# canon 24-70mm users



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Tripod? If not, stop the lens up some and get a fast shutter speed. That way you'll reduce or eliminate shaking from hand holding. Or get something to set the camera on that's steady, turn the ISO all the way down to 200 (100 if it goes that low), get good focus and use the timer function to take the shot.


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## sarahspins (Sep 24, 2012)

Try a faster shutter speed and opening up your aperture more (your lens goes to f/2.8 so don't be afraid to open up - you will lose some depth of field but that's not always a bad thing.. f/9 is very closed down)... at 1/60 it's going to be almost impossible to get a clean handheld shot. Using a tripod may help but if you have moving plants or swimming fish they will be probably still be blurred unless you can use a faster SS.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

sarahspins said:


> Try a faster shutter speed and opening up your aperture more (your lens goes to f/2.8 so don't be afraid to open up - you will lose some depth of field but that's not always a bad thing.. f/9 is very closed down)... at 1/60 it's going to be almost impossible to get a clean handheld shot. Using a tripod may help but if you have moving plants or swimming fish they will be probably still be blurred unless you can use a faster SS.


hehe, the only reason i tried shooting with a f/9 was just to try to get everything sharp and see how that comes out. 

tried your way and it's a lot better but i was talking more about the sharpness of a zoomed in photo, of say my stationery shrimp. even when i shoot faster at lower fstop, with a stationary shrimp, they're coming out not as tac sharp. 

i guess my question was, does anyone with 24-70 successfully use it for a decent macro use? i'm sure it can be done but was wondering if anyone has done it here.  

thanks!


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

I rarely use my 24-70 for fish shots but sometimes when I'm too lazy to use the speedlites, I'll open it up to 2.8 and bump the ISO up to 2000. Fast shutter speeds are very important for capturing anything moving. Tripods and Monopods also help because I tend to sway a little when taking pictures and that causes the blur. 

I usually use manual focus on the 5dmkII or else I'll miss the shot.

Good luck!


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

Kai808 said:


> I rarely use my 24-70 for fish shots but sometimes when I'm too lazy to use the speedlites, I'll open it up to 2.8 and bump the ISO up to 2000. Fast shutter speeds are very important for capturing anything moving. Tripods and Monopods also help because I tend to sway a little when taking pictures and that causes the blur.
> 
> I usually use manual focus on the 5dmkII or else I'll miss the shot.
> 
> Good luck!


noted, and thanks for all that info. im gonna try with my speedlite this weekend!


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## sarahspins (Sep 24, 2012)

gnod said:


> tried your way and it's a lot better but i was talking more about the sharpness of a zoomed in photo, of say my stationery shrimp. even when i shoot faster at lower fstop, with a stationary shrimp, they're coming out not as tac sharp.


If you shoot through flat glass at any kind of angle instead of straight on that will also mess up the sharpness of your image... there's some complicated physics involved there, but basically with smaller optics (such as your eye, or a cell phone camera) those effects aren't as obvious, on a larger scale like with your camera lens, they are. 

It sounds stupid but because of that I have better luck getting pics of shrimp (and fish) with my phone than using my "real" camera, whether that's with the 24-70 or my macro lens (though I shoot nikon, the limitations of the optics are similar).


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

sarahspins said:


> If you shoot through flat glass at any kind of angle instead of straight on that will also mess up the sharpness of your image... there's some complicated physics involved there, but basically with smaller optics (such as your eye, or a cell phone camera) those effects aren't as obvious, on a larger scale like with your camera lens, they are.
> 
> It sounds stupid but because of that I have better luck getting pics of shrimp (and fish) with my phone than using my "real" camera, whether that's with the 24-70 or my macro lens (though I shoot nikon, the limitations of the optics are similar).


haha, thanks for your observation. i'm sure the low grade glass on my tank affects it also. 
regardless thanks for your feedback!


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

Quality of the lens is its ability to capture light.

which means you can control the amount of light, you can pick any lens you like and take good pictures.


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