Oops :-(

[SharonH]

Not a clue what I did wrong with these, first try with my macro lens (meike 60mm f2.8 macro lens). - both on Aperture priority

[wigz]

In the first the focus is on the far petal leaving the near petals a blur that occupies most of the frame.

The second looks OK. Most of the petals are sharp with good detail, and even though the near ones are out of focus, it is not as distracting.

what aperture did you use? The EXIF doesn’t show the aperture so I wonder if this is a manual lens of some sort.

You will have very little depth of field at such close distances and care is needed with aperture used and where the camera focuses to ensure focus is where you want it.

[SharonH]

Thank you, the lens uses Manual, A, P and S priorities, I had it on A but could find no way of changing the F point, it just showed dotted lines where the F number should have been.

[wigz]

Showing dotted lines instead of the aperture suggests that the lens and camera are not communicating correctly. What is the brand and model of the lens. It may not be working correctly or may not be fully compatible with the camera.

I think the A, P and S are camera mode settings, rather than lens settings and A should be fine, provided your shutter speed is high enough..

[Isac]

Gorgeous flower Sharon. Here's some tips for Macro Flower shots:
1. Use Manual Mode and use a Tripod (out of the wind). Turn the Vibration/Stabaliser setting to OFF and use the 2 second timer to avoid camera shake.
2. Manual focus to get sharpness where you want it.
3. Use a smaller Aperture (like f/8 - f/16) to increase your depth of field to get more in focus. Larger Aperture like f/2.8 for focusing on a small part of the flower.
4. Shutter speed of around 1/250th and set the ISO to Auto. If the ISO is too high, slightly reduce the shutter speed. Shade the flower from direct sunlight to have a good exposure.
5. Use Spot Metering.

I hope this helps in your Macro journey.

[SharonH]

Thank you, I don't seem to be able to change the aperture for some reason but will keep looking for ways, I will write this down as well (my memory is horrendous so everything gets written down these days lol).

[wigz]

Hi Sharon, I suspect you may have a manual macro lens. If so it will probably have an aperture ring on the lens itself and will be manual focus. This is fine for macro as manual focus is often used.

This would explain why the aperture shows as - -.

If this is the case just set the aperture on the lens. I’m not sure about getting exposure correct but it looks fine on your photos. Either manual or aperture priority should work. The camera’s meter will show when exposure is correct.

[SharonH]

Thank you :-)