Talk me out of this

[compuwar]

You mean this test?

Yep, looks like about 8mm or so of apparent focus- was the spider at the same aperture and/or handheld?

 

[Bigtree]

Yep, looks like about 8mm or so of apparent focus- was the spider at the same aperture and/or handheld?

No at F5 at 250.
I always shoot on a tripod and use a remote shutter release. (for ruler and flies)
I don't lock the mirror.
This is my light source and light box made from 2mm coroplast (for the back) and depron (foam for the front).

How do you get such sharp pics?

 

[compuwar]

No at F5 at 250.
I always shoot on a tripod and use a remote shutter release. (for ruler and flies)
I don't lock the mirror.

Sorry, I actually meant was the fly hand-held- however I'd recommend MLU as you may be getting some harmonic vibration in there- worth a test anyway.

 

[Bigtree]

Sorry, I actually meant was the fly hand-held- however I'd recommend MLU as you may be getting some harmonic vibration in there- worth a test anyway.

No the fly is held by tweezers, then held by a clamp. What is MLU?

 

[compuwar]

No the fly is held by tweezers, then held by a clamp. What is MLU?

Mirror Lock-Up. Depending on the system/tripod/lens holding the mirror up for about three seconds then snapping the picture should help sharpness considerably if it's vibration induced softness.

 

[Abstract]

Here's an example of an Nikon image from an Coolpix camera. I struggle to do this good. With a SLR! The second is one I shot with my 20D

Is this just a depth of field issue? Other than the legs being out of focus, the 2nd image looks fine. 😕

Anyway, the problem may be a poorly calibrated lens. The 70-200 mm f/4 is supposed to be VERY sharp....one of Canon's sharpest zoom lenses. It should be sharper than the 70-200 mm f/2.8 model, which is already sharp. The difference between Canon and Nikon isn't sharpness. If you don't get sharp images with a Canon, you won't get them with a Nikon either.

 

[dllavaneras]

If you shoot macros on a tripod and that studio stuff, you might find Helicon Focus useful for combining many images with a shallow DOF into one with a large DOF. That way you can get sharp images by shooting at larger apertures, no diffraction and a large DOF for your pics.

(DISCLAIMER: I haven't actually tried it, but from what I've read it's pretty good.)