Reverse macro technique, how?

[bad karma]

I am trying to do the reverse macro technique on a lens but it's not working. I know most people do it with a nifty fifty. They use a regular lens, then take the nifty fifty and flip it around and hold it against the lens. Is that how it's done?

edit: nevermind I got it

[TxDietwater]

How'd you get it? Im curious

[gasrocks]

One technique is to just mount a lens reversed on the camera, usually a 50mm or 35mm. Another is to put a reversed 50mm in front of a short telephoto, say 135mm or 200mm.

[Livinthalife]

How'd you get it? Im curious

reversing rings. Just search ebay, make sure to search the right mm of both lenses. I used photodiox.

[SolidxSnake]

Hell whenever I try this I just hold the lens in front of the lens mount with rear element facing forward... :D

Inconvenient I must say, but I don't have money for reversing rings, not to mention a dedicated macro lens, lighting, extension tubes or TCs.

[Wilt]

When lenses were mechanically linked to bodies, it was more feasible to use reversing rings, as you could stop down the lens for shooting and open it up for focusing. With electrically coupled lenses, you lose the ability to stop down the lens reasonably for shooting after focusing.

Reversing rings were made for specific filter thread diameters, greatly limiting the lenses which could be used in this fashion. Novoflex makes a special adapter that costs muy mucho diniero and which retains the aperture automation, but again for lenses of one filter diameter.

[SolidxSnake]

When lenses were mechanically linked to bodies, it was more feasible to use reversing rings, as you could stop down the lens for shooting and open it up for focusing. With electrically coupled lenses, you lose the ability to stop down the lens reasonably for shooting after focusing.

Reversing rings were made for specific filter thread diameters, greatly limiting the lenses which could be used in this fashion. Novoflex makes a special adapter that costs muy mucho diniero and which retains the aperture automation, but again for lenses of one filter diameter.


You can always build your own reversing setup to retain lens <-> body communication. It involves getting an extension tube or two, disassembling it/them, and connecting the pins remotely with wire so you can attach the lens side of the disassembled extension tube to the reversed lens, and the rear side of the disassembled extension tube to the body. Then you either use another extension tube to get a lens mount or something else to just physically mount the lens. I remember seeing it at these forums a month or two back.

[gnnbtrn]

For the reverse macro I do not connect the lens to the body.
I just hold it. Focus on the subject by moving back and forth.
Here is what I got:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/2274066151_5afdeaab2f_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2182/2274849866_6797591bb8_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2162/2274846262_5a1c0f3fcc_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2118/2269699515_8531336093_o.jpg

[SolidxSnake]

http://photo.net/bboard-uploads/007mKz-17190184.jpg

There's a pic of one.

[number six]

An EOS lens can be stopped down before it's removed from the camera (with the power on), then reversed and it'll keep the previously-set aperture.

OTOH, manual lenses work fine reversed for macro work (where you usually don't want autofocus anyway).

Here's a Nikkor zoom reversed on my old 300D:

251588


At high magnification and large (sorta large) aperture the DOF can get pretty thin:

251589

(That's a 6 inch steel rule - those are 1mm divisions on the left.)

:lol:

-js

[bad karma]

An EOS lens can be stopped down before it's removed from the camera (with the power on), then reversed and it'll keep the previously-set aperture.

OTOH, manual lenses work fine reversed for macro work (where you usually don't want autofocus anyway).

Here's a Nikkor zoom reversed on my old 300D:

251588


At high magnification and large (sorta large) aperture the DOF can get pretty thin:

251589

(That's a 6 inch steel rule - those are 1mm divisions on the left.)

:lol:

-js
I was reading about that the other day, with the MPE whatever lens canon has (the dedicated macro lens) and how at an insanely close magnification factor, the DOF is so razor thin even at f/18. Yikes!

[Rafromak]

A ring costs around $12.00. This thing is just a ring that is threaded on both sides. It means that you must order to correct size at each side so it can match the lens filter thread. The expensive one, made in England I believe, is a completely different thing. It has a small extension cord, and electrical contacts (like the ones at the camera's body), to be used by the lens in front.