Help with inconsistent Close up shots

[KriegHammer]

Hi all,
I am a photography noob.
I use a F-Stop / Shutter chart and a one for Close up lens and Focusing range. They are either wrong or I'm nuts or both.
One day I can shoot a nice bumble bee shot in a flower, but the next day struggle to get the camera in focus on a model tank in the grass. I move the camera closer, and farther away but neither seems to work.
It seems on bright sunny days I have less problems than on hazy or over cast days.

What is your standard of measurement for DOF/Shutter speed, and using close up filters and focusing range? I can't afford a macro lens yet. one day.

Thanks for your help.
Krieg

[RichardTaylor]

As always shutter speed is high enough to stop the unwanted effect of subject motion or camera motion.

Aperture is always set to give me the DOF I want.
However when using close up lens "filters" the image quality may be significantly degraded (It looks very blurry) at wider apertures so I like to shoot at smaller apertures like F16 or F22 if I want a sharp image.

See my post (#3) in this DPS thread.
http://digital-photography-school.co...ro-budget.html

Possibly on on the cloudy or hazy days you are shooting at wider apertures.
Try shooting at smaller apertures - however you may need to supplement the available light.