[Thagomizer]

I feel like with macro I can use higher f stops even though the effective fstop is even higher still.
I wonder if this is because instead of gathering from a large area onto a small plane one is gathering light from basically a point on to a relatively large plane. Expanding instead of condensing light.

I've never done any real testing on any of my many macro set-ups to see at what point diffraction becomes objectionable. What smaller aperture giveth in DOF, diffraction taketh away in clarity. At some aperture one reaches the point of diminishing returns. I'm guessing that point can vary from lens to lens (and photographer to photographer...). Focus stacking lets you use any given lens at its optimum aperture without regard to DOF, which is essentially synthesized in the stack. Those shooters like myself who are doing single shots instead of stacks have to decide where that trade-off point between desired DOF gain and unacceptable diffraction loss is.

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Last edited by Thagomizer; 04-03-2020 at 07:26 AM. Reason: added missing word

[camera_nut]

My 18-135 arrived in the mail today. My Nikon 6T 2.9 diopter closeup lens has a 62mm filter thread. So when my incoming K-5 arrives, l can see myself joining this club.

[camera_nut]

Russian coins. Here's my first shot with my new to me K-5 and 18-135WR. l used the Nikon 6t close up lens and cropped a little.

[Kerrowdown]

Do like a good Snowdrop...

[Thagomizer]

(Crosss posted on "The Projector lens club")

Hi all;

I hope everyone is well and coping as best you can with the current, unprecedented situation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the course of Googling "reverse movie lens macro" I came across the work of Art Vaughan. He's got some great stuff on his Flickr page using all sorts of lenses and lens bits to achieve excellent results. His descriptions are very detailed and informative and has already pointed me to trying out some of the things I've already got sitting around. What really surprised me were the combinations of things stacked together. Lots of excellent ideas for putting stuff together and seeing what they do. He's shooting Nikon, but there are Pentax equivanents for most of the Nikon OEM stuff he's using as primary lenses (18-55, 85, 105, 200). The list of optical ingredients he's using as add-ons includes:

Cine lenses
Enlarger lenses
Projector lenses
Microscope objectives
Anamorphic lenses
Teleconverters
Raynox achromats
Salvaged front elements from "parts only" junked zoom lenses

Flickr albums of particular interest:

Lens configurations

Macro-modifications

Bell & Howell Increlite lens

Iscorama anamorphic macro

He's also posted instructions to build the rig he uses in conjunction with his camera's pop-up flash, which he uses for much of his macro photography. This is great for shooters like myself who prefer hand-held techniques, where keeping gear light and portable is important. You can find the PDF here: https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/PopUpFlash_Macro_Photography_AVaughan.pdf

Enjoy!

Stay safe, stay well!

Bruce

[steamloco76]

Larger than life size macro, old school and on the cheap!
Pentax K-r with Spiratone Macrobel K bellows, Spitatone Macroble focusing rail, Pentax reverse adapter K 52mm, 52-49mm step ring and SMC Takumar 55/1.8 reversed. Mounted on a Manfrotto tripod.
Single light setup- see last photo of the low budget rig!

[Weevil]

Sanguinaire du Canada / Bloodroot [Sanguinaria canadensis]

When you do not have a macro lens on hand, you can do almost the same with a long telephoto...

the K-1 is Impressive at low light and high ISO


Sanguinaire du Canada / Bloodroot [Sanguinaria canadensis]

Pentax K-1 + SMC Pentax-FA* 250-600mm f5.6 ED [IF] @ 600mm
1/800s at ƒ/6.3, ISO 10000

[idfox63]

Epoxied the front element of a cheap projector lens (16KP / RO-109-1a) into a lens hood. Now it functions as a rather powerful closeup filter, though with several drawbacks, namely very soft edges and severe CA.
But it's quite compact and enables my HD DA 70mm Limited to take almost 1:1 macro photos like this.

[bertwert]

The 10-17 isn't bad for macro, especially on the 'long' end of the range...

[Thagomizer]

Reversed 18-55 on KP:

[Thagomizer]

Reversed EL Nikkor 50mm f 2.8 enlarger lens on KP:






Reversed EL Nikkor combined with Vivitar 2x Macro focusing teleconverter:

[Weevil]

Cicindèle à six points / Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle [Cicindela sexguttata]
Parc régional de Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Québec, CANADA
2020.07.05

Simili macro photo with a long focal lens... laying flat down on the ground at the insect level, and close to the minimum focal distance..




Cicindèle à six points / Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle [Cicindela sexguttata]

[Thagomizer]

Reversed 18-55 II on K-S2:

[Thagomizer]

Reversed Kinotel with extension on KP:

[Thagomizer]

Finally trying out a lens I've had for a while. These were taken with a reversed Cine Yashinon 38mm f1.4 D-mount 8mm movie camera lens. Magnification is approximately 1.7x.

Mating Ambush bugs:



100% of above. Judging by the leftover scales, a moth must have been a recent meal.




Grasshopper portrait:




At 100%:



I think the lens shows promise, but it seems a little harder to use than the the Kinotel 1.5" f1.9 I'm more used to. The Yashinon seems harder to get focus with, and focus might not be quite even across the frame. I wonder if part of the reason might be the faster maximum aperture? Just a guess.