[Tannin]

My new Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro lens arrived today. As ever, Canon's equipment is reassuringly solid and the image quality, I can see already, is going to be fantastic. I'll be using it for general work as well as macro, but the main task, at least to begin with, will be wildflowers. Early in the new year, I'll order a flash unit for it (I have my eye on the Macro Twin Lite) but, for once in my life, I decided to delay gratification a little and do the first month or so without the flash while I learn.

Now with a normal lens and normal-sized subjects (my cat, let's say, or a landscape), I have a good feel for what shutter speeds I can get away with. Similarly, I know what I can reasonably attempt or not attempt with the 100-400L. But a couple of dozen test shots of the weeds outside the back door are already enough to tell me that I have a lot to learn about macro work.

Obviously, the old 400mm = 1/400th of a second, 60mm = 1/60th rule doesn't apply on the macro scale. And equally, I need to be stopped down to f/8 or f/11 to get some depth of field for most shots. What is a good rule of thumb to apply for hand-held, available light macro work?

Thankyou all.