More inspiration from the Olympus at Home series. (Photography)

[flamin lib]

Just watched this facebook video and felt inspired.
https://www.facebook.com/getolympus/videos/553646108654805/

Yes, it is an infomercial and a lot of it is OLY specific but the ideas for lighting, posing and background as well as the post processing are universal. Besides, it has some really nice shots.

So here is my first outing:

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Not there yet but I think a large part of success is to shoot hundreds of pics, the keep rate is extremely low. These little beggars never stop moving. Plus I'm pushing the lens beyond what it's designed for. May have to break down and get a dedicated macro lens.

[Solly Mack]

1. Beautiful!

[alfredo]

2. Very good images.

I put my camera on sequential shooting unless my camera is braced. 5 quick shots helps ensures one hits the sweet spot. I fight old man wobble when I get up close.

I use the LUMIX 14mm 2.5 because it is a good lens and can get up close.

My other lens is the Laowa 17mm 1.8

The Industar. 50-2 50mm 3.5 with extension tubes is a real hoot to use. If you happen to buy one, get the original hood. It attaches to the aperture ring. Makes life much easier.

[flamin lib]

3. These were with the 12-100 f4 PRO and a 14mm extension tube.

It gets close to 1:1 at about 2 inches, 4:1 at about 2 feet. These were shot at 1:2 and cropped a bit. I need to work with it some more but I don't think it likes the extension tube. Nothing seems as sharp as it could be and it looks like camera movement but these are flash pics with an effective shutter speed of 1/10,000th. It's not camera movement.

I've got the 12-50 f3.5-6.3 video lens (out of production) but the macro feature there is at a distance of 1.5 inches. Living critters don't like to be approached that closely and it makes lighting problematic.

The 60mm 2.8 macro gets 1:1 at 8 inches but in an interview one of the management types says they're working on a 100mm macro. The 100 would be better for this application but who knows when/if it will be available. If I can find a 60mm refurb I'll go that way. Besides, it treats my GAS (gear acquisition syndrome).

[alfredo]

4. I use a 10mm I have difficulty holding still at higher magnification

I also have a diopter. It’s very nice.