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Andrew Lamberson

Andrew Lamberson

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[url=https://flic.kr/p/2paFNjj]Leaf Cutter Bee 10/21/2023 by Andrew Lamberson, on Flickr[/URL]


Leafcutting bees and their larvae feed on the nectar and pollen of legume flowers such as alfalfa and sweet clover. Their diet consists of about 64% nectar and 34% pollen. In order to obtain the nectar and pollen, a bee pries open the keel of a flower while inserting the proboscis (tongue) to suck the nectar.

Stack of 150 images stacked with the NOVOFLEX CASTEL-Manual Focusing Rail @ f/4 with flash @ 1/200 sec. The step size between each shot was 0.038mm (0.015 inches) because the Depth of Field is only 0.80 mm (the amount of the image in focus in that shot).

FYI the width of the average human hair is 0.06 mm.

The lens used was a Laowa 25mm 2.5-5X Ultra Macro @ 3x on a Nikon Z6 II
 
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Beautiful capture! A few questions from a newcomer in this field: (1) was the bee anesthetized, asleep or otherwise sedated??; (2) You mentioned that you used a focusing rail, why didn't you use the Z6 II internal focus stacking mode? Do you get better results with this method?; (3) you have wonderful similar macro captures in your gallery! Are these made for professional usage by researchers, magazines, etc. or are these made for yourself as a special interest topic?

Thanks for the accompanying information on these insects, it is always interesting to learn more than only the technical details!
 
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Jaap, thanks for the nice comments.
  • Yes, the bee was anesthetized in my "jar of death" as my Grandkids call it! A little bit of Ethyl Acetate dispatches them quickly. No insect will sit still long enough for a long stack!
  • I use my Z6II and the Z MC105 with the internal focus stacking method a lot. The MC 105 is an outstanding "field" macro lens at a 1:1 magnification. If all you want to do is 1:1 then you are all set.
  • The Laowa lenses are all manual focus and are excellent. The Laowa 25mm 2.5-5X Ultra Macro is my standard "lab" lens. I also have the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Ultra Macro for my Sony and it is super. But, it is also a manual focus. I use it out in the field and on a rail.
  • Stacks require either the camera focus stacking ability or a focus rail of some sort. I am not aware of a 2x or higher lens for Nikon or Sony that has autofocus.
  • Focus Rails can be either manual or powered. Until Novoflex came out (just a week ago) with the Castel-M the manual focus rails were REALLY laborious to use! LOTS of math to figure out how much you needed to turn the knob each time. VERY painful!!! The Novaflex rail is an absolutely outstanding piece of engineering! You can use it for 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 AND 5:1 by just setting the click button! The step sizes are set within the gearing in the rotating knob so no math! No fuss! They were pretty conservative in their step sizes so no worries about missed focused areas and "out of focus banding" in your stacks! It is really easy to use and I have been getting great results. Yes...$700 (US) is pretty "expensive", but everything in photography is pretty expensive! The is NO better manual rail and in my opinion, it is really worth the $$.
  • The alternative is getting a powered rail, especially if you are going to take very large stacks of 200 images or more and want to play with the 5x microscope lenses like the Mitutoyo 5x M plan which about $800 new for a reputable company. Do NOT buy one used!!! They are very delicate and if dropped are paperweights! There are also a lot of fake ones for "better" prices. Let's not even talk about good 10x and 20x lenses!!!
  • The "BEST" powered rail is the Novaflex Castle-micro at $3000 !
  • Like most macro photographers who use a powered rail I use the WeMacro rail system out of China. Absolutely A+ equipment and service! You could buy it off the German site https://wemacro.de/. My advice...buy everything on the page at once! It's 1161 €, but you will want everything anyway!
That starts making the 660 € (it might be cheaper in Europe) Noveflex Castel-M (manual) look more reasonable!!!!

A Castel-M and a Nikon mount and Laowa 25mm 2.5-5X Ultra Macro would keep you busy for a LONG time and the rail is super easy to use. NO math or using online calculators for the step size!

I live in Minnesota and I need something to keep me busy all winter, and macro does that for me! FYI...you can even buy bugs online! (Bicsbugs and some sites in Europe)

Here are some YouTube sites:
Allen Walls (THE expert!) with hundreds (probably) of how-to videos
Stewart Wood
Micael Widell


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