macro shots with reverse adapter

paranoia23 · 05-20-2013, 10:28 AM

i bought a pentax-m 28mm 2.8 for my reverse adapter.

after a few test it seems to be impossible to add detail with extension rings ... and i ask myself why is that ?!

enoeske · 05-20-2013, 11:15 AM

what do you mean, "add detail"?

This was shot with a 50mm lens reversed on 68mm of extension tubes

cali92rs · 05-20-2013, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by paranoia23

i bought a pentax-m 28mm 2.8 for my reverse adapter.

after a few test it seems to be impossible to add detail with extension rings ... and i ask myself why is that ?!

Can you share your pics and describe your setup?

Here is a set I took with extension tubes and a reversed FA50mm f1.7:
Super Macro - a set on Flickr

A few of things...
You are getting very little light so you can expect long exposures. I would suggest you use some supplemental lighting while focusing (in live view, with magnification) because the viewfinder will be nice and dark.
The closer you get, the motion gets magnified as well, so you need a rock solid support system.
DOF is miniscule, only a tiny little slice of your photo will be focus, so you either have to step way down, which still only adds a little depth of field, but not a lot, or you have to use photo stacking.

**baro-nite** · 05-20-2013, 12:49 PM

Good tips above. Also consider that the higher the magnification, the shallower the depth of field. Increasing magnification also increases the effective f-number, meaning that if you try to increase DOF by stopping down, you run into the diffraction limit at a lower nominal f-stop than you might expect. It's worth some experimenting to find the optimum aperture setting for any particular lens/magnification combination.

I've done some shooting with the M28/2.8 reversed and found it to be a good performer up to about 3:1 magnification and it can be pushed a little farther than that with acceptable results. For lower magnifications the optimum aperture setting will be around f/8, while for higher magnifications f/5.6 is a better choice. It was my lens of choice for this year's Single in February challenge, and a lot of the shots I did were with the lens reversed; have a look at my Single in February album for examples and notes about settings etc.

**seventhdr** · 05-20-2013, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by paranoia23

i bought a pentax-m 28mm 2.8 for my reverse adapter.

after a few test it seems to be impossible to add detail with extension rings ... and i ask myself why is that ?!

Remember the extension tubes (rings) go between the lens mount and the reverse adapter when using a reversed lens, not on the rear mount of the lens.

Regards

Chris

paranoia23 · 05-22-2013, 12:33 AM

i took 2 pictures of the dots on my LCD screen ... adding the extension tubes doenst improve the details atleast at these shots i took...

(first one is a 200% crop... and i flatted colors a little bit on both)

05-20-2013, 10:28 AM	#1
paranoia23 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 188	macro shots with reverse adapter i bought a pentax-m 28mm 2.8 for my reverse adapter. after a few test it seems to be impossible to add detail with extension rings ... and i ask myself why is that ?!

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05-20-2013, 11:15 AM	#2
enoeske Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Surprise, Az Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,136	what do you mean, "add detail"? This was shot with a 50mm lens reversed on 68mm of extension tubes

05-20-2013, 11:16 AM	#3
cali92rs Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 3,354	Originally posted by paranoia23 i bought a pentax-m 28mm 2.8 for my reverse adapter. after a few test it seems to be impossible to add detail with extension rings ... and i ask myself why is that ?! Can you share your pics and describe your setup? Here is a set I took with extension tubes and a reversed FA50mm f1.7: Super Macro - a set on Flickr A few of things... You are getting very little light so you can expect long exposures. I would suggest you use some supplemental lighting while focusing (in live view, with magnification) because the viewfinder will be nice and dark. The closer you get, the motion gets magnified as well, so you need a rock solid support system. DOF is miniscule, only a tiny little slice of your photo will be focus, so you either have to step way down, which still only adds a little depth of field, but not a lot, or you have to use photo stacking.

05-20-2013, 12:49 PM	#4
baro-nite Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Carolina, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,295	Good tips above. Also consider that the higher the magnification, the shallower the depth of field. Increasing magnification also increases the effective f-number, meaning that if you try to increase DOF by stopping down, you run into the diffraction limit at a lower nominal f-stop than you might expect. It's worth some experimenting to find the optimum aperture setting for any particular lens/magnification combination. I've done some shooting with the M28/2.8 reversed and found it to be a good performer up to about 3:1 magnification and it can be pushed a little farther than that with acceptable results. For lower magnifications the optimum aperture setting will be around f/8, while for higher magnifications f/5.6 is a better choice. It was my lens of choice for this year's Single in February challenge, and a lot of the shots I did were with the lens reversed; have a look at my Single in February album for examples and notes about settings etc.

05-20-2013, 01:24 PM	#5
seventhdr Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,452	Originally posted by paranoia23 i bought a pentax-m 28mm 2.8 for my reverse adapter. after a few test it seems to be impossible to add detail with extension rings ... and i ask myself why is that ?! Remember the extension tubes (rings) go between the lens mount and the reverse adapter when using a reversed lens, not on the rear mount of the lens. Regards Chris

05-22-2013, 12:33 AM	#6
paranoia23 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 188 Original Poster	i took 2 pictures of the dots on my LCD screen ... adding the extension tubes doenst improve the details atleast at these shots i took... (first one is a 200% crop... and i flatted colors a little bit on both)