16 replies to this topic

[AntsMAN]

Hey guys, I'm looking at buying a new camera and was wondering what would be my best choice for taking macro and video.

 

This is what I'm currently looking at:

 

Canon EOS Rebel T5 18.0MP Camera with EF-S 18-55mm DC III Kit $399.99

Canon EF-S 55-250 IS Lens $149.96

Edited by AntsMAN, July 11 2016 - 5:35 AM.

[drtrmiller]

Try this: http://amzn.to/29sxK3d

Also look around tomorrow, June 12, on Amazon.com.  Tomorrow is "Prime Day," and there will supposedly be lots of deals.

[AntsMAN]

Okay, thanks drtmiller.

[Batspiderfish]

Good macro really depends on what kind of lens you're rocking and the quality of your lighting.

You don't need to own a macro lens to get good closeups (I don't.) I primarily like to use coupling rings, but also sometimes dabble with reversing rings/extension tubes/bellows, most of which are quite cheap. The coupling ring is my favorite, because you don't have to go out of your way to manually open and close the aperture when you're ready to shoot. An open aperture is very useful for focusing on your subject, but if it's left open during your shot, you'll get a really awesome picture of one little part of an ant. All you need asides from the coupling ring is another lens to screw into it backwards. You'll have to make sure you get the right diameter for the built-in or interchangeable lens on your camera AND the lens you want to couple to it. It works like a double-male screw that goes where you would attach a lens filter or hood.

Decent vintage lenses for use in coupling can be really cheap. I like to look for them in pawn shops and antique stores, but you can also find them on eBay. I find it's best to stick lenses in the general 50mm focal length range, reversed onto an automatic lens of your choosing.

You'll also need to read up on flash setups for macro and light diffusion techniques, as lighting is the second (or first) most important part.

The master himself, Alex Wild of Myrmecos, writes about macro photography a lot on his blog: http://www.myrmecos....crophotography/

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 11 2016 - 5:43 AM.

[AntsMAN]

I think I'm going to get the camera for now and get used to it.

What kind of light should I look for, something LED with settings for the intensity.

[Batspiderfish]

I definitely need to learn to use light better, but this video was made using a 30 year old (edit: Minolta 58 f1.4) lens over a regular camcorder and a small LED array:

 

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 11 2016 - 6:18 AM.

[drtrmiller]

Oh, sorry I forgot you were in Canada.  Everything is a lot more expensive up there, and $300-400 CAD is like nothing.  Those prices will probably be higher up in CA.

 

In that case, if you have a good camera on your cell phone, I might recommend getting a clip-on or strap-on macro lens for that, which only costs a few bucks.  In the right hands, you can do a lot with very inexpensive tools.

 

Also, I'm not sure why you'd need a lens with a focal length greater than 55 mm, unless you plan on making a macro telescope with extension tubes.

 

Edit:  I just checked Amazon.ca, and the price for a T5 in new condition is the same as the US! Weird!

Edited by drtrmiller, July 11 2016 - 6:05 AM.

[AntsMAN]

$460.00 total for just the camera, I'm going to get a 16g card to go with.

[Batspiderfish]

Oh, sorry I forgot you were in Canada.  Everything is a lot more expensive up there, and $300-400 CAD is like nothing.  Those prices will probably be higher up in CA.

 

In that case, if you have a good camera on your cell phone, I might recommend getting a clip-on or strap-on macro lens for that, which only costs a few bucks.  In the right hands, you can do a lot with very inexpensive tools.

 

Also, I'm not sure why you'd need a lens with a focal length greater than 55 mm, unless you plan on making a macro telescope with extension tubes.

 

Edit:  I just checked Amazon.ca, and the price for a T5 in new condition is the same as the US! Weird!

I've never really tried to understand the physics of what I was doing with my lenses or really refine the technique, but I've had some weird results by experimenting with coupling of the various lenses I've collected over the years, putting the plane of focus in some totally useless places. 

 

The 55mm range seems just right in most cases, especially with fast lenses.

[Barristan]

if you only want to take ant macros, you could also buy a super zoom camera + close-up lens + manual external flash. The problem with DSLR is that you won't get high magnification without further investment. I use a Canon Powershot SX50 HS + Raynox DCR-250 close-up lens + Yungnuo 560ii flash since 2012 and I'm pleased with that setup. Without an external flash it is quite hard to make sharp macro pictures of ants (since ants move most of the time or some part of the ant moves like the antenna and you have to use a small aperture for depth of field which will require a lot of light).

I use the super zoom because you don't have to worry much about depth of field (small sensor = a lot of depth of field) + these cameras have a large zoom in combination with a close-up lense you'll get a very high magnification (even higher than with a 1:1 macro lens)

[AntsMAN]

Something like this, but I see it is a one lens camera, you cannot change the lenses.

 

Canon PowerShot SX420 IS 20MP Digital Camera

Edited by AntsMAN, July 11 2016 - 10:51 AM.

[AntsMAN]

I went with the Canon EOS Rebel T5 18.0MP Camera with EF-S 18-55mm DC III Kit, due to the price and versatility. I plan on buying a few lenses in the future.

Will be here Wednesday.

[drtrmiller]

You can use a DSLR to take macro shots without a macro lens, however you will need extension tubes.  "Dumb" tubes that aren't connected to the camera circuitry are very inexpensive ($20-30), but you lose the ability to adjust f-stop (though you can work around this).  More expensive tubes allow full automatic control of the lens.

 

Barristan is correct that you get a much more shallow depth of field on a DSLR, on account of the larger sensor, and if you keep the f-stop too low, as I probably did in all those shots.  The camera and clip-on macro lens he mentioned are probably a bit more user friendly, and he gets very good results.  But ultimately, you'll be able to do much more with a DSLR if you have the right add-ons and develop proper technique.

Here are a few examples of what you can take with a kit lens and "dumb" extension tubes.

 

Edited by drtrmiller, July 11 2016 - 12:15 PM.

[EstuaryAnts]

Dang now I'm interested!

[AntsMAN]

[drtrmiller]

You can have YouTube stabilize the footage after uploading and before publishing publicly. I highly recommend it for future uploads!

Are you satisfied with everything? Looks pretty good to me.

[AntsMAN]

Yeah so far I'm really happy. I plan on making a few DIY extension tubes of different lengths. I'm making a ring light, just using a powerful flashlight for now. And I'm using a guitar stand for a camera stand, works good too lol. Hoping to get out today and get some good footage of my ant hunting areas.