This little orchid is what I chose as a test subject for my new Sony f2.8, 90mm Macro lens.
I’ve never used a real macro lens before so this is going to take a little getting used to for me.
The pedals on this orchid are a little on the tired side but the plant I bought has some new buds on it.
Specific Feedback Requested
All feed back Welcome.
Is the leaf on the left too dominating?
Comp and Crop OK?
Technical Details
Sony A7R IV, 90mm Macro Lens, f22, 1/250s, ISO 200
Remote flash with soft box.
Camera Raw, PS
Merv, you are fuelling my desire for that Sony more than ever. Can you please post something fuzzy/blurry so that I can overcome that feeling. Thanks.
Anyway, nice colours and angle of the flower and that darkish background stem looks just right ( ). personally I’d black out the dark green background area on the left though (had to say that ). Cheers.
Lovely subject, composition and lighting! The over-the-hill petal doesn’t bother me – it’s reality. (I’m a bit over the hill, myself.)
This (or the next blossom) could be one for some experimentation. The very interesting center area (whatever it should be called) is a bit lost with the petals behind it. Would be interesting to do a focus stack at maybe f/8 and compare a full stack with stopping before the petals.
Merv, that is a very nice shot for having never used a real macro lens before. I actually like it as presented, myself. The two green leaves seem to fill the bottom corners, but dark enough to not pull the eye away from the bloom. Nicely done.
Great test subject on this macro, Merv. I see what others are saying about the green on the left side but is dark so not too distracting. f/22 starts getting into diffraction, but I think it is only really seen when making a large print. At f/2.8 I suspect that even f/8 or 11 would also give you a very sharp image without the risk of diffraction. Experiment some starting with f/5.6 going out to see what works best for you. Also, with a wider opening that softens the back more.
Yeah, me too! (I might be better described as "On the downslope).
That sounds like a neat challenge and one that might take me some time to accomplish since I have never done that using a stacking program but I will give it a try. You’re right, it would be interesting to see those details with more definition.
Yeah, the way that lens uses magnification as the focus is far different than a 50mm prime with a large magnifying lens screwed to the end of it, but the working distance is much better and it will be easier to use after a few more shots. I’ve always used manual focus on macro so that’s a plus.
Yeah, I was concentrating on the DOF so much that I failed to remember the elephant in the room.
I do need to play around with the aperture to see what this particular lens can do in terms of sharpness and to try and find the “sweet spot”.
Thanks for reminding me about lens diffraction!
To All Members:
I really appreciate all the kind words, they are truly words of encouragement for me!
We all want to share our digital images (works of art) with others that appreciate them, want to help improve them, are willing to engage and willing to help inspire each other.
For me, I find it difficult to motivate myself if there’s nobody around that’s interested in seeing my images.
For me, commenting on other members work is as satisfying as creating my own images.
Ha! Talk about inspiration, my wife just brought in a few neat subjects from her daily walks in the woods with our furry friends and says hey: maybe you could try photographing these interesting shaped pieces of wood with the moss and lichen on them? Answer: Wow, yes, thanks sweetheart!!
Merv, this is a fine look at this orchid. The orchid stands out well, with the stem and leaf adding subtly to the view. One of the fun challenges in macro is how you use the very limited depth-of-field in single shot views. With orchids, the flowers have so much depth that you’ve got a myriad of choices. The alternative is to do stacks, which creates it’s own new set of challenges. Whether or not you see diffraction at f/22 depends on your lens and on how large you’re planning to show off the image. You can do a simple test using a subject with sharp, clean lines at a fixed distance, changing only the f-stop. Looking at the results at 100% will show you when and how much diffraction your lens shows.
HI Mark,
Thank you for chiming in on this topic.
I need to start adding the magnification level to the technical part of the topics when I use this lens, it’s a fixed focal length lens and the magnification level is the focus.
This orchid was shot at about 1:2.7 cropped down to about 1:2.4 for composition. This would print nicely since it’s so large (I think the final size was close to 8500 pixels on the vertical) Edit for Correction: I was wrong, it’s 6336 pixels on the vertical, I forgot that I cropped some off the bottom), but I doubt I will print it.
The main thing I’m trying to get used to with this lens is how much DOF I can get at various magnifications. This lens at f16 and at 1:1, DOF is razor thin, well, not that bad but it’s very shallow.
I used f22 on this shot mainly to insure a dark BG, at f16, the BG would have been brighter, the more light that the subject requires means that less of the scene will be lit. With a low ISO like 100 or 200, f22, 1/250s, it takes a lot of light to light up the subject and the fall off is huge. I could have stopped it down to ISO 50 but I don’t think my flash is strong enough for that, it was set near maximum for ISO 200.
I think it boils down to what we are willing to trade, do I trade a little sharpness for DOF or DOF for light or noise for light, the list goes on but it is a balancing act of sorts.
I suppose I could have darkened the BG in post but I try to be as deliberate about those details as I can so post processing is minimal.
I did have to darken the leaves and the stem but the BG was good, this becomes more important on subjects with hairs or spiny things because darkening or lightening between hairs close together in post is a real pain IMHO.
At 1:2.7 and f22, DOF was from barely in front of the orchid to just barely behind the pedals (just for reference).
I watched you webinar video on focus stacking and I found it very informative and helpful. I will refer back to it when I get started in focus stacking.
The lens I bought seems to be nice and sharp between f8 and f16 from corner to corner, even at f20, the central portion is still sharp with good contrast. I used a test pattern made for checking lens diffraction and distortion. I set the camera on a tripod with manual exposure settings and took a shot at every aperture opening so I could see where it starts to fall off.
You bring up a good point on intention for the image, (whether it’s for web or print).
Most of what I do is for web so even a heavy crop using a 60+ MP sensor is OK for most of what I do.
Having said that, I do have a few 1:1 macro subjects in mind that I want to print so for those I need to learn focus stacking so I can use as much of the original image as possible.
Sorry for the long winded response but maybe someone out there may find the information useful in some way.
). personally I’d black out the dark green background area on the left though (had to say that 
). Cheers.
I’ll try. 
(I might be better described as "On the downslope).