Reversed Lens Macro Photography - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

06/19/2010 11:01:00 PM · #1

Following DPC user

Phil's tutorial on reverses lens macro photography... I got this image:

I took a LONG time trying to get some good pictures... but all I got was that. What am I doing wrong? What should I be doing to get this:

Using:

100 ISO on bright day
500 shutter speed
Reverse lens following the tutorial exactly
Wide open aperture on the macro like he said
50mm Macro
28-200 telephoto

What am I doing wrong?

ETA: Changed 18-200 to 28-200 correction

Message edited by author 2010-06-20 03:07:52.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

06/19/2010 11:05:47 PM · #2

You have to use a really big live fly, and an orange filter. : )
I see that you chose f5.6, which gives you very shallow DOF at that distance, f16 or 22 on the tele lens would have helped a lot. With the smaller aperture, you need good flash, or tripod and longer exposures to get a good exposure. Use f5.6 on the 50mm only.
Some close focus macro shots are multiple exposures "focus stacked" to get more DOF. There are several images made by changing the focus point a little for each exposure, then layering the best focus parts of several to make one image with more DOF.
Keep working on it, and you will get there.

Message edited by author 2010-06-19 23:17:34.

MattO

Nikon D4

06/19/2010 11:57:11 PM · #3

The biggest problem is you are using an EFS lens as your reversed lens which has a very small circle. You need to use a lens that is compatible with FF cameras as your reversed lens.

Edit to add did you mean 28-200 lens? I don't see an 18-200 lens listed in your portfolio.

Message edited by author 2010-06-19 23:58:31.

kenskid

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

06/20/2010 12:04:13 AM · #4

Sorry...I can't tell you what you're doing wrong...but you ARE doing something wrong ! ;-)

I think MattO is guiding you in the right direction!

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G

06/20/2010 03:07:31 AM · #5

Originally posted by MattO:

yes, I did mean the 18-200, sry, ill edit. And thanks, I'll have to get a new lens for reverse macro now. lol. There goes another few hundred $.

JamesA

Nikon D800

06/20/2010 08:04:16 AM · #6

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by MattO:
The biggest problem is you are using an EFS lens as your reversed lens which has a very small circle. You need to use a lens that is compatible with FF cameras as your reversed lens.

Edit to add did you mean 28-200 lens? I don't see an 18-200 lens listed in your portfolio.

yes, I did mean the 18-200, sry, ill edit. And thanks, I'll have to get a new lens for reverse macro now. lol. There goes another few hundred $.

Why not just get a macro lens?

George

Nikon D750

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR

06/20/2010 09:16:51 AM · #7

Crop-sensor lenses only use the center part of the lens, which is okay for mounting normally, but not okay for mounting reversed; that's why you're getting the small circle. Get an good old lens made by ANY manufacturer, and stick that on top of your "base" lens.

ETA: I usually just stick a regular reversing ring directly on the camera mount, and a reversed lens on top of that (Camera-ReversingRing-ReversedLens); I get great results that way, but it might not get you close enough. I've also gotten decent results from a Camera-ExtRing-ReversingRing-ReversedLens setup, which should get you closer. Whichever setup you choose, what matters is not the lens manufacturer, but whether it has an aperture ring. With an aperture ring, the lens is not stopped down or wide open by default; instead, you choose the aperture manually depending on how much light you have and how much depth of field you need. Set the reversed lens to f/8 or f/11 as a starting point, and go from there.

Message edited by author 2010-06-20 09:26:38.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G

06/20/2010 05:01:46 PM · #8

Originally posted by JayA:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by MattO:
The biggest problem is you are using an EFS lens as your reversed lens which has a very small circle. You need to use a lens that is compatible with FF cameras as your reversed lens.

Edit to add did you mean 28-200 lens? I don't see an 18-200 lens listed in your portfolio.

yes, I did mean the 18-200, sry, ill edit. And thanks, I'll have to get a new lens for reverse macro now. lol. There goes another few hundred $.

Why not just get a macro lens?

Because reverse lens photography can be a LOT more powerful then regular macro lenses. I could buy a cheap macro lens for $200 that i can do reverse lens photography with, or I could spend $1000 and get a macro lens that I don't have to do reverse lens with. $200 vs. $1000 for the same amout of macro?

JamesA

Nikon D800

06/20/2010 07:29:26 PM · #9

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by JayA:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by MattO:
The biggest problem is you are using an EFS lens as your reversed lens which has a very small circle. You need to use a lens that is compatible with FF cameras as your reversed lens.

Edit to add did you mean 28-200 lens? I don't see an 18-200 lens listed in your portfolio.

yes, I did mean the 18-200, sry, ill edit. And thanks, I'll have to get a new lens for reverse macro now. lol. There goes another few hundred $.

Why not just get a macro lens?

Because reverse lens photography can be a LOT more powerful then regular macro lenses. I could buy a cheap macro lens for $200 that i can do reverse lens photography with, or I could spend $1000 and get a macro lens that I don't have to do reverse lens with. $200 vs. $1000 for the same amout of macro?

Cant autofocus or change aperture with reversed macro though can you?

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

06/20/2010 07:57:52 PM · #10

Originally posted by JayA:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by JayA:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by MattO:
The biggest problem is you are using an EFS lens as your reversed lens which has a very small circle. You need to use a lens that is compatible with FF cameras as your reversed lens.

Edit to add did you mean 28-200 lens? I don't see an 18-200 lens listed in your portfolio.

yes, I did mean the 18-200, sry, ill edit. And thanks, I'll have to get a new lens for reverse macro now. lol. There goes another few hundred $.

Why not just get a macro lens?

Because reverse lens photography can be a LOT more powerful then regular macro lenses. I could buy a cheap macro lens for $200 that i can do reverse lens photography with, or I could spend $1000 and get a macro lens that I don't have to do reverse lens with. $200 vs. $1000 for the same amout of macro?

Cant autofocus or change aperture with reversed macro though can you?

Well... I don't really use auto-focus, so I'd be spending an extra $800 just to be able to change the aperture. And I want the aperture all the way up to get as much in focus as possible anyway. Reverse lens just works for me I guess.

MattO

Nikon D4

06/20/2010 08:01:46 PM · #11

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Glass is always wide open unless you stop it down. So all the way down? Just making sure you understand what you are saying is in contradiction to what is really happening.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

06/20/2010 08:06:02 PM · #12

Originally posted by MattO:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Well... I don't really use auto-focus, so I'd be spending an extra $800 just to be able to change the aperture. And I want the aperture all the way up to get as much in focus as possible anyway. Reverse lens just works for me I guess.

Glass is always wide open unless you stop it down. So all the way down? Just making sure you understand what you are saying is in contradiction to what is really happening.

Oops.. I mean f/stop all the way up to get everything in focus.

MattO

Nikon D4

06/20/2010 08:10:34 PM · #13

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by MattO:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Well... I don't really use auto-focus, so I'd be spending an extra $800 just to be able to change the aperture. And I want the aperture all the way up to get as much in focus as possible anyway. Reverse lens just works for me I guess.

Glass is always wide open unless you stop it down. So all the way down? Just making sure you understand what you are saying is in contradiction to what is really happening.

Oops.. I mean f/stop all the way up to get everything in focus.

You open up to limit things in focus, you close down to get more in focus. Your lens is open all the way by default. Just trying to make sure you understand that.......you will have to find a way to stop this lens down before you reverse it. DOF preview, or manual aperture lens.

George

Nikon D750

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR

06/20/2010 08:23:51 PM · #14

Originally posted by MattO:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Originally posted by MattO:

Originally posted by ApertureJack:

Well... I don't really use auto-focus, so I'd be spending an extra $800 just to be able to change the aperture. And I want the aperture all the way up to get as much in focus as possible anyway. Reverse lens just works for me I guess.

Glass is always wide open unless you stop it down. So all the way down? Just making sure you understand what you are saying is in contradiction to what is really happening.

Oops.. I mean f/stop all the way up to get everything in focus.

You open up to limit things in focus, you close down to get more in focus. Your lens is open all the way by default. Just trying to make sure you understand that.......you will have to find a way to stop this lens down before you reverse it. DOF preview, or manual aperture lens.

Did anyone read what I wrote? Get an old lens with an aperture ring, and set the thing manually.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

06/20/2010 11:44:47 PM · #15

You could use an aperture jack, to jack the aperture open or closed : )

I don't know about the newer Canon lenses, but the older FD series stay wide open, as in f1.4, until you move the lever on the back of the lens. With the lever moved all the way, against the spring pressure, the aperture ring would then directly control the aperture. The older FD lenses are pretty cheap now compared to the newer ones that will work directly on the current Canon cameras.

Another way to make the aperture controllable is to cut off the back of a plastic rear lens cap, and put a small screw thru the side so that the screw will move the lever when you put the "cap/ring" on the back of the lens. That way you don't have to risk dropping a little piece of paper or a wedge of some kind into the inside of the lens. The "ring" makes it possible to quickly change from shooting normally into the reverse macro mode and back without having to tinker with a wedge.

The Nikon mount manual lenses are made so that the aperture ring controls the aperture with the lens on or off of the camera. I am not sure about the other brands.

zxaar

06/21/2010 02:48:40 AM · #16

Have a look at

//sites.google.com/site/inexpensivemacrophotography/Introduction

GiorgioBaruffi

Apple iPhone 5s

Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS

06/21/2010 03:51:35 AM · #17

ypou can see application of this technology here: see this cotton shots

i will buy a reverse ring as soon as possible!