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

Great Lens, but Maybe not for me.

Last Tuesday I was supposed to take my Nikon F3 out. That didn't happen until Friday, so these are images I took Friday with the 105mm lens. The 105mm focal distance was difficult for me. Perhaps I was in a bad area for it, or perhaps it's just not a focal distance that I mesh with. Either way, I'll try it again in the future and see if I have better results.









Last Friday I also took my girlfriend's Nikon N80 with me, and that lens and camera combination yielded much better results. So we'll see those on Friday. Friday promises to be a long post.

Better Weather Makes Better Photographs

Back in December I visited a Griffin Statue in SOMA at 8th and Townsend. The statue is in a traffic circle island on a pedestal. I thought it was pretty neat. That is until this past Wednesday when I saw an identical one in Walnut Creek. Oh yes. It's a mass-produced concrete griffin. The one in Walnut Creek, as you will see tomorrow, even has a fountain.

Anyway, here is a link to my trip there in December: SOMA Near Mission and Hayes Valley. Now, here are photos from this trip. Same film, I believe, as before, but a different camera and lens combination. These were taken with a Nikkormat FTN, one of my two copies of this camera. This one works better than the other -- the light seals are fine and it's less fidgety. Specifically, the other one I have to hit with fair gusto before the film advance lever operates following a shot. This one need a smack, but only when it has film inside and at that it does not require much force. However, I'll be keeping both copies as these are great cameras.

To open, here's a shot from last December, taken with my Nikon F3.


Here's a similar shot from this trip, other side of the statue, with the Nikkormat and 105mm Nikkor-P.

1/500th, f22. This shoot had some advantages over the other:
1- The weather was sunny, which provided nice lighting and contrast. In December, the sky was overcast with drizzle, which muted shadows and forced longer exposures. This caused some camera blur.
2- The developer used for the previous batch had exceeded it's 16-roll limit without replenisher being added. This caused the developer to work with less quality than this recent shoot. The December shoot's developer caused excessive grainyness and detail loss. This was much better. Compare the shots -- this is the same film.


1/1,000th, f16. This shot brings out a number of the statues details. Again, good lighting and fresh chemicals prevent the statue from looking it it just received an acid bath.


1/500th, f22. One final shot of this statue. It's a nice piece and I imagine you could probably order one for each side of your driveway, front door, or swimming pool if you wanted.


1/1000th, f11. Scallop detail. Mmmmmmm. Scallops.


1/1,000th, f11. Uh oh! Lunch time's over!


You can see the difference between this photo, taken in December, and the one above. Again, better lighting and chemical quality produce better results.

So, today's lessons:

1- Always keep chemicals fresh
2- Keep developer properly replenished or replace it if there's no replenisher available.
3- Lighting is vital