Stunning Bee Macro Photography - How to Settings - OM EM5 mkIII and 60mm Macro 

Thank for watching, so glad this helps! I still use manual from time to time if light is very constant or doing deep stacks that take a long time, but if you have any godox or om native flash, TTL is almost always perfect, especially for single shots at higher ISO! Let me know if you try it out and have any luck :)

Thanks for the kind words - it is a challenge and the hit rate is definitely low compared to the ones that get thrown out in culling - will talk about that a bit more in the next video. The EM5.3 does have focus bracketing and also handheld in the camera focus stacking - hard with insects that are so fast during the day, but I will give it a try if I can find them when it gets a bit cooler early mornings if I can ever manage to wake up early enough to beat the heat when the start moving fast :)

Thank you, it's a lot of fun also :)

Great tips, thabk you :) I'll have to give the 75-300 a chance at it and see how it does with some telemacro (150-600 eq).

Thank you! Cheers!

Thanks!

Thank you :) - it is a lot of fun, I love shooting Macro also! I just switched to a new diffuser I cannot recommend highly enough and it ranges from 15-22 dollars right now - if you check my latest video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9ujKs_NiD7U.html - there is a link and short demo using it.

awesome and thanks for watching - it's fun when getting some good shots and the inspiration hits :) - do you also use a diffuser or have any luck without it with just the flash?

@@BMadPhoto I don't have a diffuser, but what i have is a white cap over my flash to soften the light, and that kind of help. But thanks for reaching out.

Thanks, really hope it helped! My style has evolved since getting the newer 90mm - but I would say still 90% of the time I leave it in manual - will flip it tp auto when I am bracketing or stacking though or less worried about being at the max focus position of the lens exactly.

Also ISO, when using flash it's always locked at 200 (min on this camera), manual mode speed 1/250 usually and flash generally just end up using TTL, super easy sent up and works really well for great exposure almost every situation, especially with high aperture flash even freezes motion in bright sun

Thanks for the sub! Give it a shot - its a lot of fun :)

Thank You :)

No I have not, but I really do like Godox so far, have had great luck. Since this video I did get the wireless transmitted and the v350o which has been great and compact though, I will check your channel to see the MF12s! Thanks for watching and the compliment on the photos :)

Haha thanks. Narita airport gift shop in Japan on a quick layover 😂

Thanks - here is the one I purchased that is still available www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZSJCTC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1A5WKXZLE8CDR&psc=1 - I have been using it for 7 months already and it has held up well!

Good question now that I have had it for a while, although my answer might not be too straightforward (I have 2 flashes and really love both) - I also have the V3500 (rechargeable V350) for reference - with the 60mm macro and EM5 I go back and forth between the 2 - but I also have the 90mm Macro and I found that the V1 is much better when paired with the heavier lens, and the higher position of the V1 is able to better reach the end of the lens it seems, and feels better balanced with the larger 90mm macro. Also - not sure this is the best thing to do, but when I have the 60mm on (and sometimes the 90) I find myself carrying the kit with a grip on the flash. Sorry if this is not a clear answer, I guess what I mean is its not THAT awkward with the V1 but if I had to choose only 1 for the 60mm, I would go with the smaller V3500. Now if I am doing off camera flash (I do have a trigger also) I think I would generally still go with the V1 - it has a nice carrying case, and I really like the magnetic attachments. Also you have me curious how much my set up weights with the 90mm and the V1 😅Thanks for watching and happy shooting!

Thanks again! It's tough with the kit lens flash to freeze action just due to the need to shoot at at least f8-f13 to get enough DoF. But, if you have good sunlight you could start with just a high ISO to get enough shutter speed. But I will say I tried that at first and when I added a flash is when I really got obsessed with macro lol

Almost always in manual focus, it's so much easier also with focus peaking turned on. Beyond 1:1 with the 90mm macro though I do sometim3s use auto. But honestly I don't recommend the 90mm from om if just starting out, the cost is not worth it and the cheaper old 60mm macro is in many ways better.

Thanks - just added another today from the same location :)

Thanks! The V1 is magnetic and what I clipped on is one of the magnetic attachments that is a reflective bounce card on other square head flashes, to just direct all the light downwards. On the TT685II-o I think you could achieve the same thing with the pull out bounce card? But for less than $10 US the diffuser itself is easy to use even without the clip on - its mostly for stability. How do you like the Panasonic vs the Olympus?

@@BMadPhoto Thanks for your reply. That’s great, I will look into what you have. I like the Pana it’s a great camera, I initially bought it for video many years ago but unfortunately I don’t do video any more, it’s still a good camera for stills. The Oly is great, this was my first M43 camera bought in 2012. I’ve done some great photos with it.

Thanks - appreciate the advice, and I agree - the follow on I did I think did it even more and really is overkill - will try it out next time!

Thanks for watching! The Top Part is from the Godox AK-R1 accessory kit. The foldable diffuser is the 'Angler PSFD-100 Portable Speedlight Flash Diffuser' - currently $12 on amazon. Works really well with the 60mm macro and would also easily fit lenses that are larger. The The top part i don't know if its really necessary unless you want the rest of the magnetic pieces for the Godox v1 - but if using TTL I seem to get the same results with or without it. One benefit though is that it holds the diffuser a bit better so its not flapping in and out if that makes sense - but sometimes its also better without when needing to keep it closer to the flash to avoid bumping stuff above the lens

Yeah I was not sure if it would work either. No joke it's amazing almost impossible to miss exposure! Thanks for watching 😀

@@BMadPhoto i just might give it a go myself.

Yeah, for some mysterious reason, my ttl works fine with the diffuser blocking everything.

@johnkanzler6646 did a bit of research, ttl sends a preflash but it's picked up by the lens which is not blocked, so this is why ttl works with a diffuser

Interesting question - have not tried them, mainly because I got a really good deal on the 60mm macro lens about 8 years ago and I still enjoy using it so much. Extension tubes seem relatively cheap though compared to macro lens and would give someone a good change to do some macro with their existing lens' so I totally get the benefit. What do you think - with already having a macro lens, would I benefit from also trying it out?

@@BMadPhoto if you already have a dedicated macro lens you shouldn’t need to use extension tubes. I do not and figured I would try them. When I did I really only gave it a half hearted try and it was much more challenging then I thought it would be. The lighting and depth of field was hard to work with. But I like your idea of using that fabric diffuser and a TTL flash. At least it should help with the lighting and I can stop it down to f10 ish and should help with the depth of field too. Your pics look awesome BTW!!!

thanks@@tanman99 :) - Good luck! Really still learning, had the lens a long time and it was really hard - the flash really made the biggest difference for me - without it didn't have near as much success, especially if there is any wind or its not really bright out where can use very fast shutter

Thank you sir for the compliments. Have been tempted to get the the Raynox - very impressed by the videos I have seen it used in - curious if you find it more or less difficult to get insect shots at 1:1 with it as opposed to without - are you enjoying the addition of it?

It's a bit harder - but I also use it for indoor macro of dead insects.@@BMadPhoto

I forgot to mention that with the Raynox 250 I do focus stacking because the DOF is so shallow.

@@weisskm ah thanks - yeah that would be ideal - I ended up ordering one, cant wait to try it out. Figured was cheaper than getting the 90mm macro for the extra magnification to try out first!

@@weisskm have you found on the om-1 with that lens how stopped down you can go before diffraction gets too bad? I usually only go to f/12 but i do wonder if i could go to a higher number and still get decent results without the 250 without stacking, or its still going to be hard to work with for single shots

Haha thanks Eric - but definitely still learning, the 1000s of bad shots I have would make for a boring video 🤣

@BMadPhoto that's with anyone doing macro. Most of what you shoot will be end up being garbage but every once and awhile a "nicee" photo comes out. Especially with you shooting this video in wind. That's hard no matter your shutter speed

Yeah for sure - man I wish I could get myself to wake up earlier and get out early mornings more often - usually by the time I go out its windy hot and the insects are super amped up😂 @@ericlundquist3466

@BMadPhoto I've given up using manual in any wind. I'll use the 90mm on auto focus then, with x2 magnification, the subject is jumping all the place. And forget using focus stacking. Need a shutter speed that's like a Phalanx CIWS.

@@ericlundquist3466 I am so excited to get to try to 90mm soon on insects in the coming weeks - ill follow your advice and try using the auto for sure in that 2:1 range! Cant remember if I asked already but i dont know many with the 90mm - do you have a lot of luck with insects as 2:1 range and do you post any images elsewhere would love to see some if you like to share online!

thanks so much, great feedback - Wish I could reedit this one, much appreciated, I'll try to get a better mix or just lose the music altogether when talking in future videos

Thanks. Maybe better said would be it gives a similar field of view as 120mm ff? Either way though it helps when thinking about perceived reach of the lens I think.

Thanks, I will try to balance to better next time!

@@BMadPhoto I like the music! I could hear you fine with the music in the background. I often get people who tell me that as well, but, part of what I enjoy is picking out nice music for my videos. While true, some can be distracting, I didn't find this one to be.

Thanks, I have heard this comment on this video and have been trying to improve on more recent videos with a better mix.

Thanks, all feedback and comments are welcome, no appolgies necessary. not the most successful day out I have had but wanted to share what was caught in the short time I had in the less than ideal conditions.