"Wendy7" wrote in message
...

Interesting Pat, I didn't know this but then again I'm just a point &
clicker! Too old now to learn all this stuff. I shall have to try using a
Minolta macro lens on my Sony A100 to see what happens.

You can have some real fun with a macro lens. I encourage you to do it.
Just remember to use small f/stops --- f/11 or f/16 --- I even sometimes
find myself shooting at f/18 or f/20. The reason is that these larger
number f/stops represent smaller lens apertures. Small apertures have a
couple of effects. One is that the circle that admits light into the camera
is significantly reduced in size and therefore it takes longer to get a
proper amount of light to fall on the sensor for a good exposure. The GOOD
side to this longer exposure/small aperture business is that the depth of
field is stretched from nearly non-existant with a wide aperture (f/3.5 or
f/4.0) to 1/2" or more, depending on how close you are to the subject. This
really helps to produce a better close-up picture. The problem is that
these longer exposures with a small aperture may mean you'll have to put the
camera on a tripod to avoid blurring from camera shake. Optionally you can
provide more light via flash and shorten the exposure time enough to not use
the tripod.

I had to take my camera to a shop as there was dust on the sensor & it
cost me $50!! I later found a video on how to do it but one still needs
the supplies.

Hah! Yeah. That's one of the little items that will jolt a new user of
most DSLR's. I taught myself how to clean the sensor so I could avoid those
costly visits to the service department. I got plenty of practice with my
old D70 and D80's. My new camera is a D300s and it has a feature that is
supposed to eliminate or at least reduce the problem. It can jiggle the
sensor and make the dust bunnies fall off. In theory, anyway. It may work
most of the time but I've got a spot that's showing up on all my pics lately
so obviously the sensor isn't jiggling hard enough and I'll have to go back
and use the good old manual technique again pretty soon.

Enjoyed all your flower photos in the last set. Gerbera's my fave.

Great! Glad you liked them.

Cheers
--
Pat Durkin