Cape Sundew leaf, Heesch, Netherlands
This is a single shot (non-stack) 5:1 macro of the leaf of a Cape Sundew. Here is the same (similar) composition using UV lighting:
This one is taken using a strong continuous LED, the other using UV light only. Considering the shutter time (1s vs 6s) and ISO (64 vs 800), the UV light source is about 50(!) times weaker than the LED.
Some tech notes: at the far end of my range (currently 5x macro) you get so used to the idea of stacking that it's easy to forget you can also do single shots. Yet a 5x single shot requires focus precision, even for a static subject.
I had a problem with this earlier. Live view on the camera is too tiny to accurately see it. So instead I projected live view output on my big monitor (using Helicon Remote). The problem, which may be Nikon specific, is that the live view quality is terrible, with a resolution as low as 640 x 400. Luckily, I found a solution. I'm using the camera's HDMI output port and connect it to a second monitor. On this second monitor, I get a high quality 2160p output of exactly what is happening.
''Drosera capensis'', commonly known as the Cape sundew, is a small rosette-forming carnivorous species of perennial sundew native to the Cape in South Africa. Because of its size, easy to grow nature, and the copious amounts of seed it produces, it has become one of the most common sundews in cultivation.
