Can I ask what kind of flash setup you have? I have not been using mine at all as the on camera flash seems too harsh and I think I may need a diffuser.

I use a variety of flashes and setups. For most of these shots, I used a Konica Minolta 3600 HS-D flash (GN=118 feet) with a Stofen Omni-bounce diffuser on it. Some of the shots the flash is on the camera, other times it is handheld and operated wirelessly by my camera body.

The Stofen Omni-bounce diffusers are great. They give nice light and are really field hardy and easy to use (since they are plastic!).

Of course there are lot of other good diffusion options.

I recently bought a pair of these. A guy near Houston sells them two at a time on ebay - cgi.ebay.com/2for1-NEW-FLASH-DIFFUSER-Mini-PANELS-Photo-Accessories_W0QQitemZ270101728823QQcategoryZ64354QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem. They are really great little things and for $12.99 plus shipping per pair, you can't beat the price. You could sell the other one to another photographer for $10, probably. It works great with both my large flash heads and my on camera flash.

A lot of people make diffusers out of tissue paper, plastic milk cartons, etc. It isn't rocket science. The problem with the homemade ones is they are usually flimsy.

Also, I have been having some trouble getting sharp focus when shooting at a distance. Is this typical of a macro lens, or should it be just as sharp far away as it is up close?

A good macro lens (like yours) should be sharp from 6 inches to infinity. Make sure it isn't a focus issue. Try manually focusing and see if it still doesn't get tack sharp. Also try using a tripod and photograph something that can't move in the breeze and shoot using a 2 second delay or a cable release if you have one. If that shot isn't sharp, it could be your lens.

You might have a lens that backfocuses/front focuses a bit. If that's the case, Sigma should fix it.

Chris
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

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