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You got to the right place at the right time! With the right equipment for what can be a huge enlargement.
I initially viewed this on an iPhone, and it improperly cropped the shot. Sort of a joke to view on an iPhone, but the elements of design are always visible, unless it gives one an unintended crop. Then I looked at it on my iPad and it cropped it again differently. Only after a copied it to a viewer did I see the full shot. Then I said wow. I encourage others to make sure you see the full image. I love shots in Utah. Did you get to Bryce or Arches? What do you plan to do with this image? Blow it up to 10 feet? For a landscape photographer, merging images is a nice option versus a not yet released 24mm lens.
Best,
JackJackFor a shot with that much range of focus depth, I would reccommend focus stacking. Got to have zero wind on the flower, and a tripod
helical makes great software to do it and you can get a free trial.http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconfocus.html
You can do it in Photoshop as described here
http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/tutorials/150808-focus-stacking-photoshop-cs5.htmlIn the work I have previously submitted here, I had a different vision, and chose not to use focus stacking. But I have done so in the past and found Helicon to be amazingly fast and easy. After doing it in Photoshop, Helicon makes it look like magic.
Over sharpening is not the answer as you admit. Macro with the S2 is terrific, but with less depth focus stacking is an answer.
Hope this helps,
JackJackDavid the noise option would be very cool.
There are times when a high frame rate is no big deal, so the optional tradeoff would be very nice. Glad to hear it can be done if Leica wants to do so.I also agree on wanting the option to switch the direction of setting f stop. My brain is programed the opposite direction, and there is no firmwear adjustment for my brain. So every time I turn on the camera, I have to remind myself.
Jackf11 gives a bit of depth. If it doesn't, there is always focus stacking. Didn't need it this time, but it's always a nice option.
The 120mm does not allow you to get 1:1. Cropping does. That affects perceived depth of focus. Haven't tried a close up filter yet. That for sure would require focus stacking.JackDavid put me onto the Elincrom Ranger QUadra. It's a battery powered light weight 400ws portable strobe. I use a single head firing through a diffusing umbrella to avoid harsh shadows, also allows for a high f stop. Pretty easy set up.
JackI agree with David on selling separate, but occasionally a buyer needs a lens you have.
That happened when I sold my M8.JackNo, and I have discovered that if a light source is off camera, it is rarely changes the mood.
JackNo it won't overpower the sun, but shadow fill might work. For me, I would use it indoors in low light. I'm very slowly working on a bar project where I need fill light at the temperature of candle light. At that point, I put away my flash and my umbrella strobes. I bought a cheap LED for this purpose, but even with it's filter and power adjustment, it was tough to match the temperature of the candels. This is a M project not S.
Additionally, so many M users hate to mess with flash, a less powerful continous light source might be easier for them to adopt.JackKurt,
Seems the 120 look is a clear improvement over the 75 1.4 you sold when leaving the M system. Nice.JackMark,
Learning a new software is difficult, Photoshop more so.I was taught PS 3.0 in 1996 or so. I was taught by a designer in 30 minute sessions. I would merely ask how to do one thing I needed at a time. David has now taught you one thing you needed.
To try and learn the whole thing at once is like saying you need to learn Japanese in total to learn how to just say thank you. Not required. I encourage you to try one thing at a time.While I know Photoshop, I use 10% of the capabilities. And there are always six different ways to do the same thing. Learning Lightroom was more difficult for me because I was on my own and trying to learn the whole thing at once. I bought a video lesson which helped. Now I do most of my work in Lightroom. Another photographer claimed Lightroom was like going to the clinic for a fever, and Photoshop was a surgery hospital. Good analogy.
I would suggest S2 users here post an occasional example of how they use Lightroom or Photoshop to solve a single problem and we will all learn a lot. David's example was new to me and very useful. I now can shoot in a way that I can preplan using that technique that I might not have ever attempted.
JackKurt, just borrow my SF58 for an hour indoors and out, and you will get the hang of it.
Digital allows you to learn from feedback fast.I am not understanding David's swivel bounce advice exactly. David, are you turning your camera in portrait mode for the shot? I prefer to always have the flash above the subject, which means for a vertical shot I either have the flash on a cord, or shoot horizontally and crop to the vertical. No bounce was available for this recent shoot, as the ceiling was 200 feet high! I did a vertical crop in this shot of two Packer NFL players at the Super Bowl ring ceremony. The S2 resolution allows me to crop a closeup of the player's ring, or an enlargement to life size. The normal camera cannot do this.
Mark, I would have preferred to have had my portable strobes with umbrellas, but that was not allowed here. The 58 did a great job, and I like the ability to adjust power levels easily and fast. Frankly I too am just learning, but this first SF58 job made me convinced to always bring the 58 along with the S2 to any occasion. Sure beats an iPhone.
Jack
http://www.macdonough.net/Sports/Super-Bowl-Ring-Ceremony-2011/17637541_mdvPxK#1344346247_3ZXHq4R
JackThe systems are pretty similar at this point in time. Not enough edge in one versus the other to promote switching either way.
However, if you don't have your own IT person to aid you, or you are not fully qualified to be your own IT person, the support system at Apple stores for individual Mac users is pretty compelling. If you are your own IT person and can build your own computer, the homebuilt PC can give incredible bang for the buck.
Otherwise the new top iMacs are the fastest Macs even over the Mac Pro and pretty cost effective. The thunderbolt connectivity is a plus for Mac momentarily for fast external storage of huge files. But those perferals are not quite. available yet.Jack
