The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
On this Thanksgiving Day I’m especially thankful for the abundance of subjects I have to shoot through the efforts of my master gardener. These succulents are just starting to bloom and this was the largest bunch of buds. The entire cluster is less than 2 inches long and each large bud is about 2-3mm in diameter. If you look closely you can see a couple of tiny party crashers.>=))>
Specific Feedback
Got out the old high mag rig and went old school with a single capture. Doing a stack with my 200 is a real bear because it’s hard to manually focus the small increments required and the old guy just doesn’t like being manipulated all that much. Oh well, after tens of thousands of shots I’m inclined to cut him a little slack. At least he’s still incredibly sharp. Hey Sony, how about an E-mount 200mm?
Technical Details
Sony A77II
Minolta 200mm Macro
ISO 400, 1/8 @ f22
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Much better than a cluster of Brussel Sprouts, Bill. It looks like you’re going to be set for subjects for the winter with these coming on so abundantly. I’m counting five of your party crashers. A nice addition to the cluster.
Hi Bill,
Lovely composition here. DOF is perfect and the diagonal composition makes it really a joy to peruse (top left to bottom right). I gotta say, stacking is a bear, and I sometimes wonder why we think having the whole frame in focus is ideal. There is something to be said for selective emphasis, and this shot and your old 200 achieved it admirably.
ML
Thanks for this Dennis. Might be worth some checking. I can use the 200 on the A7rIII with an adapter but there are none of the nice E mount features like focus magnification and real DOF. I wonder if this lens would have any of those features.
Not sure. Even though it’s manual focus, if it has the electrical contacts, those features would probably work. I haven’t used it in awhile, but I believe they work with my old Canon 180 and an MC11 adapter.
Dennis: While snooping around B&H I noticed that Sony is coming out with a 100mm GM macro that will go to 1.4x! It will accept the Sony TCs so you would have a 200mm f5.6 compared to the f4 of my old 200. Not sure that extra stop of light would be missed all that much. Also with the 2x on you can get 2.8x magnification. It just went on my Santa list.>=))>
Bill, I am so glad that you have such subjects through the winter. It’s Deadsville around here in winter. I really am enjoying this shot. To me one shot is good. It’s the way I am used to seen photos. Those party crashers are really tiny considering how small the buds are! Great job!
Wonderful!! There is something special about succulents, including their flowers. I love the soft light and colors here, and the BG that gives a hint of the plant. My sensitive ones are living inside for the winter, but we have yet to even have a frost.
Yesterday our older daughter already had their holiday wreath on the front door – it’s always homemade and this year it was all gorgeous succulents, from their yard. (I should have made a picture!.) They live in a banana belt looking down on the north reach of San Francisco Bay.
Bill, you’ve got a great bunch of succulents to study. This view looks great. I’m totally with you about wanting someone to come out with a ~200 mm macro lens for mirrorless. I’ve looked at that Mitakon but it’s lack of auto focus makes stacking at high magnification very problematic. BTW, apparently Canon used patents and copyrights to prevent the non-camera, lens manufactures from selling mirrorless macro lenses until recently. I do see a Venus Optics 180 mm in a Sony E mount at B&H, with a Canon R mount version coming “soon”. It does have autofocus. BTW, I tested my Canon old 100mm macro (a truely excellent lens) with both Canon 2X and 1.4X converters and could see the reduced resolution at 1:1 on my screen, so it becomes a question of are you likely to make large prints…
Mark: I’ve decided to pull the trigger on the new Sony 100. I already have a 2x and use it a lot with my 70-200. The Sony GM lenses are pretty incredible so I’m hoping the results will be as impressive as what I get out of the 70-200. >=))>
