[Caeleni]

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Hi everybody!
I'm really enjoying this forum,found very useful info about my camera
I use the k-01 for textures and reference photos mostly,now i need some very portable,very fast and very cheap solution for some macro/closeup shots
mostly insects,small creatures but also very small details over surfaces and materials
i'm still using the supplied smc dal pentax 18-55 lenses,it's enough for my purposes and portability is my top concern,the camera comes with me everywhere and i can't bring with me different lenses
the reverse ring is the go solution but i don't understand well which one to buy and which one is the right size for the 18-55 lenses
do i need extension tube?
i hope someone has already found the perfect solution for this camera+lenses ,i'm in an hurry and don't have so much time for trial and errors

thank you guys!

[Varunvg85]

Hi,
You need to see the filter thread of the lens and buy the matching ring. You can get it very cheap on ebay.

I recenlty bought a reverse ring (49mm) which i use with one of my old 35mm prime. As per my understanding reverse ring can be used with any lens provided the filter threads is matching with the ring.

But one issue is that the focus distance is too close. So not sure if that is the best way to shoot insects without spooking them. Also you need lot of light while dealing with reverse mount lens. Anyway the magnification is good and it is fine to shoot static objects.

Hope this will be of some help.
Cheers 😀

[PJ1]

I have used a reversing with the M50/1.7 and it worked very well. No extension tubes. I am not sure if it will work as well with a zoom lens.

[veato]

I believe the filter thread for that particular lens is 52mm in which case you want a '52mm to K-mount' reversing ring for example this

You don't need extension tubes for this particular setup but they also equally allow for close-up options. You can reverse mount a lens on some tubes for example. That's something I once did after buying a cheap manual 50mm from eBay!

[Sir Nameless]

I have done reverse lens macro with an old 35-70 mm all-manual zoom. It works but the zoom ate a lot of light and the results were pretty soft. The advantage of the zoom was a little more flexibility with distance to subject/magnification ratio. Overall however, I was happier using a prime for this.

[Liney]

I've used a reversing ring, but wth a variety of lenses of different sizes I would need to get a different ring for each one. I also picked up a very cheap set of three extension tubes (three different sizes plus the camera and lens mounts} for I think AU$20 from e-bay. As I plug the lens right onto the tubes, and I can mix and match the three sized intermediate sections, I would suggest this as a more adaptable solution which gives you various level of magnification.

Two things to consider, with the reversing ring you have to use lenses with a manual aperture ring or you either fiddle about a lot or make use of a lump of blutack and a wild guess to adjust the aperture. With the extension tubes, you have the same sort of thing unless you purchase a more expensive set of wired extension tubes. The wired tubes will allow you to automatically se the aperture using the camera as you would any normal lens.

[MossyRocks]

I believe that to reverse the 18-55 you will need the a 52mm filter to k-mount reversing ring. I have a 49mm to M42 and a 49mm to k-mount reversing ring that I will use with various lenses. The ones I like using most are my S-M-C 28mm f/3.5 takumar and my S-M-C 55mm f/1.8 takumar as they produce really good results. The 28mm reversed gives basically a 2:1 macro and the 55 gives about a 1:1 macro. Another lens that is fun to reverse is the auto 110 70mm f/2.8 as you end up with huge field curvature that can be a fun effect. Toss a 9mm extension tube and 17-31mm helicoid into the mix and you can get a lens that focuses at normal distances to past infinity.

I don't know what kind of quality you could expect from the 18-55 but at the 18mm end you would likely be around 3:1 macro. With the 28mm reversed I've gotten some good shots like this one:

[Not a Number]

There are two types of reverse "rings" for macro work:

One is a "reverse (mount) adapter" which has a male K-mount bayonet on one end and a 52 or 49mm male filter thread on the other. The K-mount goes into the camera or tubes/bellows and a lens is screwed into the filter threads thus reversing the lens (front element facing camera).

The other are "reverse rings" which has male filter threads on both ends. One lens is attached to the body and another is attached with the filter thread. Two lens are thus "stacked" and magnification is approximately the ratio of the focal lengths of the two lenses, e.g. a 50mm on a 100mm would be about 2× magnification. Filter thread diameters are available in a wide assortment much like step-up/down rings.

With both "rings" the reversed lens should have an aperture ring.

[Thagomizer]

I've done a lot of shooting with reversed zooms. Results can be quite good if you're willing to deal with the challenges, lighting chief among them.

Here are some posts of results I've managed to get, mostly with a K-S2, but some with a KP:

Macro by any means necessary club - Page 30 - PentaxForums.com

Macro by any means necessary club - Page 31 - PentaxForums.com

Macro by any means necessary club - Page 33 - PentaxForums.com

Macro by any means necessary club - Page 33 - PentaxForums.com

Macro by any means necessary club - Page 35 - PentaxForums.com

Macro by any means necessary club - Page 35 - PentaxForums.com


Other helpful hardware apart from your reverse adapter: for flash, I use the camera's built-in unit, with a Pringles tin extender/diffuser like this one to get the flash out front and soften the light. For aperture control (as opposed to just jamming the aperture lever of the lens, which is how I started out), I can recommend this Fotodiox adapter, which is for mounting Pentax lenses on Nikon bodies. It allows aperture control for lenses without aperture rings, which is the state of our 18-55 kit lens.The unneeded optical elements, intended to give infinity focus for the PK lens on the Nikon body, are easily removed, leaving you with a relatively thin ring that goes on the exposed mount end of the reversed lens. Turning the gnarled ring lets you open or close the lens diaphragm, though the nominal f value is pretty much a matter of guesswork. Here's what that ring looks like:



I usually look for smaller subjects when I'm using the reversed 18-55, as bigger subjects more than fill the frame at the wide angle end. It's great for bug portraits, but if you want to get the entire insect in, the longer end of the range works better. At the shorter end magnification is higher, but your depth of field is going to be extremely shallow. With bigger subjects, only a small portion is going to be in focus, so focus peaking is your friend, letting you precisely place what little DOF you've got.

Give it a go, have fun and post your results, if you're so inclined. It's always neat to see how others see the world!

[Caeleni]

really thank you for all the useful information you gave me folks!

in the smc dal 18-55 pentax lens specs it says "Filter size 52mm",should be this as also pointed in other replies

i know that with prime lenses i would get better result but the 18-55 has served me well for now ,i can't bring with me more than 1 lens,i need to travel light

i think i'll get some extension tubes


"There are two types of reverse "rings" for macro work:" i'm not so sure about which one i should get,

Is an aperture ring something i get apart?that fotodiox adapter is practically an aperture ring,right??

[Thagomizer]

Is an aperture ring something i get apart?that fotodiox adapter is practically an aperture ring,right??

The Fotodiox adapter is basically a substitute aperture ring, yes. An aperture ring without numbers. There's no indication of what the aperture you've selected actually is, but I usually set it somewhere in the middle; not wide open, and not completely closed down. Starting out with something jamming the aperture lever works fine. Not as much fine tuning or control, not as neat and tidy, no points for style, but it gets the job done.

At higher magnifications, the nominal aperture of the lens (f8, let's say) is no longer the actual aperture. The effective aperture is going to be much smaller as magnification goes up, resulting in loss of sharpness through diffraction. This happens whether you're doing macro with a reversed lens, extension tubes or an honest-to-goodness macro lens connected directly to the camera. I'm not familiar with the math behind the calculations that will show you what your EA is, I just know it's something to watch out for, just like the reduction in DOF at increasing magnification. The bottom line is "there's no free lunch." With macro photography, there's always going to be a price to pay with increasing magnification, in light, in sharpness, in DOF.

[BrianR]

"There are two types of reverse "rings" for macro work:" i'm not so sure about which one i should get,

There are two types of reversing rings, this type has a filter thread on one side and a K-mount bayonet on the other. It lets you flip a lens around and attach it directly to your camera body (or directly to extension tubes):

Macro Reverse Ring for Pentax - Camera Mount to Filter Thread Adapter ? Fotodiox, Inc. USA

The other kind usually has 'coupling' in the description, and has a filter thread on both sides. This lets you reverse one lens onto another.

Macro Reverse Ring for Lens to Lens Coupling - Filter Thread to Filter ? Fotodiox, Inc. USA

If you're set on one lens, it's the first kind you'd need.

[Caeleni]

There are two types of reversing rings, this type has a filter thread on one side and a K-mount bayonet on the other. It lets you flip a lens around and attach it directly to your camera body (or directly to extension tubes):

Macro Reverse Ring for Pentax - Camera Mount to Filter Thread Adapter ? Fotodiox, Inc. USA

The other kind usually has 'coupling' in the description, and has a filter thread on both sides. This lets you reverse one lens onto another.

Macro Reverse Ring for Lens to Lens Coupling - Filter Thread to Filter ? Fotodiox, Inc. USA

If you're set on one lens, it's the first kind you'd need.

really thank you guys,now i know what to buy
to my understanding ,fotodiox should be a good brand ,i'll try their products

[BrianR]

really thank you guys,now i know what to buy
to my understanding ,fotodiox should be a good brand ,i'll try their products

I have a few small fotodiox accessories like step up filters, reverse rings, clamps, and have been happy so far. They will be available at other sellers (ebay, amazon, etc), so you might want to shop around for price.