Samples of macro shot with Canon S5 and Pana FZ50

[cecil]

Hi cecil here. My first post in this macro thread.
I started with a canon 30D and a 150mm F2.8 macro lens to shoot macro and faced many problems and ended with a prosumer camera with liveview and diopters for better macro shoots of micro organisms and insects such as tiny spiders and tree hoppers. Here are some examples, c&c welcome.

skullface



ant mimic spider eating ant

Oversized

Portrait of a moth

Oversized

[lbroccoli523]

i really like these pictures! how did you get so close? i love the detail

[cecil]

Hi L Brocoli sorry for the late reply. I use a prosumer camera like the S5 or the Panasonic Fz50 and slap on 2 +5 hoya diopters to the front of the lens, put on a filter and get as near as possible to the insects (like 1 to 6 inches) and shoot when its in focus.

[Kierobau]

Hi, Cecil could you please re-post your pics at the correct size as i too have this camera and was trying yesterday to shoot macro with the standard super mac mode.

[cecil]

Hi Kierobau, the super macro mode does not work for me as its not near enough. Get a +5 hoya diopter and slap it in front of the lens (you'll need to buy an adapter) and use your build in flash to shoot. distance is around 6 to 12 inches.
Set to F8, zoom in to around 10 to 11 optical and shoot.

[Kierobau]

Thank you very much cecil, i must say that these are incrediable shots, and thank you for the information, i do have cheap macro lense but have never used it, i might dust it off . . .

[daft_biker]

Cool shots....that skullface is something else Am guessing it's a caterpillar?

[silentnight_913]

I don't know what that first photo is of, but that creature has one seriously frightening grill.

Focusing macro shots is hard, but you did it perfectly in all three photos. You did these hand-held?

[anaik]

Wow! nice shots Cecil ... I like all the pictures, each one is beautiful.
I would like to try using the diopters.

You mentioned about the "ant mimic spider eating ant" I do not see that photo.

Cheers
Amit

[BulldogMom]

Awesome photos Cecil !!!

Very clear and great detail.