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DPChallenge Forums >> Tutorials >> Reversing Lenses for Macro Photography
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Showing posts 26 - 41 of 41, (reverse)
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 12/19/2006 10:26:32 PM · #26
This reversed lens thing works with P&S cameras too. Used lenses of low quality work well, and are dirt cheap at flea markets and pawn shops or on the "bay". You would need to make a little adapter out of something , maybe a styrofoam donut, to prevent stray light from entering where the two lenses meet. Even a magnifying glass will work if that's all you have handy.
12/19/2006 10:42:13 PM · #27
AWESOME.... I always wanted to know how to do that! Thanks!
 12/19/2006 10:51:45 PM · #28
Hey, I just bought that 50mm lens and have been playing with it all day...haven't had it long enough to want to take it apart yet :p
 12/20/2006 11:57:46 PM · #29
Originally posted by hopper:
very interesting - here's a shot of my 85mm 1.8 ... aperature's open. must be different from company to company



Cool pic there hopper, maybe you can use it for a self portrait. That's a nifty reflection.
06/27/2007 01:37:22 AM · #30
Fantastic tutorial. Thanks!
 02/24/2009 02:40:10 PM · #31
Can anybody tell me why my attempts at reverse macro turn out like this?


I'm using a D80 set for aperture priority. Attached is my kit lens... 18-135. In front of that is my 50mm 1.8 reversed with the shutter wide open. Am I missing something?
 02/25/2009 12:55:11 AM · #32
Is the aperture ring on the 50 held completely open? If not, I imagine you will get the super vignette you're experiencing. Or maybe it's because you're totally zoomed out? Try zooming in some and see how bad it is then.

Message edited by author 2009-02-25 00:56:39.
 02/25/2009 11:41:42 AM · #33
Yeah, it's completely open to 1.8. Zooming all the way out gave me this.



A little better.

Could it be because my kit lens is 3.5 - 5.6? I have it set for aperture priority and at 3.5.
 08/17/2011 01:04:28 PM · #34
Sorry to revive this thread after so long. However, I've recently entered the DSLR world, though on a very tight budget. I have the 25-85mm AF-S IF ED and 70-300mm AF-S IF ED VR Nikkor lenses and want to try some macro photography with them.

The reversing ring solution seems to be a very cost effective macro solution for me. However, my one concern was that the filter threads might be damaged when having to support a whole lens. Is this a problem, or am I worrying too much?
 08/17/2011 01:11:54 PM · #35
Originally posted by Xander314:
The reversing ring solution seems to be a very cost effective macro solution for me. However, my one concern was that the filter threads might be damaged when having to support a whole lens. Is this a problem, or am I worrying too much?


Are you thinking of reversing just the main lens onto the body, or are you thinking of a reversed lens on another lens? If the former, you may be right to be concerned if you are trying to reverse one of your zooms. They are larger, heavier lenses, and if they are "extending front element" designs, I'd be very concerned.
The best way to approach reversed-lens macro work is to get yourself an inexpensive, small, manual prime lens, perhaps 24mm or so in focal length, and reverse that. A 50mm also works pretty well. You want these lenses to be relatively fast, e.g. f/1.8. Since they are not going to be mounted directly to the camera, there is no need for them to be Nikon mount.
 08/17/2011 01:29:34 PM · #36
I was talking about have one lens the right way round and then using a "male to male thread adapter" to reverse the other one on the front of it.

I intended to put the 70-300mm on the camera and then the 25-85 on the front of that. Can you recommend a good source of such cheap primes as you mentioned. A manual lens would be easier anyway, as they have an aperture ring rather than an aperture lever.
 08/17/2011 01:48:33 PM · #37
Originally posted by Xander314:
I intended to put the 70-300mm on the camera and then the 25-85 on the front of that. Can you recommend a good source of such cheap primes as you mentioned. A manual lens would be easier anyway, as they have an aperture ring rather than an aperture lever.


Ah, that is what I thought... yep, you really want a fast prime for the reversed lens. Two reasons:
1.) They are light and compact
2.) The wide aperture means they will not vignette; you want to use the aperture control in your main lens. Your zoom won't really be useful as a reversed lens.
You can find 'em on fleabay, or at some camera shops. I used to have a Pentax 50/1.4 that was a good one for that. You can usually pick them up quite cheaply, though the more sought-after flavors can be less of a value.
 08/17/2011 02:02:02 PM · #38
Heh, yes. The vignetting left more than half my sample image black, though I was zoomed in as close (i.e. wide) as possible.

Just to be clear, how cheap is cheap? I can get a 150g f/1.8 50mm manual Nikkor on Jessops for £110/$180. Is that the kind of thing you had in mind? Or should I try and get something cheaper (and/or f/1.4) on ebay?
 08/17/2011 02:54:07 PM · #39
Originally posted by Xander314:
Just to be clear, how cheap is cheap? I can get a 150g f/1.8 50mm manual Nikkor on Jessops for £110/$180. Is that the kind of thing you had in mind? Or should I try and get something cheaper (and/or f/1.4) on ebay?


Heck, if a manual Nikkor is within reach, I'd say get it. In addition to knowing that you will get a good quality lens, you'll also have a nice old manual lens that you can use in normal configuration.
 08/17/2011 04:20:16 PM · #40
Is a £100 lens really going to be good quality? If so I'll be seriously considering this.

Also, with regard to the issue of a zoom lens with extending front element. I think both of my lenses do that, so even if I mount the zoom as the primary lens, will it be bad for the extended front of the zoom lens to be supporting the extra 150-200g of lens?
 08/17/2011 04:25:33 PM · #41
Originally posted by Xander314:
Is a £100 lens really going to be good quality? If so I'll be seriously considering this.

Actually, yes. Most of the OEM 50mm lenses are of pretty good quality. Not beyond reproach by any means, but good, yes.

Originally posted by Xander314:
Also, with regard to the issue of a zoom lens with extending front element. I think both of my lenses do that, so even if I mount the zoom as the primary lens, will it be bad for the extended front of the zoom lens to be supporting the extra 150-200g of lens?


I'd certainly be careful not to increase the stress; I'd guard against hard knocks to the reverse-mounted lens, and I would not leave the tow lenses coupled together when not in use, but other than that, no, it should not be a problem. I've actually had the opposite situation. My Canon 50/1.4 lens has an extending front element (extends/retracts for focusing) and I have used this reverse mounted to a 100mm lens, with no damage to the 50mm lens, and decent results.

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