[pics] more detail: do i need a better lense?

[afex]

so i (finally) got a tripod and, wow! what a difference! my question now is - whats next? are there any techniques i can use to get greater detail from my shots or do i need to get a macro lense? my camera is a nikon d80.

here is before and after tripod. like night and day!

thanks for looking!

 

[jwedehase]

It certainly looks like you have a lot to work with already. How much work was done after the fact in Photoshop?

The biggest thing I see is chromatic abberations. Are you shooting perfectly perpendicular to the glass?

 

[afex]

other than cropping, i do "auto levels" to remove the blue tint from the photo.

i try to line up the camera straight on, but since the lense isn't touching the glass i can't know for sure.

i tried quite a few different apertures and this is the shot that came out the clearest all around