Thank you all for the kind words, and great tips. After that rather tough period it's great to get things going again. Also got a new job, which gives me 1 week on/1week off and a chance to get something goin'
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@Jack: You're absolutely right. My technique leaves a lot to be desired. Still very new and that has yielded some ...hasty... shots.
@Steve: That one proved VERY helpful here. Just did a small test with a flower, and it showed right off improvement using the "shaky" pod. I was very pleased with the result even without USM. Applied some USM and that gave me what I was hoping for, even from such a cheap setup.
Out and try again, and again, and again. And then maybe even some more.