I have done macro photography since 1980, I will recommend to us a real macro Lens if you really want to do macro photography, there are many new macro Lenses, but you can also adapt an old analog SLR macro Lens. The Lenses I use now are Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 65mm 2.0 Aspherical and Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 110mm 2.5 which I both can highly recommend.
@MarkusHorrer I am intrigued by the Laowa 2.5-5x actually. I also have the new TT Artisan 100mm 2x lens on its way to me for review, that video will be coming out soon. Hopefully I can compare it to the Laowa 100mm and the Canon 100mm macro.
@@benharveyphotography The Laowa 25mm is a fantastic lens if you can manage to learn how to focus stack manually by hand at these magnifications. I use the OM 90mm with the 2x teleconverter frequently in the field, very easy to use with a field of view of 4.325mm. The 25mm would surely produce better results on a higher MP APSC body, but it‘s much harder to use.
very informative Ben, it's an area I have never ventured into but it still doesn't stop me from admiring the skills required the images like the ones you shared today
Thanks Clarke, it is indeed. I once did a small personal project sharing images of everyday objects extremely close up to see if people could guess what they are. Some of them were very surprising! People didn’t enjoy seeing their eyeballs or skin really close up I will tell you!
I appreciate the information you provide, but I'm curious: why do so many of your macro photos of insects seem to be shot at an aperture of f/1.8 instead of f/8 or f/11, which would keep the entire insect in focus?
Hi Dave, this is a goof question and one that I will tackle in more detail in a future macro video - but I am shooting at F2.8 on the 100mm macro lenses to create a non-distracting background. If I had a clean background, say a blue sky and I was shooting upwards, then I could shoot at F8, but at these levels of macro the insect would still not be entirely in focus. So assuming that you have to work with the situation and create as least-distracting background as possible then you use a wide aperture to do so. If you want the entire subject to be in focus then you have to focus stack (if your camera allows it and the subject stays still) then you should many images at different focus planes and blend them together in photoshop or Helicon focus. I am going to make a video about that in future - but there are quite a few online already. I hope this answers the question!
So kool! It's funny, I just watched Adam Gibbs peel emulsions off Polaroid prints under water and now you're doing 3x macro. I believe the non-American term is "faff". You Sir work way harder than I do for your art! Kudos! I love the image of the jumping spider @ 07:30 and the flower @ 08:36. Great to see you working with your daughter again! Wish I had shared things like that with my Dad. Strong work!
Thanks Brian, I don’t really like to sit still, so I enjoy making videos at the weekends/mornings/evenings. It is the school holidays at the moment, so Chloe is being roped into assisting with a few videos coming up. She enjoys it also, and has some really interesting ideas - she is really creative.
Another excellent video, Ben. You've managed to rewet my interest in macro photography & I'm now also tempted to explore the world of extreme macro photography. BTY, did you try using that Laowa 100mm macro lens?
Hi Chris, yes some of the images in this video were using the 100mm Laowa macro 2x lens which I borrowed at the time and I have since picked one up from MPB. It’s a really sharp competent lens. It is manual focus, but that suits me fine for really close up work. Overcast days, like today as I type, are perfect for macro when there is nothing better to shoot!
Great video Ben. I've actually been out this afternoon with my 80mm macro on my Fuji crop sensor camera. I also took my 70-300mm lens with a Fuji close-up adaptor to compare. To be honest I'm finding it easier with the 70-300mm due to the extra depth of field. The 80mm macro is stunningly sharp but it really needs stopping down to f8/f11 to capture any insects. Those Laowa lenses are highly rated and I've considered if for the Fuji but they only produce a 65mm so about 90mm FF equivalent. That spider image was stunning. Which set up did you use for that? Was it the reverse prime?
The small jumping spiders were captured with a combination of the reverse lens and the Laowa, some are old images and some were captured this year. If I had a choice I would go with the Laowa over the revise lens as it is considerably more sharp and more flexible in terms of working distance. I am currently editing my next macro tutorial which is concentrating on using longer focal lengths. That will be out in three weeks time (unless something manages to be pushed in front of that video). In that video I use a 100-400 with an extension tube, as well as a newly purchased 180mm macro lens.
Brilliant buddy. Never knew you could reverse a lens but it makes sense.
Yes, it feels like a bit of a hack, but optically works really well.
I have done macro photography since 1980, I will recommend to us a real macro Lens if you really want to do macro photography, there are many new macro Lenses, but you can also adapt an old analog SLR macro Lens. The Lenses I use now are Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 65mm 2.0 Aspherical and Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 110mm 2.5 which I both can highly recommend.
Thanks for leaving the recommendations. Am I correct in assuming that that 2.0 and 2.5 in the model numbers refer to the reproduction value?
@@benharveyphotography Those ae the largest apertures of the Lenses
Best choice if you aren‘t shooting on MFT are for sure the laowa lenses, the 2x lenses combined with a Raynox 250, or just the Laowa 25mm for 2.5-5x
@MarkusHorrer I am intrigued by the Laowa 2.5-5x actually. I also have the new TT Artisan 100mm 2x lens on its way to me for review, that video will be coming out soon. Hopefully I can compare it to the Laowa 100mm and the Canon 100mm macro.
@@benharveyphotography The Laowa 25mm is a fantastic lens if you can manage to learn how to focus stack manually by hand at these magnifications. I use the OM 90mm with the 2x teleconverter frequently in the field, very easy to use with a field of view of 4.325mm. The 25mm would surely produce better results on a higher MP APSC body, but it‘s much harder to use.
very informative Ben, it's an area I have never ventured into but it still doesn't stop me from admiring the skills required the images like the ones you shared today
Cheers Jim, one day I might stick to one genre, but I dabble in everything photography related…
The images are truly amazing and it does look like another world to see what our eyes normally do not see. Nice video.
Thanks Clarke, it is indeed. I once did a small personal project sharing images of everyday objects extremely close up to see if people could guess what they are. Some of them were very surprising! People didn’t enjoy seeing their eyeballs or skin really close up I will tell you!
I appreciate the information you provide, but I'm curious: why do so many of your macro photos of insects seem to be shot at an aperture of f/1.8 instead of f/8 or f/11, which would keep the entire insect in focus?
Hi Dave, this is a goof question and one that I will tackle in more detail in a future macro video - but I am shooting at F2.8 on the 100mm macro lenses to create a non-distracting background. If I had a clean background, say a blue sky and I was shooting upwards, then I could shoot at F8, but at these levels of macro the insect would still not be entirely in focus. So assuming that you have to work with the situation and create as least-distracting background as possible then you use a wide aperture to do so. If you want the entire subject to be in focus then you have to focus stack (if your camera allows it and the subject stays still) then you should many images at different focus planes and blend them together in photoshop or Helicon focus. I am going to make a video about that in future - but there are quite a few online already. I hope this answers the question!
nice job Ben explained beautifully once again
Thanks, much appreciated!
So kool! It's funny, I just watched Adam Gibbs peel emulsions off Polaroid prints under water and now you're doing 3x macro. I believe the non-American term is "faff". You Sir work way harder than I do for your art! Kudos! I love the image of the jumping spider @ 07:30 and the flower @ 08:36. Great to see you working with your daughter again! Wish I had shared things like that with my Dad. Strong work!
Thanks Brian, I don’t really like to sit still, so I enjoy making videos at the weekends/mornings/evenings. It is the school holidays at the moment, so Chloe is being roped into assisting with a few videos coming up. She enjoys it also, and has some really interesting ideas - she is really creative.
❤ awesome images and tutorial 👌 many thanks 😊
Thank you Josh, glad you found it helpful.
Another excellent video, Ben. You've managed to rewet my interest in macro photography & I'm now also tempted to explore the world of extreme macro photography. BTY, did you try using that Laowa 100mm macro lens?
Hi Chris, yes some of the images in this video were using the 100mm Laowa macro 2x lens which I borrowed at the time and I have since picked one up from MPB. It’s a really sharp competent lens. It is manual focus, but that suits me fine for really close up work. Overcast days, like today as I type, are perfect for macro when there is nothing better to shoot!
Great video Ben. I've actually been out this afternoon with my 80mm macro on my Fuji crop sensor camera. I also took my 70-300mm lens with a Fuji close-up adaptor to compare. To be honest I'm finding it easier with the 70-300mm due to the extra depth of field. The 80mm macro is stunningly sharp but it really needs stopping down to f8/f11 to capture any insects. Those Laowa lenses are highly rated and I've considered if for the Fuji but they only produce a 65mm so about 90mm FF equivalent. That spider image was stunning. Which set up did you use for that? Was it the reverse prime?
The small jumping spiders were captured with a combination of the reverse lens and the Laowa, some are old images and some were captured this year. If I had a choice I would go with the Laowa over the revise lens as it is considerably more sharp and more flexible in terms of working distance. I am currently editing my next macro tutorial which is concentrating on using longer focal lengths. That will be out in three weeks time (unless something manages to be pushed in front of that video). In that video I use a 100-400 with an extension tube, as well as a newly purchased 180mm macro lens.
very useful
How old is that Canon Camera ??.
If you are referring to the Canon 5d mark 3, it was released in 2013 - legendary camera.