Hi Tom, I don't feel qualified to be an expert at this time on Macros, but here are two link you should check out on depth of field... http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/950/depth-of-field.html and http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html Other than that I always use flash to freeze my macro images. Depending amount of illumination required. I think strobes are upwards of 1/3000 of a second can't remember might even be as high as 12,000. If you can't afford a flash ring, or twin lites I have a cheap solution. Let me know:} And no I'm not selling anything just sharing info in peace and cooperation.