Walk in the Park

Today: no words, just photos.

Mega Macros

I've been experimenting with mega macros lately. My goal is to achieve microscopy with my camera lenses. I had read that microscopy was defined as 10 times (10:1) the subject's actual size on the film plane. A college professor in Germany corrected me and said it's 50 times (50:1) the subject's actual size when recorded on film. So that's harder to do.

I had trouble exceeding 1:1 -- the minimum size for a macro. Anything less than life-size when reproduced on the film plane is simply a close-up. I began testing various lenses on my macro bellows and managed to get 2.5:1 magnification, though in a very useless manner as it was right in front of the 50mm lens (almost touching the element. My macro lens, which achieves 1:1, was much more useful. Mounting my 135mm lens on my bellows, I could get slightly larger than 1:1 and it was VERY useful with a nice distance from the subject, even at large magnifications.

I tried then to reverse-mount some lenses. I made a YouTube video about the experiment, even:

After I filmed the video, I picked up some step-down rings and was able to mount my 18-28mm lens, which provided EVEN Greater magnification. That technique yielded 5.75:1 magnification with just a reverse-mounted ultra-wide lens.

So I decided to reverse-mount my Canon FD 24mm 1:2.8 on my bellows and see what happens at full extension. This happens:

Tree bark at 25.4:1 magnification happens. That entire area is about 1.5 millimeters wide and 1 millimeter tall in real life.

Next stop -- 50:1 magnification or better.

Intermediate Macro Techniques: Which Lens is Best?

A comment on one of my YouTube videos spurred a debate with a friend: What type of lens works best for a reverse-mount macro? This video tests various lenses from 24mm to 200mm to see how well they magnify an Australian $2 coin. In fact, the video opens with a photo from the best performer. You may be surprised by the results. Some of the results certainly surprised me.

Reverse-mounting a lens for macro use is pretty simple, with an adapter. For about $5 (USD), you can pick up a new, bargain-basement reverse adapter ring on eBay. That can serve you pretty well for a LOT of macro work.

The lenses I used:
Nikon Nikkor-Q 200mm 1:4
Nikon Nikkor-Q 125mm 1:3.5
Nikon Nikkor-P 105mm 1:2.5 (this wasn't tested, unfortunately, due to a best filter ring.)
Canon 100mm 1:4 (1:1 macro) in FD mount
Sigma 50mm 1:2.8 (1:1 macro)
Takumar 50mm 1:1.4
Tokinal-EL 28mm 1:2.8
Canon 24mm 1:2.8 in FD mount
Nikon Nikkor Zoom 43-86mm 1:3.5
Nikon Series E 36-72mm 1:3.5