E-P1 Does Macro (and Macro-Like) with Kit Lens

[DRabbit]

I went away this past weekend to visit family in Pennsylvania. My aunt has a very cool garden, so I got to play around with macros. It's been a long time since I've done macros since I could never justify buying a dedicated macro lens, but it was fun to do them again! I love the close focusing capabilities of the kits lens (14-42mm).

The lighting was superb. I shot all in .jpg and most of them only needed a tiny bit of post processing (a little cropping, sharpening). I LOVE Olympus colors and I'm digging the VIVID setting on the camera.

No tripod. I used auto focus, but fine-tuned after confirmation. If I remember correctly, most were shot at f/8.

 

[functus]

These are gorgeous ... how much fiddling did you have to do after the camera finished auto-focusing?

 

[DRabbit]

These are gorgeous ... how much fiddling did you have to do after the camera finished auto-focusing?

Sometimes none. Sometimes just a little bit. For example, with the fly, I was having a hard time getting the fly itself in exact sharp focus because the camera kept focusing on the flower (because the fly is so small). It was really never more than just a fine adjustment to get the part of the bug/flower I wanted in focus.

 

[Thardy]

Those photos are really nice. That camera with the kit lens would be great for traveling.

 

[slosync]

I love the close focusing capabilities of the kits lens (14-42mm).

The lighting was superb. I shot all in .jpg and most of them only needed a tiny bit of post processing (a little cropping, sharpening). I LOVE Olympus colors and I'm digging the VIVID setting on the camera.

No tripod. I used auto focus, but fine-tuned after confirmation. If I remember correctly, most were shot at f/8.

Hi Amy.... Talk about lighting, this is splendid! You really nailed the focus on this one, it's small but you can see a self portrait of yourself in the water droplets,

How close was the lens from the plant on this shot?

I have the Oly 17mm f/2.8 pancake which can get down to about 6 inches from the subject. I'll have to run out in the yard and give it a try.

Thanks for sharing.
Don

 

[Eric T]

Amy,
Your photos are just amazing. And then to think that you used a kit lens without a tripod.
Terrific!!
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Thardy]

somewhat off-topic, but something that has been worrying me recently is the proliferation of new battery types with each new camera produced (For example, the New Sony Alpha models have different batteries to the previous models) resulting in a re-investment of spare batteries. My question is: When travelling off the beaten track, i.e. a camping safari or similar, say for 3 weeks, the photog would have to carry 20 spare charged up batteries when away from mains electricity. Not many digical cameras use AA batteries. Any thoughts?

I did read an article where a photographer used a digital camera in the Amazon for several weeks. I think he used some sort of solar charger.

I did some poking around and found this.

 

[DRabbit]

Thanks Don - I didn't even realize you could see me in the droplet - LOL! I was very close... maybe 6-8" away (I think).

Thanks Eric - The kit lens is really an enjoyable one. I'd love it to be faster (f/2.8-3.5 would make me happy, similar to the 14-54mm), but it's a great all-around lens none-the-less.