Novice Macro Photography

[Capn Kush]

These look great! I'm jealous...can't justify the cost of a macro lens for my DSLR. Spent too much on the frame and can't afford good glass.

What did that macro glass set you back?

 

[David Bowman]

Capn Kush! A good quality 1:1 macro lens starts at around what a good DSLR body costs and, as with everything photography related, goes up from there. Mine listed for $470 with a $50 rebate from the manufacturer. I also filter and hood every lens I have for protection from the elements and prying fingers so it ended up close to $500.

 

[OttawaGreen]

Nice pics! More please. How zoomed can you go? Can you see trichomes?

 

[David Bowman]

OttawaGreen! I can get a true 1:1 level of magnification which means that it is a true life-size image that is being taken. These tops are slightly larger than the image frame so in order to get the entire top into the frame, these photos are more like 1:1.5 or 1:2. Anything that is smaller than the actual frame size can be taken at a true 1:1 magnification. As you can see by these photos, I can get pretty darn close to the plants and while you can see that there are trichomes, without further magnification it is impossible to see individual trichomes. For those shots you will need a microscope camera, something that can enlarge at least 100X IMHO, and there are numerous inexpensive USB models out there but their DOF is very shallow and not adjustable. I have one that goes from 100X-400X that I use to take trichome shots.

 

[Capn Kush]

Capn Kush! A good quality 1:1 macro lens starts at around what a good DSLR body costs and, as with everything photography related, goes up from there. Mine listed for $470 with a $50 rebate from the manufacturer. I also filter and hood every lens I have for protection from the elements and prying fingers so it ended up close to $500.

Oh wow. I'll start checking the local pawn shops, though the resell value on glass is like that of gold.