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EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

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    EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

    It's always said to be, so I thought I would check it out.
    Used the smallest, sharpest dress-maker's pin I could find. Set up a pin held by Blu-Tac on a solid kitchen work surface, illuminated with a 150watt halogen security light + Lastolite reflector, and soon realised how any movement or shake would make things impossible...
    Tried several different shutter speeds, flash, d.o.fs etc. Flash didn't help - tended to reflect too much shine. Tripod was locked rigid, focusing done manually.
    Image shown is exactly as it came out of the camera - no cropping, sharpening or processing.



    Conclusion - either pins aren't all that sharp or I need to try something different....
    Any suggestions, or, better still, can anyone else have a go and get a sharper pin image?

    50D, EF100mm Macro, 0.3sec, f16.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Chris J; 15-08-2009, 14:50.
    Just chuggin' along.

    #2
    Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

    Perhaps you could file it?

    Comment


      #3
      Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

      I think you have to 'unsharp mask' it.
      Roy

      Comment


        #4
        Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

        how about a razorblade my problem with the 100mm is depth of focus or lack of

        Comment


          #5
          Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

          Thanks for the suggestions. guys.
          Just thought of it as an interesting test of the lens, but turned out to be more challenging than I thought - focusing on a pin head was not easy, avoiding any type of movement seems crucial, illumination and exposure quite fun, too.
          Anyone else willling to give it a try? Would be interested to see results from the MP-E65....
          Cheers, chris.
          Just chuggin' along.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

            Most things when magnified turn out to be less than you thought or you see more than you would have thought. (if you see what I mean) lol.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

              Originally posted by Tripod View Post
              Most things when magnified turn out to be less than you thought or you see more than you would have thought. (if you see what I mean) lol.
              I know what you mean John. ;) Also how roughly made some stuff looks when magnified.

              Chris, great shot, at least your image is sharp. ;)
              Mick Camera Craniums

              Comment


                #8
                Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

                The pin on the left was taken with 100 Macro.
                The one on the right with 100 macro and a set of extension tubes.

                The pin is 0.6mm Dia.

                (I thought it was smooth and highly polished.)
                Attached Files
                Roy

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

                  Sharpened.
                  Attached Files
                  Roy

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

                    Hi, Roy.
                    Yes, I thought they were highly polished, but it doesn't stand such close inspection.
                    All I am getting is a thumbnail on both your posts, and if I try to enlarge them the whole screen goes dark and I get a message saying I don't have permission,.
                    Can you post the full size images?
                    What length extenson tubes?
                    Cheers, Chris.
                    Just chuggin' along.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??



                      If you follow this link to my web site you can see the images full size.
                      Click on the image and it lets you view x2 x3 O etc.

                      Hope this helps.
                      PS difficulty is did this rather quickly as wife called for evening meal (Honest Guv). The needle needs to be at perfect right angles. Mine wasn't hence focus problem.
                      Roy

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

                        Thanks - hope doing it didn't spoil your tea....
                        Like the black background and lighting - flash?
                        Was surprised how (what seems like a) comparatively little effect a full set of tubes had on the image size.
                        Yes, set-up for right angles etc isn't as easy as it looks.
                        Cheers, Chris.
                        (Will try to measure the diameter of my dress-maker's pin if I can find it again.)
                        Just chuggin' along.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

                          Coincedentally, I was playin with a needle the other day and experimenting with stacking. Using the MPE, this was an early attempt at getting a catchlight in the eye. I need to work on the technique but it certaily provides much more DOF.

                          Graeme
                          Attached Files

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

                            HI
                            I really like that.
                            What software & lens and how much did you have to crop the image?
                            Roy

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: EF100mm Macro - Pin Sharp??

                              Its the MPE at x5. It was sitting on a focus rail which is essential for moving the camera between shots(in this case we were probably talking about about movements less than 1mm!).
                              The Combine ZP creates a narrow band of distortion around the edge of the frame so thats been cut, plus some dead space of the sides to square it up. Its not really magnified by cropping. I fed a stack of 8 images into Combine ZP which it then registered and combined. Just search for Combine ZP, it is freeware.

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