mark amy

<p>Thanks Mark and glad this thread helped you!</p>

<p>The possibilities of objects + water are endless and yeah, carbonated water really makes a difference! </p>

<p>So many projects, so little time! :)</p>

<p>Amazing camera and photos in that thread Louis! You have inspired me!</p>

<p>Here is where I am so far. I won't be able to try again until later, but here's what I'm aiming for and with a 100% crop. This one's at f11:</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/13145876-lg.jpg" alt="" width="463" height="600" /></p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/13145877-lg.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="381" /></p>

<p>Wow! Louis, that's a fantastic shot and exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to do! Haven't tried with flowers yet, but that's my goal and at the moment I'm just trying with basic fruit to get the technique right.</p>

<p>Did you use carbonated water to get the bubbles to stick to the flower like that?</p>

<p>I think I'm almost there with my shots now....finally! After messing around for hours repositioning my flashes and camera, I think I've found the sweet spot for my lens and tank combined! The only problem I'm having now is DOF. I've been shooting at f11, but it looks like I'm going to have to go to f16 to get my main subject all in focus and I'm worried the higher I go then diffraction will set in and IQ will go down!</p>

<p>I continue to experiment....... :)</p>

<p>Thanks for the help guys!</p>

<p>I don't really have a problem with light because I shoot without ambient light so the exposure is as fast as the flash duration....if that's the right terminology. I don't really want to increase the ISO because I'm afraid of introducing noise into the image and I shouldn't have to with the flash speeds.</p>

<p>I'm going to experiment more with different angles etc and see if I can get it better. </p>

<p>Merging sharp parts of one pic with blurred pics of another sounds like a good idea, but it sounds very tricky and time-consuming and I'm sure I would mess that up. Let's call that Plan C! :)</p>

<p>I haven't tried bouncing the flash off the ceiling or using a polarizer, so I will give that a try later and report back.</p>

<p>Thanks guys!</p>

<p>Thanks for your replies!</p>

<p>Regarding sharpening, I'm shooting for stock so I want to avoid excessive sharpening in PP. A little unsharp mask is fine, but I still need a good, sharp image viewed at 100% to begin with.</p>

<p>Merging images is a good suggestion, but I want the water to interact with the objects i.e. ripple effects, splashes, drops etc, so that wouldn't work.</p>

<p>I appreciate your help, thanks!</p>

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I need some help photographing things in my fish tank, but not fish!</p>

<p>I'm using a Nikon D300 with a Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro lens on a tripod with a cable shutter release. For lighting I have an SB600 to light the white background from behind and 2 Yongnuo 467s to light objects from either side.</p>

<p>My lens is tack sharp for objects not through glass and under water, but not so sharp for in water through glass. I use live view to focus and the focus is spot on and images appear sharp at first glance, but when you zoom in they lose the sharpness.</p>

<p>Are there any tricks to photographing static objects through glass & under water? Are there any special angles I should be considering for the lights & the camera or is it just the fact that I'm adding glass and water into the equation and it's going to soften the final image anyway?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any advice!</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>Thanks Kevin! That does sound complex, but I appreciate you taking the time to reply in such detail.</p>

<p>I will keep experimenting!</p>

<p>Thanks for that. I'm just happy all three are firing at the same time!</p>

<p>Could you help me with another question to do with these 3 flashes?</p>

<p>It's about flash power and flash duration and mixing brands. These are the figures for the SB600:</p>

<p>Flash duration (approx.):<br />1/900 sec. at M1/1 (full) output<br />1/1600 sec. at M1/2 output<br />1/3400 sec. at M1/4 output<br />1/6600 sec. at M1/8 output<br />1/11100 sec. at M1/16 output<br />1/20000 sec. at M1/32 output<br />1/25000 sec. at M1/64 output</p>

<p>and the only info I could find for the Yongnuos is:</p>

<table>

<tbody>

<tr>

<th>Manual mode</th>

<td>Yes, 1/1 to 1/64</td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>

<table>

<tbody>

<tr>

<th>Flash duration</th>

<td>1/800 – 1/20,000s</td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>

<p>So , for example, flash duration on the SB600 at 1/64 is 1/25,000s and on the Yongnuo at 1/64 is 1/20,000s.</p>

<p>Will these differences affect shots for example when it comes to freezing water drops in low ambient light even though the flash durations are still very fast?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>False alarm, I've got it now! After trying endless combinations of settings, it suddenly all came together!</p>

<p>D300 in commander mode - built in flash set to '--' / Group A - manual / Group B - TTL</p>

<p>Yongnuos set to TTL & SB600 set to manual</p>

<p>I wanted the SB600 set to manual because it's to sit behind and light a coloured backdrop.</p>

<p>Maybe this will help someone else if ever they have a different combination of branded flashes.</p>

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I've searched and searched, but I can't find an answer to this problem!</p>

<p>I have a Nikon D300, 1 x SB600 and 2 x Yongnuo YN467s and I'm trying to see if it's possible to get all three flashes to fire at the same time.</p>

<p>The 2 Yongnuo flashes will only fire with the D300 in manual flash mode and I can only get the SB600 to fire if the camera is in commander mode.</p>

<p>The Yongnuo flashes fire when they see the in-camera flash fire on its lowest setting, so is it possible to get the SB600 to do the same? </p>

<p>I've tried setting the SB600 to manual mode on the back of the flash, but it still won't fire when it sees the camera's flash.</p>

<p>Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance for any assistance!<br>

Mark</p>

<p> </p>

Hello,

I'm going on a trekking holiday to the mountains that border Tibet and I'm going to be taking my Sigma 10-20mm

lens. The majority of the shots are going to be landscapes taken at f8 / f11 on a tripod. I have a Nikon D300

and I'll also be taking my Nikkors 17-55mm and 18-200mm. I've read that with lenses like the 10-20mm, it's not

just about getting a wider coverage, but more about creating depth so that the images don't look too flat and 2

dimensional. Can anyone give me some tips on how best to achieve this? Is it just about including foreground?

What do you do if there isn't much in the foreground? Is it always better to get down low or does it really

depend on what you're shooting?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Mark

Hello,

I currently have the Nikon D300, various lenses, a tripod and the SB600 flash unit. I am shortly going to be

buying the Nikon R1C1 macro lighting system, not so much for 1:1 macro, but more for close-up.

I'm interested in shooting still life, objects, food etc and I'm looking for pointers towards a good beginners

setup for using creative indoor flash.

On my list so far, I have the R1C1 kit, and additional SB-R200 flash unit, 2 umbrellas, one silver and one white,

a stand for the SB600, and some kind of diffuser.

Are there any other things I should be looking for that I would need or would help?

Many thanks,

Mark

Thanks Joesph, that's really helpful! I assumed the 500D would provide a greater magnification, I didn't realise it was the opposite way round.

I'm pretty sure now, I'll stick with the 105mm because I intend to use it a lot indoors as well as outdoors, and I think the 150mm would be too long.

I've read that the 2x TC isn't very good, so I'll avoid that. I'm also researching extension tubes, but as I understand it, I'd have to buy Kenko ones because the Nikon ones don't work so well with the newer 105mm....sounds strange though!

I'm not familiar with ext. tubes at all, so I will probably end up getting the 250D for when I want that extra magnification. have you used Kenko tubes before?

Thanks,

Mark

Thanks for all your replies.

Joseph, I don't get my new gear until the 17th, so another week to go. In my first post I put the Nikkor 105mm VR lens as my choice of macro lens, but now I'm a bit undecided as to which lens to go with.

It's either going to be the Nikkor 105mm or the Sigma 150mm with the Canon 500D. The 72mm thread on the 500D will fit the Sigma lens, but with the Nikkor, I'll need a step up ring to go from 62mm to 72mm.

<p>I live in China and the latest news on Chinese forums is:</p>

<p>1) No video cameras</p>

<p>2) No tripods</p>

<p>3) No lenses over 300mm</p>

<p>4) Flash photography only allowed during the opening and closing ceremonies</p>

<p>5) No photography at all during certain events, but not clear what the specific events are</p>

<p>Apparently the Olympic Committee have said the rules haven't changed and it's the same as for previous Games.</p>

<p>People say the D300 is fine, as that's the camera I have, so there shouldn't be any problems with any SLRs or

DSLRs. They're just worried about people obstructing other people's view.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

Thanks Ellis. I'd seen the 500D mentioned a lot, but just dismissed it because it was Canon and thinking it would only work on Canon cameras! Realise now the brand is irrelevant.

Probably a dumb question, but would there be any difference in stepping up from 62mm to either 72mm or 77mm? Does a wider diameter improve IQ or does it make no difference at all?

Thanks in advance.

Just one more question.....if you use the 6T on a macro lens that gives you 1:1 magnification, what would the ratio be with the 6T added?

Thanks,

Mark

Hello,

Does anyone know if you can use either the Nikon 5T or 6T close-up filters in conjunction with Nikon's R1C1 macro

lighting system?

I'm assuming you can't because the filter would be using the lens thread for attaching the R1C1's adapter, but

I'm not sure.

The filter and lighting would be used on a Nikkor Micro 105mm (62mm filter thread) with the D300.

Thanks,

Mark