cheapskate macro with KM 18-200

[pai]

finger itchy, so went to botanical gardens. hehe, noticed that the 18-70 kit lens has "MACRO" on it but no manual focusing ring :sweat:

ended up using my 18-200 lens, with a hoya +4 CUL on it (bought last time to use with my A2)

here are some pix. only resize, no cropping or other pp. no flash. using tripod with one leg extended for support (too cheapskate to buy a separate monopod). can't match a real macro lens of cos, but filter only cost $27!

 

[TME]

Pretty good! But kinda lacks the punch... may not be the lens though... never really experimented with macro though...

 

[Drudkh]

the 18-70 has no focusing ring? isn't it at the tip of the lens?

 

[AncientMariner]

the 18-70 has no focusing ring? isn't it at the tip of the lens?

You are right. The focusing ring is covered by the hood (when it is not in use and reversed) and even in that position, the hood can still be used to operate the ring in manual mode.

 

[pai]

argh! you're right! wah man i'm damn blur.

but that is one small focussing ring... !

 

[GENO]

argh! you're right! wah man i'm damn blur.

but that is one small focussing ring... !

;p hee hee

 

[pai]

Pretty good! But kinda lacks the punch... may not be the lens though... never really experimented with macro though...

thanks. you're right, i also find that the image doesn't really pop. well, sharpness, contrast, saturation all set to 0, and no pp done. if add a little contrast and sharpening, they do look a little better:

this is definitely not the best the lens can do. cloudy and slightly breezy day, so the pink bug was shot at 1/10 seconds even at iso 1600... i couldn't hold it steady at 200mm with CUL added...

grasshopper shot... i think i misfocused, so sharpest part is behind the head, not at the eyes. ohwell. practice practice practice.

 

[sulhan]

Hi Pai...

Over lunch it tot of just playing with the image abit...

rgds,
sulhan

 

[pai]

thanks sulhan. what post-processing did you do?

 

[TME]

I think he raised the levels to brighten it and then USM to make it sharp.. can see some artifacting at the discontinous edges...