Golden Dragon

[shane shacaluga]

We found this huge dragonfly on the beach this morning. They seem to have problems flying as their bodies are wet with the dew. It managed to fly up the beach and land in this bush where we could take some really close pics.

Unfortunately the background is not the best for these types of pics but I worked with what nature gave me.

Panasonic FZ100 using the macro mode

F6.3
1/100 SS
iso400
Dropped the EV and highlighted the colour and black a bit. This is very close to full frame!

[jack williamson]

Hello Shane, you got pretty good detail in the dragonfly for hh at 1/100. A little more detail in the eyes would have been great. The BG is fairley noisy. Looking forward to more.

Jack

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks for the comments Jack

I am finding dragonfly eyes quite complicated. They never seem to be in focus no matter how good the rest of the insect looks. Not sure what to do

Regarding the background, how do you suggest i get less noise? Lower ISO or just using a noise reduction software?

[jack williamson]

Shane I don't know a thing about the camera you were using but iso 400 usually produces pretty good images. If you had lowered the iso in this shot you would have even less shutter speed thus more likely to have motion blur. Definately run some noise reduction. Check out the macro forum for some excellent advice.

Jack

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Shane, do not know much about this kit but specs look interesting and has a nice write up by B&H. The image quality could be improved, this can happen several ways:

1. large crop
2. Underexposed shot corrected in post production. By moving the exposure to the right to lighten the image noise is introduced. Small changes are normal large adjustments can be noisy.
3. Not running noise reduction on image
4. Camera settings can influence quality (e.g., different mp modes, various image mode such as macro etc.)
This is not a complete list but covers the main issues we see in this forum.

We appreciate the posting and I love macro images. A few questions, what processing software do you use and was this a large crop. Usually, a subject should represent about 20/30% or more of a frame. Cropping to enlarge the picture reduces the image quality. Additionally, what was the camera set to 14.1 mp or 3.5. I read it has two modes and the later has less pixels to play with.

[Kerry Perkins]

Shane, dragonflies are always interesting subjects and not that easy to capture. I agree with Jeff that the DF is too big in the frame, and the upper wing is touching the edge of the frame. Would have been better to back of a tad and frame it up a little looser. The background is just too much for the subject and in some areas it is difficult to make out the wings. I hope you get more opportunities for these guys and you can find one in a cleaner environment.

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks guys, i have answered your questions in capitals Jeff

1. large crop - I DID NOT CROP THAT MUCH TO BE HONEST BUT SOME FROM THE BOTTOM AS IT WAS TOO HECTIC WITH SO MUCH FOLIAGE. I HAD NO SPACE AT TOP TO PLAY WITH
2. Underexposed shot corrected in post production. By moving the exposure to the right to lighten the image noise is introduced. Small changes are normal large adjustments can be noisy. IT WAS ACTUALLY OVEREXPOSED SO I REDUCED THE EV. I DID PUSH UP THE CONTRAST THOUGH. DOES THIS INCREASE NOISE SIGNIFICANTLY?
3. Not running noise reduction on image - I NEED TO GET PHOTOSHOP
4. Camera settings can influence quality (e.g., different mp modes, various image mode such as macro etc.) WITH THIS BRIDGE CAMERA I AM FINDING THAT WHEN I DONT SELECT THE MACRO MODE, I CANNOT GET THE AF TO FOCUS ON THINGS THIS CLOSE. WITH THE MACRO MODE THE CAMERA DICTATES WHAT SETTINGS TO USE. SO I GET GOOD FOCUS BUT BAD EVERYTHING ELSE
This is not a complete list but covers the main issues we see in this forum.
CAMERA IS SET AT 14MP




i managed to focus a bit better on the eyes on this one and it is virtually full frame just a small bit from the bottom removed. Same after effects as initial pic.

the dragonfly moved and was hanging vertically face up!

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Shane, Repost is better. Still need some noise reduction s/w but image quality is much improved. The image is too large in the frame IMO, too tight. Give the subject some room to breath. Pushing up contrast can cause IQ issues too. I did review the histogram and it looks underexposed but that might be due to exposure corrections in post production. Let's do this, the repost is good, look at the histogram before you make large adjustments. The data should be spread among the sensor without clipping or bunching on the left or right sides (can you view the histogram on the back LCD). To increase IQ keep crops under control and consider lowering ISO to 200 for close shots (I like the 400 so best advise is to purchase PS or like/same software). The higher the ISO the more sensitive the sensor is to light and the faster the shutter speed. I like the 400 ISO and that's what I use the majority of the time with my Canon gear.

I inferred that the macro mode controls the exposure. This is a trade-off you will need to play with. Let's see more from you with and without marco mode, and thanks for posting.

[Kerry Perkins]

Shane, a couple of administrative things - please don't shout with the caps lock and please don't post multiple images in a single thread. Check the guidelines for posting at the top of the forum page. It is ok to re-post an image with a suggested change made for improvement, but if you want to post a completely different image please start a new thread.

Thank you.

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks for the advice Jeff, points taken on board

Apologies for this Kerry, i mentioned i would use capitals to answer the questions as its usually simpler to make out what my answers are. Will refrain from using them in future don't worry

Regards

[Kerry Perkins]

Shane, standard netiquette practice to distinguish replies from original text is to use a different color for your text. Many people use blue. It's not a big deal, but we try to keep things low key.

[shane shacaluga]

Ok, blue it is then ;) thanks