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Felt the need to take a few shots today and noticed a bright, colourful piece of cactus growing in a pot out the back....so of course I couldn't help myself.

Here are a few pics:









and a different cactus:


Interested to hear people's thoughts/comments...

I would dearly love to purchase a "real" macro lens, as it it is very hard to get really crisp macro shots with this lens (and these were taken on a tripod - and using the timer) however at the moment the budget just won't stretch that far, so for now I will have to put up with the limitations of the Sigma APO.

Cheers

1 & 3 are corkers Dave, forget the lens for the time being mate, this is good work here, I need to get a few lessons on macro one day, hope the sun is shining in Mel today!

Max

Great shots.
My only thoughts are the spider webs are a little distracting in an otherwise clean sharp shot.
And get out the BUG SPRAY for that last shot.

Very very nice Dave. Numbers one and three are my picks. I would have been pleased to have shot them.
Well done.

Well done what top shots love the colours

Kevin

Nothing wrong with any of them!

FAN-TAS-TIC

Great shots Dave. Did you do much cropping? I have the Tamron 70-300 Macro but I don't think it will get that close.

Brilliant stuff.

Lovely shots Dave and truly beautiful colours.

Wow Dave, these are bloody great. The strength of colour and sharpness seem stunning... I'd love to see #1 and #3 with a dark background...

Great shots Dave. I have a cactus collection myself, and I am always photographing them, so I know it is quite difficult to achieve shots such as you have here. Really well done.

Like you, I wanted to go the extra yard on the macro, and I can recommend the micro nikkor 105 when the lust overtakes you, it is a beauty.

Slider, I have the Tamron too, and I believe it and the Sigma both have 1:2 macro.

Greg B wrote:Great shots Dave. I have a cactus collection myself, and I am always photographing them, so I know it is quite difficult to achieve shots such as you have here. Really well done.

Like you, I wanted to go the extra yard on the macro, and I can recommend the micro nikkor 105 when the lust overtakes you, it is a beauty.

Slider, I have the Tamron too, and I believe it and the Sigma both have 1:2 macro.

Thanks Greg. I haven't had a chance to use it in good light yet so I wasn't sure just how good it would be. Looking forward more than ever now to give it a real try out.

Dave - why stress over a prime macro when you are taking such fantastic shots with this very underated lens - go the Sigma

Chris. Gary should be along shortly.

Very nice shots, Dave. #3 is my pick of the litter.

thanks everyone for your kind words.

The 105 Nikkor would be nice to play with, perhaps one day....who knows.

The only shot that was cropped was number 3, the rest are "as shot". I was also pleased with the colours and as soon as I noticed the bright orange I thought to myself "I have to take a photo of this".

I'm not sure if I'm setting my expectations too high, but they still look a bit too soft, compared to when I look at some of the amazing photos I see posted here (especially your macro work Kerry). Of course I should try to remember the differences in lenses used, as this would be a contributing factor (along with experience). Still I'm learning to squeeze every last bit out of the Sigma lens.....and you're 100% right sirhc, GO THE SIGMA !!!