Does anyone have any tips for getting good closeups of slime molds? At the moment I am using a sigma 105mm macro and a manually reversed 50mm (translation: holding the 50mm on the front of the lens).
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You might also consider focus stacking, which is what @alison_pollack does. See this observation of the week post. And you’ll want to use a diffused flash, of course.
One issue with narrow apertures (i.e. high f stops) is that diffraction softens the image. With focus stacking you can shoot at an optimal aperture (usually around f/5.6-8) and not suffer from diffraction. Some cameras, like Canon and Nikon, have an automatic focus stacking function which makes it a lot easier but you can’t use a third party lens like a Sigma, unfortunately. There are a ton of YouTube tutorials for focus stacking.
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Yes. I will have to learn how to do focus stacking (the camera can’t do it automatically). It looks like I can take the lens up to about f/16 before I will get too much diffraction limiting, and yes I do use a diffused flash.
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Get a focus stacking rail, make sure that it moves smoothly. I put Arca-Swiss mounts on it, and have a flat 360 tripod head for the camera attachment, also with an Arca-Swiss mount. It’s a pretty small package, and with it on a tripod you have a lot of fine control.
The knurled control knobs allow for sub-millimeter focus control, so you focus once, then adjust for every other photo by moving the camera along the slider. Best to be using fully manual focus, or have your camera set to back-focus so that the focus button and the shutter button are two different controls.
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Unless you’re shooting on akevel if one “pod” in frame, you don’t really need stacking, flash alone will help you with wgat you photograph. I don’t recommend using anything higher than f16, with stacking you can use even more opened aperture.
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I think I’m getting a bit better… Should probably get around to getting a reversing ring at some point…
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