Macro photography from a tripod - my favorite setup
Precise focus bracketing for later stacks
Exact macro focus brackets for later calculation of a stack are easy to create.....
Important basics for clean results
....if you follow some fundamental requirements.
Equipment used in macro photography
For macro photography I work with the Canon EOS R5, the Canon EF 100 2.8 L IS Macro and the EF to RF adapter.
Shooting in low light: long exposure times
Since many shots are taken before sunrise, when the insects are still rigidly sitting at their overnight spots, you need rather long exposure times.
Tripod as an indispensable base
Therefore, a tripod is essential.
Classic setup and its downsides
The classic setup would consist of a three-legged tripod, a ball head and possibly a macro rail, but it has some disadvantages.
Working close to the ground: bulky and space-consuming
A normal three-legged tripod has relatively long legs so that you can achieve an appropriate maximum setup height. But if you want to work close to the ground, the fully unfolded tripod is very bulky and takes up a large area on the ground.
Height adjustment, center column and inverted mounting
Height adjustment is done by extending the individual legs, which is very tedious. If you work instead with a center column, working close to the ground becomes impossible. I have never become a fan of inverted center columns and hanging mounting of the equipment. What bothers me most here is the camera hanging upside down.
Mini tripod as a solution, with limits
Until now I have been using my mini tripod with integrated leveling base (which I use as a rudimentary ball head) and attached panorama clamp – a small, lightweight companion that showed its full strength when working close to the ground, but whenever I needed a bit more height, I quickly had to rely on a larger tripod.
Second tripod: too much in the long run
So I always had a second tripod with me – in the long run that is heavy to carry, expensive and exhausting.
Macro setup as I use it...
This consists of several components that are used depending on the requirements
...the whole thing taken apart...
You almost always have to contort yourself a bit when you crawl through the vegetation to get close to the creepy-crawlies.
- Amini tripod
- Bquick-release adapter
- Ccenter column
- Dpanoramic coupling
- Egeared head
- Fmacro focusing rail
I can’t bend the center column, but I can tilt it slightly using the ball joint integrated into the tripod shoulder. This way, the shooting distance and image section can already be roughly set.
Setup from another angle
I can adjust the shooting distance very precisely with a macro rail. This is also important when I want to use the maximum reproduction ratio, since I then move the lens focus setting to the closest focusing distance. I then set the first plane of sharpness using the rail.
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