Please Help...Getting Frustrated

[77railer]

I have a Canon Rebel XT and wanted to take some macro shots of our tank and other various items in the world. I purchased a

TAMRON AF 18-200mm 1:3.5-6.3 (IF) MACRO 62 A14

The above info means nothing to me as I am very novice in my photography. It said macro and that is what I wanted so I bought it,lol.

Problem is I dont have a clue what Im doing...I look at everyones macro shots and they are awsome..looks like you are right on the subject...

When I zoom in to the macro setting a fix the lens on a subject with tripod or without I have to be at 6-8 inches away for it to get focused eith manually or auto. What setting should I be using on the camera..I know nothing about photography and could use a helping hand...alot of money was paid for this camera and lens and just dont wanna see it go to waste...thanks..


Leroy

 

[gregr]

I looked at the specs on that lens and the closest you can get to the subject is 18", which is pretty good for a zoom lens, and great when you consider it's 18" zoomed all the way in or at the wide end. With a lot of lenses the more you zoom in the further back you have to be.
So first thing is... don't get closer than 18" to the subject
As a test to see what the lens (and you and the camera) can do try putting the camera on a tripod and focusing on something that is stationary. The lens should be in manual focus mode for this test. Put the camera in aperture priority [Av] and then set the aperture to f11. This is going to give you a longish shutter speed, hence the need for the tripod. The ISO should be 400 or lower to keep the pics from being too grainy. Try auto white balance and if the pics are coming out too blue we can deal with that later.
The camera has a self-timer- you should give that a try, especially if your shutter speeds are slower than about 1/45 of a second, roughly.
If you have the manual for the camera it will explain how to make all the setting changes- holler if you need any clarification. Also- if you post a picture or two we can fine-tune the suggestions, but this will get you started on the right track.

 

[gregr]

By the way- this article explains how the camera works, in terms of shutter speeds, apertures, etc.

 

[77railer]

Will take some pics tomorrow...thanks for the head start...


Leroy

 

[gregr]

I forgot to add a mention about magnification. True macro lenses will get you 1:1 magnification. 1:1 can also be described as lifesize; the subject is actual size on a single frame of film. 1:2 would be half lifesize. That's how they measure magnification in close-up photography.
The lens you got does about 1/3 lifesize- just so you know. That is very good for a zoom lens like that but just wanted to let you know you won't be able to fill the frame with a single zooanthid or the like. You have a couple relatively inexpensive options to get more magnification (extension tubes or close-up filters like the 500D) but they require a little skill to get sharp results so you may want to work on your technique a bit first.

 

[77railer]

Thanks...next time I will get a 1:1...any inexspensive lenses for only macro?

 

[gregr]

Canon makes a 50mm macro lens that is around $250 but it only does half lifesize. The 100mm macro lens is the one that most people end up with and it goes for about $470.