raddygast
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2004
- Messages
- 179
Just thought I''d post this, both for those who were interested in seeing my red spinel in something resembling daylight, and for any who are interested in taking macro photos of gems.
I have a pretty poor camera, I suppose, for macro photography, but for the amateur hobbyist/regular guy, it''s not too bad. I''m not sure about the technical specs of the lens, I think it''s: 5.4-16.2mm, 1:2.8-4.8. It''s a Canon Powershot A70, 3.2 megapixels.
Now, I tried to take macro shots at first, just using my hands, and holding my breath, propping up my elbows, etc. But I found that to get good color coverage the stone has to be within a fairly small angle window, and it''s very difficult to rotate the camera to get this. The best bet is to keep the camera steady and somehow rotate the gem itself, on a small platform or something that can pivot. My results weren''t aesthetic (I.e. I had pencils, erasers, the small plastic case for a CF card) but they work.
Now, keeping the camera steady even when rotating the subject is almost impossible. The reason is you need to forego the flash entirely, and so to get enough light (unless you are flooding the area with really harsh halogen or incandescent light) the shutter speed has to be fairly slow. I realize now that I used program-control mode, so the camera set the aperture and shutter speed itself based on evaluative light metering. Probably if I was a better photographer I''d be able to tweak the aperture for maximum effect, but I''m still learning.
Nevertheless the shutter speeds are often simply not fast enough for a steady pic, especially when taking close up shots. So you *must* use a tripod, but I bought a $9 tripod, a tiny plastic contraption that is designed for macro shots. It''s called the Giotto BallPod. It''s not perfect, as the maximum downtilt of the camera platform occurs on a side of the tripod that is not entirely stable, so you do need to put your hand on one of the tripod legs to hold it steady; takes some practice. You could use it on the stable side but then you can''t get the camera to tilt downward more than 45 degrees, and I was taking some pics with the lens facing almost perpendicular to the surface and subject.
Here is another tip: put your camera in delayed drive mode if you have the option, so that when you press the shutter it doesn''t expose immediately. This is because even with a tripod, pressing the shutter button does shake the camera a little bit. My camera has a 2sec and 10sec delay button, which is GREAT. I use the 2 sec, press the button, let go of the camera and make sure the tripod is steady by putting my hands/weight on it.
Focusing tips: make sure you''re in macro focus mode. One thing I did not realize: if you are zoomed in, even the slightest bit, the focusing is highly compromised. The best focusing range occurs if the camera lens is zoomed all the way out. You can verify this by going into manual focus mode and seeing that the focus range is much better when zoomed all the way out. So bottom line: better to bring the subject as close to the lens as you can focus, than to have it further, then zoom in. When you zoom in you compromise focus. Also try to set the focus zones to the center of the camera viewfinder, if possible -- it helps with focusing, so the camera doesn''t accidentally focus on something else that''s off center (like your finger).
As for lighting, man it''s tough. Basically I ended up using the auto-white-balance the most; it came closest to actually replicating what I saw with my eyes. But it was never perfect by any means. I think the best bet is to shoot that way unless the lighting is really weird. Then to adjust in photoshop. With more photography experience one learns the best exposure settings (ISO film speed, exposure compensation, light metering, aperture, etc.) but you still have to make a color balance compromise, then just tweak from memory.
Three collages follow.
I have a pretty poor camera, I suppose, for macro photography, but for the amateur hobbyist/regular guy, it''s not too bad. I''m not sure about the technical specs of the lens, I think it''s: 5.4-16.2mm, 1:2.8-4.8. It''s a Canon Powershot A70, 3.2 megapixels.
Now, I tried to take macro shots at first, just using my hands, and holding my breath, propping up my elbows, etc. But I found that to get good color coverage the stone has to be within a fairly small angle window, and it''s very difficult to rotate the camera to get this. The best bet is to keep the camera steady and somehow rotate the gem itself, on a small platform or something that can pivot. My results weren''t aesthetic (I.e. I had pencils, erasers, the small plastic case for a CF card) but they work.
Now, keeping the camera steady even when rotating the subject is almost impossible. The reason is you need to forego the flash entirely, and so to get enough light (unless you are flooding the area with really harsh halogen or incandescent light) the shutter speed has to be fairly slow. I realize now that I used program-control mode, so the camera set the aperture and shutter speed itself based on evaluative light metering. Probably if I was a better photographer I''d be able to tweak the aperture for maximum effect, but I''m still learning.
Nevertheless the shutter speeds are often simply not fast enough for a steady pic, especially when taking close up shots. So you *must* use a tripod, but I bought a $9 tripod, a tiny plastic contraption that is designed for macro shots. It''s called the Giotto BallPod. It''s not perfect, as the maximum downtilt of the camera platform occurs on a side of the tripod that is not entirely stable, so you do need to put your hand on one of the tripod legs to hold it steady; takes some practice. You could use it on the stable side but then you can''t get the camera to tilt downward more than 45 degrees, and I was taking some pics with the lens facing almost perpendicular to the surface and subject.
Here is another tip: put your camera in delayed drive mode if you have the option, so that when you press the shutter it doesn''t expose immediately. This is because even with a tripod, pressing the shutter button does shake the camera a little bit. My camera has a 2sec and 10sec delay button, which is GREAT. I use the 2 sec, press the button, let go of the camera and make sure the tripod is steady by putting my hands/weight on it.
Focusing tips: make sure you''re in macro focus mode. One thing I did not realize: if you are zoomed in, even the slightest bit, the focusing is highly compromised. The best focusing range occurs if the camera lens is zoomed all the way out. You can verify this by going into manual focus mode and seeing that the focus range is much better when zoomed all the way out. So bottom line: better to bring the subject as close to the lens as you can focus, than to have it further, then zoom in. When you zoom in you compromise focus. Also try to set the focus zones to the center of the camera viewfinder, if possible -- it helps with focusing, so the camera doesn''t accidentally focus on something else that''s off center (like your finger).
As for lighting, man it''s tough. Basically I ended up using the auto-white-balance the most; it came closest to actually replicating what I saw with my eyes. But it was never perfect by any means. I think the best bet is to shoot that way unless the lighting is really weird. Then to adjust in photoshop. With more photography experience one learns the best exposure settings (ISO film speed, exposure compensation, light metering, aperture, etc.) but you still have to make a color balance compromise, then just tweak from memory.
Three collages follow.
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