The face of evil

Reef Bass

Reef Bass

colors and textures
This is a red bug on my ORA Purple Tri Color.

Redbug15s.jpg


This is the only time so far I have thought to myself "maybe I should have gotten the 180mm macro lens", which isn't bad considering how much I've been playing with the 100mm lens I ended up getting and love.

Wow, what a camera (Canon EOS 50D) and lens (Canon 100mm f2.8 macro)! I'm blown away at how good the tiny little pinhead size bug looks. The head is clearly visible as is his bloated translucent orangey body. What a sausage! I can just make out eyes and what look like mouthparts on the head. I swear he turned his head and looked at the camera for the shot.

To get the shot, I filled the viewfinder as best I could by moving the lens as close to the subject as possible and still get focus. Set ISO to 100 to reduce noise to absolute minimum, 'cuz I knew I was going to be cropping like a fiend. That bug is so small that DOF wasn't really an issue. I ended up with like f3.2 for 1/20th.

Live View was key. I was able to enlarge the area containing the bug 10x to focus. It was like Creature Feature on my display. You could notice movement of mouth parts at the bottom of the head.

Didn't do much post processing other than setting color temp and cropping heavily. I could have cropped tighter but I wanted to leave the polyp in for a size comparison and compositionally leaving the critter smallish in the shot reinforces its tinyness.

Here is the original picture from which the close up was cropped. I'd guesstimate the height of the coral shown at about one inch. I circled the bug in red. Notice how heavily I cropped and still got amazing detail. I love my camera and lens.

Oh, and that bug's life span is going to be shortened. The Enola Gay is on its way with its payload of Interceptor...

Redbugs.jpg
 
Cool cool. I have the 50D as well and my next lens purchase will probably be the 100mm macro, I'm looking forward to it :)
 
The 100mm macro lens allows me to quench my considerable macro thirst. I recommend it. Plus it opens to f2.8! Very nice for a lens of that focal length.

What other lens(es) do you use? I'll be getting a more general purpose lens eventually. Currently the Canon f2.8 24-70mm L series has my eye but not yet my wallet.
 
Thanks TS.

I know you're a fan / owner of the 24-70 L lens. In the long run, I see myself with my macro, the 24-70 L and a telephoto. Have I covered my bases well there? Does the 24-70 function for you as a decent "general purpose" or "walking around" lens when you don't have a specialty shot in mind?
 
Yes I would say the 24-70 is my most used lens in my bag. It is an amazing piece of engineering goodness that should provide decades of practical usefulness, and in my case trill and enjoyment. If I could only use 1 lens for the rest of my life, the 24-70 would be it.

Now I am also quite partial to my 70-200 f/2.8 IS. This lens and the 24-70 work as an amazing fix any problem all star team. The 70-200 is a close second if not tied with the 24-70.

The 24-70: Official (Canon) lens of wedding photographers
The 70-200 f/2.8 (IS): Official lens of the NBA. Take special notes of the sidelines of the next NBA game. I don't care what teams are playing. Over half of the lenses will be 70-200's. The 85 f/1.8 will probably be popular as well.
 
Last edited:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14107628#post14107628 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef Bass
The 100mm macro lens allows me to quench my considerable macro thirst. I recommend it. Plus it opens to f2.8! Very nice for a lens of that focal length.

What other lens(es) do you use? I'll be getting a more general purpose lens eventually. Currently the Canon f2.8 24-70mm L series has my eye but not yet my wallet.
Click to expand...
I bought the 24-70 and I really like it. It does amazing pictures for me.

Right now it's my only lens, I bought it with the 50D. I had debated back and forth about buying the 50D and maybe 2-3 cheaper lenses instead of just locking in to one lens since I only had about a $2000 budget for the initial expense. In the end I went with the 24-70 and I'm glad I did, it takes amazing pictures. Amazing.

It is pretty hard on the wallet though, but I just didn't want to get cheaper glass and have to upgrade later anyway.
 
I'd call that a strong recommendation for the 24-70 TS. I'm pretty much sold. I can see where the 70-200 would compliment it nicely.

Recty, the 50D and the 24-70? Duuuuude. I'm drooling like Homer over here. The site need a smilie for that. To me money spent on quality glass is well spent.

Ok, I'm going to have to start saving for the 24-70. I appreciate the recommendations.
 
ti-christ, thanks for the well wishes. I have the script from my vet and just need to get it filled. I decided to pick up a 10 gallon setup for a QT tank for my shrimp and crabs. I'll be using it in the future to hold new corals while I treat them.

Thanks 90sShooter. You're going to love the lens. As this thread shows, it is capable of some amazing detail on very small things. I took some portrait shots of my kids with it for the grandparents' xmas gifts and every thread and stitch in sweaters is easily discernable. Of course my camera has sufficient goodness to record and relate all that sharp texture, but if the lens didn't allow it in on the image sensor, it wouldn't be in the print.

My only complaint is that it's hard to stuff my dSLR and lens in my pocket like I can my point and shoot! :lol:

I have become best buds again with my 20+ year old Bogen 3001 tripod. It has a cumbersome head on it. I think it's time for an upgrade there. Titusville Surfer was recommending a Bogen / Manfrotto 055XPROB and 488RC2 ball head to someone (was that you?) that look good. In addition to useful features and robust construction, it has key marketing elements with the letter X and the word PRO in its model number. Plus it's black so it has to be awesome and cool, right? :p
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14122070#post14122070 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef Bass
In addition to useful features and robust construction, it has key marketing elements with the letter X and the word PRO in its model number. Plus it's black so it has to be awesome and cool, right? :p
Click to expand...

Can a Honda Civic go fast without that kind of stuff?

Coffee can welded to muffler: 5hp
NoS logo : 11hp
Cold air intake: 3hp
Giant flying nun wing bolted to the trunk: 7hp
Carbon fiber hood: 4hp
Black rims to match paint job: 5hp
26" black rims: 15hp
15" speakers wired to a 400 watt amp: 9hp
Additional alternator to power the sound system: 3hp

...of course it can't.
 
Reef bass - not sure what your budget is but RRS (really right stuff) makes a killer ballhead too. I think Doug, aka beerguy uses a RRS ballhead too.
 
Well if Beerguy has one...

Thanks for your advice but I ordered today the Bogen / Manfrotto 055XPRO tripod with a 488RC2 head. It will be here Friday. If I'm not happy with the head I'll return it and try your suggestion. At the moment I'm feeling like anything would be an improvement over what I have, not that it sucks in an unholy way but it is cumbersome and a pain to make small adjustments.
 
the wing is 10hp get it right
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14123373#post14123373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TitusvileSurfer
Can a Honda Civic go fast without that kind of stuff?

Coffee can welded to muffler: 5hp
NoS logo : 11hp
Cold air intake: 3hp
Giant flying nun wing bolted to the trunk: 7hp
Carbon fiber hood: 4hp
Black rims to match paint job: 5hp
26" black rims: 15hp
15" speakers wired to a 400 watt amp: 9hp
Additional alternator to power the sound system: 3hp

...of course it can't.
Click to expand...
 
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