Now you made me wonder if it'sthe super macro that'ssoftening the image!?! I'm planing to go out in the backyard tomorrow morning and take some more pictures using super macro. Hopefully I'll get a few decent ones I can post here!

I am having a whole lot of trouble as well.

This picture was taken around 6cm away from the flow with Super Macro, 1/6 s and on F8.0. That was the best the S2 could do without specialised lenses, and with IS on at shoot only, colours set to VIVID.

Well, in one hand, I'm glad it's not just me or my camera in particular. On the other, this becomes more of a real problem than a simple matter of adjusting camera settings. As I have pointed out on other postings, the S2 AFsucks in macro mode and by the looks of it, it's even worse in super macro mode. That's disturbing considering this is not a cheap camera (although it is getting cheaper by the minute). Luckily I have my H1 to bail me out.

I have been able to use Super Macro pretty close on subjects, but its the lightning that kills at close range.

Use MF will help lots in macro mode.

I agree thatsome creative lighting is needed for some of the super macro.

Manual focus isindeed helpful if the camera is handheld, but unnecessary if using a tripod, as the autofocus works very well in the latter instance.

One more; playing with the depth of field.

Both were shot in supermacro with autofocus.

1/6 second is too slow - at max-wide (36mm) shutter speed hand-held should be at least 1/30 second. If you have a steady hand IS will let you go a little slower. I would open the aperture and let in more light. Or bump the ISO to 100. If you're trying to hold the camera at an awkward angle, then go for an even higher shutter speed. Normally I try for 1/300 sec or better to try and eliminate shake and subject movement.

Super-macro has limited depth of field, so focus is critical, but if the subject is in the centre of the frame, I find the autofocus normally does the job.


ELDDJOC wrote:

Thanks, mchnz. Those are very good tips and I shall try them.

Here's a macro shot from mine:

This was taken on Super Macro in some early dawn light. Frost on the window.