Frog Macro

Frog Macro, originally uploaded by ....Tim.

Yes another Macro shot. I really like this extension tube kit, for £9.99 I have certainly got my money's worth from it. With this shot I used the "DOF Hack" that I read about to increase the DOF.

When using extension tubes such as the ones I have, your camera has no electronic connection to your lens; this means that the camera has no control over the lens. Firstly this means you have to manually focus on your subject, this is difficult normally, but when focusing on such small subjects it becomes very tricky indeed.

The slightest twist of the focus ring can take the subject in and out of focus very quickly with such a small depth of field. So to increase the DOF you need to set a smaller aperture. To do this you must attach the lens as normal to the camera body, set the required aperture and hold the DOF preview button. With this button depressed you must now remove the lens and attach the tubes and the lens again.

The camera will still say f/0 but your lens will have been set to f/10, f/20 or whatever you chose. This choice will take practice and experience as too high a number will decrease the amount of light to the point where you will need a very long exposure to expose your image sufficiently. Not set it high enough and you will still over expose your shot.

Experience will help you set the right balance and soon you will be able to get the settings your require for your chosen shooting method. This shot was in quite bright daylight, a shutter speed of around 1/250 and the aperture was set to f/20.

If this keeps up my photography knowledge and hopefully skills will come along nicely.