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05-17-2019, 08:17 PM - 1 Like   #511
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My Surplus Shed order (see above) arrived a couple of days ago. This thing is big and heavy, glass and metal, about the size of of a hockey puck. Hanging this much weight off the front of some lenses may be problematic. I can imagine some lightweight, modern plasticky zooms protesting this added burden. It could possibly overtax the autofocus on non-IF lenses where the front elements extend from the main lens body.

A very quick hand held test on my 55-300 led me to conclude that this will work better reversed. Screwed in the normal way, the image in the viewfinder is quite foggy looking. I made a 72mm lens coupler by epoxying two 55-72 step down rings so that each end of the assembly has male 72mm threads, allowing me to mount the achromat on the 55-300 like a reversed SLR lens. A quick look through the viewfinder once the achromat was threaded onto my DIY coupler confirmed the huge improvement in clarity with the Redrock reverse mounted. I had encountered a similar difference in performance with experiments I conducted using a scavanged binocular objective mounted on the same 55-300 in an attempt to cobble together a cheap Raynox alternative; one direction produced a very soft, foggy image. Reversing this optic avoided the fogginess. Having had this prior experience with earlier lens play, I hoped that the Redrock Achromat would respond in a similar fashion to being mounted in reverse. It did. YAY. This purchase looks like it's going to be money well spent.

Once I've had a chance to actually shoot with it, I'll post photos. If this works as well as I think (and hope) it might, I'm going to be very pleased as it will make a great accessory to carry along when I don't necessarily want to haul both the 55-300 (when I'm out shooting larger creatures from a distance) and a dedicated macro. It should make a nice auxiliary for my 16-85, too. Stay tuned...

05-20-2019, 08:47 PM - 4 Likes   #512
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Looks like the Redrock is going to work for my intended use. My victim -er- subject is our very patient violet, which is my most frequent initial test subject for new lenses, etc. None of the images below have had anything other than levels and cropping applied to them. All shots handheld, built-in flash with pototo chip tin diffuser-extender; most at f8.

Here's what the 55-300 can do on its own at minimum focusing distance (1.4 m or 4.6 feet) at 300mm.







With the RRM5X working distance is about 130mm or 5 inches. Here's what you get at 55mm...






...at 97mm



100% of above:




... at 190mm



100% crop of above:




300mm (No 100% crops on these as they're not as good as the above, which is more likely the result of very shallow DoF and hand held shooting. Using it at less than 300 is easier.)






And some examples from the 16-85. First without the achromat at 85mm...



...and with.






100% of above:




Dedicated macro lenses will probably do better, but this will be fine for supplementing the 55-300 or 16-85 when they're the only lens I've got.
05-21-2019, 09:33 PM - 3 Likes   #513
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SMC 55mm f/1,8 + extension rings on K-5

Agonizing to get them in focus!
[IMG][/IMG]
06-29-2019, 09:22 AM - 3 Likes   #514
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Ant on a Peony. The little bugger eats sugar secreted by the flower, which is necessary for it to escape from its shell.




Pentax K-1 with a Formula 5-branded M42 135mm/2.8; I can't remember what the aperture was. These old telephoto lenses have a VERY long minimum focal distance, and even a deglassed 2X teleconverter wasn't enough; it took my deglassed 3X teleconverter to enable me to get anywhere near close.

The EXIF data on Flickr is flawed; for some reason, the T/C's appear to close the aperture contacts on the camera body in such a way as to report f/2.8 all the time. Certainly the lens isn't reporting it!

07-11-2019, 06:28 AM - 5 Likes   #515
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K 50mm f4 macro with Vivitar 2X Macro Focusing Teleconverter on KP:







100% of above:





...and at 100%

07-11-2019, 08:54 AM - 5 Likes   #516
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Cross post with "Kit Lens Club!"

Partial cross post with "Show me your insects" and "Macro Flower Club" threads

Reversed 18-55 II











07-14-2019, 12:31 PM - 3 Likes   #517
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Reversed Kinotel 1 1/2 inch f 1.9 8mm cine lens on extension, on KP. Hand held, built in flash with DIY diffuser/extender.Still amazed by what this combination can do. These are about 3x. Nominal aperture f5.6. Effective aperture f22, so some diffraction softening is likely present. (Note to self: I'll have to shoot more open, as the gain in DOF by stopping down at this magnification is going to be pretty small anyhow.) Field of view of an uncropped frame is about 8mm wide at the plane of focus. Some of these are cropped a little for composition, but usually not by much.



On closer inspection I could see the reflection of the lens in the spider's eyes!

100% crop of above, processed to bring out lens:





100% crop:


07-28-2019, 08:18 PM   #518
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I've just ordered a couple of new tools to add to my bag of macro tricks: an EL-Nikkor 50mm f2.8 (N) enlarger lens and an Amscope Plan 4X microscope objective. I'm hoping the latter is the same one as this : $17 Plan 4x Objective ? Close-up Photography.The seller's images of the objective looked identical to the one at the above link, but there are some that apparently look the same but aren't. If it turns out I've purchased one of the "aren'ts", I'm only out about $20.00. I know that objectives are usually used for stacking, but I am curious about hand held use in the field (or on my front porch) for teeny tiny subjects. Will keep you all posted as the optics (and the various adapters to mount them) arrive and I put them through their paces. I'm sure it will be at least as much of a test of my technique as it will be of these new lenses...

Last edited by Thagomizer; 07-28-2019 at 08:20 PM. Reason: typos
08-04-2019, 11:00 AM - 1 Like   #519
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Skipper enjoying the nectar of a butterfly bush flower. Super Takumar 150 f/4 at f/5.6 on a 20mm extension tube, then heavily cropped in post processing.

08-06-2019, 08:52 AM   #520
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I've now also ordered a set of A-contact extension tubes, so I'll soon be able to use the 13mm one with my Sigma 10-20 to try my hand at wide-angle macro.
08-06-2019, 10:06 AM   #521
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QuoteOriginally posted by Thagomizer Quote
I've now also ordered a set of A-contact extension tubes, so I'll soon be able to use the 13mm one with my Sigma 10-20 to try my hand at wide-angle macro.
Let us know how they get on. I think at 13mm the sigma will need the lens touching the subject.
08-06-2019, 11:24 AM   #522
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QuoteOriginally posted by swanlefitte Quote
Let us know how they get on. I think at 13mm the sigma will need the lens touching the subject.
At the 10mm end it would probably be focusing inside the lens, but I have hopes that towards the 20mm end of the range, the laws of physics may deign to offer me a modicum of working distance.

Last edited by Thagomizer; 08-06-2019 at 11:43 AM.
08-06-2019, 12:43 PM   #523
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QuoteOriginally posted by Thagomizer Quote
At the 10mm end it would probably be focusing inside the lens, but I have hopes that towards the 20mm end of the range, the laws of physics may deign to offer me a modicum of working distance.
Here's a link to one I did. It's at 20 and just touching or just missing. It was hand held so can't be certain.
ceiling-light | swanlefitte | Flickr
08-12-2019, 07:41 PM - 1 Like   #524
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All with reversed 18-55 II:



Missed the focus on the spider, but I love what I got with the flower petals!











08-19-2019, 04:00 PM - 3 Likes   #525
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Received the Amscope microscope objective and RMS to M42 adapter. Seems to work well; it'll be quite a beast to tame in the field for single shot images. Microscope objectives are more often used for macro stacking, which I might get to some day, but for now it'll be single image shooting.

Here's what it looks like:



Here it is mounted on the simpler of the two bellows I've got:





Working distance is pretty tight:



The field of view at about 120mm of extension is 5.13X.

What can it do? Here are some quick tests to find out. Nothing special for the lighting, just self timer and whatever AV decided to give me.

First some manufactured objects. A canadian nickel. Not exactly mint condition.





Canadian $10 bill. Our paper money is no longer paper, but polymer, so you won't see any paper fibers.





A bus ticket. (I told you nothing special for subject matter! )



The perforated edge of the opening on a box of facial tissues. You can see how smooth the glossy card stock surface is in contrast to the fibrous interior exposed in opening the box:



And now for some organic subjects. Our violet is my most commonly used first subject for new macro gear. These were taken using my Asahi Pentax M42 Auto Bellows at slightly greater extension than the above shots. Live view rather than OVF. Unlike the above shots, I'm using the KP's on-board flash with extender/diffuser. I'll have to break out a manual- capable auxiliary flash to provide more light for future shooting. DOF is veeeery shallow.














Overall, I'm pleased. It'll take some getting used to, and I'll probably opt for tubes rather than bellows if I take it out into the wilds for bug hunting. It will be a challenge! But for $20 Canadian (!)., I figure I couldn't go far wrong. To have a look at the work of someone who actually knows what there doing, check this out Robert O'Toole's Close-up Photography: $17 Plan 4x Objective ? Close-up Photography. He warns that there are similar looking objectives that do not perform as well. I think I got one of the good ones. Any shortfall in image quality you see in my examples above is more likely to be the result of my technique than any deficiencies in the optics. It is a demanding little lens, and I will have to up my game if I want to get the best out of it in single-shot use. I will post results here as I (I hope) progress and advance in my use of this little unit. I'm looking forward to the challenge!
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