified. For instance, the sweet spot of the lens (maximum contrast and resolution = apparent sharpness) might limit the DOF in a given picture, which may not be your intent.</p>

[markdeneen]

<p>Comment only: From my past - years ago using a Macro lens on a Canon A-1, it is really hard to get substantial DOF at ANY aperture! For example, a lady bug on a leaf---if shot from the side - will be nearly impossible to make sharp all across the body. The DOF seems to be a few mm at best.</p>

[tommyinca]

<p>If ideal means to you OK resolution still but lots of DOF, then IMHO I would set it between f11 and f16 (ie: f13, f14). Beyond that, one lose a lot of details due to optical diffraction. Don't forget at close up, the effective aperture is less then shown on a Canon system. </p>

[paddler4]

<p>macro is not easy. There are very good tutorials here: http://www.dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=23</p>

<p>One of the most difficult problems with macro is thin DOF. (Mark is right: lady bugs are particularly tough because they are round.) For this reason, you often have to shoot with a smaller aperture than the 'sweet spot,' which is probably about f/8 with your combination--unless you have a subject that is flat, not deep, and nearly parallel to the focal plane, where you can get by with a wider aperture. I often shoot f/11-f/16 for certain kinds of macro because the increase in DOF more than offsets the small deterioration from diffraction. I occasionally even go to f/20 when the situation calls for it. The alternative is to keep the aperture wider and stack multiple images in software.<br>

I'll post a two examples below, both with either a 50D or an XTi and a 60mm macro lens. You'll see that unless you enlarge a lot, the narrower aperture is OK<br>

f/10:<br>

<img src="http://dkoretz.smugmug.com/Nature/Bugs/second-export-for-noise/620743031_Tt7CV-L.jpg" alt="" /><br>

f/20:<br>

<img src="http://dkoretz.smugmug.com/Nature/Flowers-and-mushrooms/IMG2212810/498633502_RJ8cq-L.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="600" /></p>

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[marsha_milne]

<p>Dan thank you so much for the link to the macro dgrin.com.<br>

I am always looking for more forums to learn from. tThis is a good one.</p>