hat I’ve found is that, in addition to the tripod, there are, of course and very appropriately, those “smaller things” that come into play if you want to improve your odds of achieving razor-sharp close-up images: the camera’s built-in self-timer, the camera’s mirror lock-up feature (not on all cameras), a cable release, wireless remote triggering devices, and the focusing rail.
Whether or not you use any of these tools will depend, in large measure, on your shutter speed. Obviously, if you’re handholding your camera because you feel the shutter speed is fast enough to allow this, then none of these tools will be needed. But there will be many times when your shutter speeds will be far too slow for you to handhold your camera and may even be slow enough to require the use of a cable release and mirror lock-up. As a general guide, if your shutter speed has fallen below 1/60 sec., you should not be shooting without a tripod, and if your shutter speed falls below 1/15 sec., you should always be using a cable release or the camera’s self-timer, along with the camera’s mirror lock-up feature if the camera has it.
When there’s any wind at all, do not use the self-timer. In all likelihood, your subject is being affected by the subtlest of breezes, and when the wind does stop momentarily, you can’t afford to have an additional delay of 2 or 5 seconds for the self-timer to fire the shutter release because the wind could easily pick up again—and if it does, it will do so right at the moment the exposure is being recorded.
Regarding the focusing rail, this is a truly practical item if most of your close-up work is indoors and/or scientific in nature. It is attached to your ball head, and then the camera and lens are attached to the it. It’s like attaching a pair of ice skates to a tripod-mounted camera and sending it out on the ice. You can now easily tweak the position of the camera left, right, back, or forward by the simple twist of several knobs on the focusing rail. With magnifications beyond 1:1, precise focus and the correct point of view are an absolute must, and nothing makes it easier to obtain both of these goals than a focusing rail.
When your doctor says you need more fiber in your diet, look no further than the 100 percent whole-grain goodness of a slice of whole-wheat bread. At 4X magnification, that’s some serious fiber! In addition to the Canon 65mm macro lens, I did use a ring flash, tripod, and focusing rail.
Canon 5D, Canon 65mm macro lens, ISO 200, f/16 for 1/160 sec.
