[kungmidas]

Hello!

I just signed up(woho), I've been reading threads here for hours now about makrophotography. I think I have understood that its all about taste which technique you want to use. But still, some help might help me feel more confident about my decision.

I have never shot macro, but I need to take some pictures of small plants, seedlings, and they are about 3-5 mm in size. So, they do not move like bugs do, that wont be a problem, but they are very small. I dont want to spend a lot of money, since theese plants is probably the only thing I will shoot for now with a makro setup. But I do need sharp pictures, otherwise the plants wont be very interesting to look at, just a green blob. (The idea is to photograph them every month to follow their growth, by the way, thats why I'm photographing 3 mm plants)

After reading everything I was thinking of this setup:

Pentax K-7
SMC Pentax-M 28 mm F2.8 (which is my standard lens for almost everything...)
extension tubes
reverse ring
the thing with legs you put on the floor with the camera on to keep it nice and still (dont know the english word, (stativ?))

Would that work for a 3 mm plant?
Have I missed some eqipment in my setup that is needed? And lastly, do anyone know if this lens is good to use with reverse ring?
I have the camera, the lens and the leg-thing, the rest, the extra macro equipment, is what I need to buy.

Thanks for any answer and nice easter!

[jatrax]

I think this article summaries just about everything you need to know: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-lens-articles/152336-cheap-macro-b...lose-work.html

There are many different ways to do macro, and the results may not be much different. It depends on what equipment you have and how much you want to spend. For what you are doing try your lens and the extension tubes first. If you have specific questions as you get started please ask.

[TER-OR]

You could perhaps look for a manual 50mm to 100mm macro to give you a little more space to work with. Those should be relatively inexpensive.
I haven't done the reverse-ring setup myself, but with this size subject it could be VERY useful and inexpensive.

The tripod is necessary, some LED bank lights can be very useful, along with a reflector panel (white or off-white cardstock). Your backdrop will be important as well, you can find some grey or another neutral color instead of white which can make your subject appear too dark. Good lighting will let you have a smaller aperture, which I find useful for macro.

[Na Horuk]

Hey, welcome! I would also suggest you try a dedicated macro lens before buying a lot of extension tubes and reverse rings. A 100mm macro can be really great for macro (because you don't have to be so close to the subject) and can also be used as a tele and portrait lens.
But it looks like you already have a good plan. The best is to just try it and then buy things according to what you find that you need.
Have you seen this thread?
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/lens-clubs/143202-macro-any-means-necessary-club.html

the thing with legs you put on the floor with the camera on to keep it nice and still (dont know the english word, (stativ?))

Tripod if it has three legs, monopod if just one.

[kungmidas]

Hey, welcome! I would also suggest you try a dedicated macro lens before buying a lot of extension tubes and reverse rings. A 100mm macro can be really great for macro (because you don't have to be so close to the subject) and can also be used as a tele and portrait lens.
But it looks like you already have a good plan. The best is to just try it and then buy things according to what you find that you need.
Have you seen this thread?
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/lens-clubs/143202-macro-any-means-necessary-club.html


Tripod if it has three legs, monopod if just one.

Hello,

Thanks for replies!

I do have a zoomlens at home, but I dont like using it much because you have to be so far away. I actually want to be close to the little plants or anything else i photograph. Also, backdrop wont be needed, since the pictures will be almost from above making the soil the backdrop, I have taken some testshots with the zoom with bad sharpness just to see how I wanted it to look.

At first I was going to buy a macrolens, and I found the one I wanted but then I forgot to bid and the lens was gone. Thats when I searched the internet for alternatives.

So, if i'm reading ter-ors post right, it might be enough with only a reverse ring. And extra lighting, that I did forget, but is quite an easy fix hopefully. I'm stopping by the photo-store after work, but i doubt they have reverse rings there, so i'll probably need to to order via e-bay.

I'm going to read that thread jatrax linked now, seems like a lot of information! Luckily I have a job where there is nothing to do exept surfing around on the internet. I didnt find that thread when I was googlesearching before, so thank you! And, tripod, now I know, sounds like a robot

[Kerrowdown]

thing with legs you put on the floor

Hey, English is my first language, but my memories useless, but it's a tripod your describing.

[TER-OR]

A bit of construction paper should be good enough for a background - unless your plants can get it dirty or wet, then you're going to need something water-resistant (though the paper is cheap enough to be disposable). Lighting - a pair of desklamps may well be good enough if you use full-spectrum flood lights.

The advice above is good - try what you have with the reverse ring, but keep an eye open for a 100mm macro. I think you'll really like how that will work for tiny subjects.

[dms]

since you have a zoom lens, and if it goes to about 135mm--I suggest reversing the 28mm lens and attaching it to the front of your zoom. Either with tape--or a "macro ring." The ring is a few dollars. You may need a step up or step down ring. That will give you about magnification=5. So a 3mm plant will be 15mm on your sensor. The distance from lens front to plant will be about 1.5 inches.

Next when the plants are larger a reversed 28mm lens (requires a reversal ring)--as you asked about--will give you about 2.5 magnification--and about 1.8 inch working distance.

Next your zoom on extension tube, or the unreversed 28mm on extension tubes, should get you to about magnification of 1 and below.

You likely will need to find a friend more knowing in photography and/or a book on macro photography in your native language.

I took most of the information from Lefkowitz, "The Manual of Close Up Photography," Amphoto (1979).

[kungmidas]

dms, sounds like good advise. Just one quick question. Since my zoom is not a very good zoom which takes not very sharp pictures, will that affect the sharpness of the picture or does it just work like an extension in case you put the other lens infront?
My zoom is 70-200 mm

And, I was right, the photo-store did not sell reverse rings. Actually they did not sell anything for pentax at all.

[BrianR]

I just want to point out that a dedicated macro lens might not give you the magnification you are after on its own. At 1:1 magnification things will end up life sized on your sensor and a lone 3-5mm plant will take up only a small part of the frame. There are also some lenses labeled as 'macro' that will only do 1:2 magnification (50% of life size). Just a limitation to be aware of. You can of course use extension tubes and such with a dedicated macro to get more magnification.

[kungmidas]

Hello again,

So now i tried to just hold the 28 mm lens reversed in front of the camera and taking pictures, and it worked, a bit hard to get good focus but I did manage in one or two shots. Its still a bit small in the picture, so I will have to use either extensions or the zoom between camera and 28 mm lens.

It didnt take much light when I was only using the lens reversed, its dark outside and I took pictures under the kitchen lamp, but the extensions or zoom will probably change that. And since the plant is so small I dont need to focus stock to get it sharp!

[baro-nite]

The M28/2.8 is a pretty good performer on extension, whether mounted normally or reversed. The main issue when shooting at this scale is diffraction. 3mm is just under 1/5 of the short dimension of the K-7 sensor. That suggests you want a 3:1 or possibly 4:1 magnification ratio. Of course, as the plants grow you'll want to change that.

The M28/2.8 is not bad reversed at 3:1, with the lens at f/5.6. The K28/3.5 does better, because it is sharp enough at f/4.8 that you can use it there, and diffraction is less apparent. I believe the Takumar 28/3.5 uses the same formula as the K version, and these can be found for around half the price.

This shot is at about the scale you're talking about:


Center of a Vinca minor flower, shot with the Pentax-M 1:2.8 28mm reversed on about 46mm of extension

[dms]

the macro ring is not a pentax specific. Its a ring the attaches between the lenses--on the filter (threads) of each. B&H and other large stores carry them. But some electrician's or photo tape tape will work fine instead. If the threads are different sized you can cut a cardboard spacer. No the longer lens (unreversed) is not only an extension--but for your purposes the quality should be OK. The aperature on the reversed lens is to be used. The unreversed lens should be wide open.

[baro-nite]

I should have specified that the image I posted above is not a single shot -- it is a stack combined in Zerene Stacker. DOF at these magnifications is measured in microns and you need focus stacking even for subjects that are quite flat.