Reversed 300D Kit lens meets Wasp [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 04:34

Since I have virtually no macro equipment, but am interested in macro photography I figured until I got the funds for a Canon 100 macro, I'd play around with what I've got.

I set the lens to f/22 then pressed the dof preview button, holding it in while removing the lens. Set it to 18mm and handheld it reversed to the camera while attempting to get a good focus (which is quite hard at that aperture, reversed) but the resulting image came out pretty well. Pretty much full frame, except I cropped off a tiny bit on the sides.

Obviously this is pretty useless in the field unless you're macroing slugs or something because you have to get so close. This wasp stung me while I was mowing the grass so he met his fate, then became my test subject. :lol:

Timm

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 05:53

That's a stunning image given the ad-hoc nature of the kit used!

Whilst you're waiting for the funds for a macro lens have you considered a reversing ring to fix the lens to your camera? There's a thread here (http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=80902&highlight=reversing) that has details of where they can be obtained.

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 06:30

I just got one off eBay, thanks for the heads up! That'll make it much easier. :)

RockOne

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 06:36

Great shot. Looks like a good, inexpensive alternative to a macro lens.

queenbee288

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 07:04

Great shot. Sorry about your sting. My husband keeps saying it is going to happen to me but it hasn't yet.

Char

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 07:36

Great shot. Sorry about your sting. My husband keeps saying it is going to happen to me but it hasn't yet.

Char

Thanks! :) I checked out your pbase gallery, I really love the yellow jacket macros! As for the sting, it really didn't hurt except for the first shock of it. Guess it was telling me to get a quieter lawn mower. Oddly enough I'm more afraid of getting stung by a bumblebee than a wasp, I heard you can really feel one of those.

MattL

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 08:13

I thought wasps had no barb on their sting - which meant they didnt rip their abodmen in half in a attempt to be free of the human they stung?

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 08:30

I thought wasps had no barb on their sting - which meant they didnt rip their abodmen in half in a attempt to be free of the human they stung?

That would be correct, by met his fate I mean I smacked'em out of reflex. :)

Here's his stinger for reference, this was the first image I took so it's a pretty bad one. Part of me is still on the end of it.

Ron Wilson

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 09:09

Let me understand this....you took the crappy kit lens (I gots one too and I like it) off the camera, hand held it backwards, focused somehow/someway by magic and got this shot.....friggin amazin. You know there are lens worth several hundred dollars out there that many buy and they can't come close to this type of shot. Well done. Love it. So everyone rush out to try this, me first. Without the sting.

Bald Eagle

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 09:16

let me get this straight, first you killed it, then you shot it. And you did a great job shooting it, i might add, great concept, excellent "execution" well done.

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 09:42

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 09:44

let me get this straight, first you killed it, then you shot it. And you did a great job shooting it, i might add, great concept, excellent "execution" well done.

Thanks Bald Eagle,
lol, well. I claim self defense, he threw the first punch. He brought it, I finished it. Then I didn't want his sacrifice to go in vain so I figured what the heck, I'll try that whole reverse lens thingamajig I heard about and viola, you're seeing the results.

edit: here's a 100% crop of the image, for those curious as to what it looks like not resized.

Ballen Photo

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 10:06

I set the lens to f/22 then pressed the dof preview button, holding it in while removing the lens. Set it to 18mm and handheld it reversed to the camera while attempting to get a good focus (which is quite hard at that aperture, reversed) but the resulting image came out pretty well. Pretty much full frame, except I cropped off a tiny bit on the sides.
Josh, I am "VERY" impressed with the results you've acheived here, as well as the lengths you had to go to get these results. IMHO, You don't really need a macro lens, just a reversing adapter for the one you have so you dont have to fumble with hand holding it against the body. :D :D ;)
-Bruce

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 10:17

Josh, I am "VERY" impressed with the results you've acheived here, as well as the lengths you had to go to get these results. IMHO, You don't really need a macro lens, just a reversing adapter for the one you have so you dont have to fumble with hand holding it against the body. :D :D ;)
-Bruce

Haha, Thanks Bruce!!

Well, I don't want to go killing every insect I take a picture of so I'll probably still get the 100mm, but I already ordered a reversing ring so I can free up the hand when I find myself in a situation that allows such magnification. :) I need all the leverage I can get crawling through the yard looking for more insects to terrorize! :lol:

BlanceEMT

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 12:29

cool...i just ordered an adapter off eBay too! ...cant go wrong with $13 shipped

Chenu

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 12:48

Powerful image, great creativity.

It is time for me to begin experimentation on my own. Quite sincerely this proves the usefulness of a functional forum. Keep sharing these wonderful pictures and 'behind the scenes actions'.

hmongstang

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 13:08

You know you don't need to kill the subject to get it still... ahhaha joking! awsome shot!

JoshB

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 14:06

Thanks guys :)
BlanceEMT: Awesome! Show us your results when you get it. :)

Chenu: I'm glad I somehow inspired you to try new things. Experimentation is a really good way to improve your skills and confidence shooting. Give it a chance, you might be surprised. :)

hmongstang: Hey now, I know a few portrait photographers that would love to have that ability. ;) It's just my way of telling the creatures of bugland that if they sting/bite me I'm gonna force'em into posing for me.

Cobra351

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 14:24

WOW!!! Awesome shot, very well done.

Leorooster

20th of July 2005 (Wed), 15:10

Awesome!

JoshB

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 09:18

Thanks Cobra351 & Leorooster, I'm glad you liked it. :)

Ron Wilson

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 09:51

Not so easy. I tried the same thing last night and had no luck. How do you focus when you can hardly see through the lens reversed at f22? Switching to F5.6 helped a little but the DOF was so narrow. Not easy at all.

JoshB

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 10:21

It's definitely tricky, and most of the time, trial and error.

One thing I tried was pressing the AE/AF Lock Button repeatedly to fire the flash and that gave a little bit of a guide, move back and forth based on what you see.

For the Wasp head, I have a flexlight that I use when I tie flies (fishing ones, I'm not that cruel!) and was able to flex it into position right in front of the head which gave a good indication as to whether or not it was in focus or not.

mbrown

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 11:47

When you get that 100mm macro, get yourself a used 50mm 1.4 lens and shoot with the 50 wide open to reduce vignetting. (Step rings needed of course)
Really works well for me, and helps to achieve those wonderful abstracts in nature that I am always after!

JoshB

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 11:56

Checking out your portfolio, my mind was blown, Michael! You have many gorgeous shots.
I'll definitely look into that, I've wanted a 1.4 anyways so now I have justification. ;)

Thanks!

chemicalbro

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 14:27

LOL i posted a thing about using reversed lenses and got shot down in flames as being some kinda cheapskate........ the truth of the matter is that a lens when reversed is sharper than it ever is the right way round...... (
I dunno but taking the lens off whilst holding the DOF preview button to lock the aperture doesn't sound too healthy to me... (at that point there is obviously electric current running through both the lens and the camera...... ) take a look here on another forum about MAKING a reversed lens using an old (but still damn good quality) FL lens and an old body cap..... the FL lens you can pick up on ebay for about 20-30 pounds the body cap you can get for a quid...
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/227149
the thing about this method is that the lens is fully manual .so you can focus etc then set your aperture.....
(i also know a guy that uses an old sony digital camera a listerine bottle top with the end cut off and 2 binocular lenses........... he gets possibly the best macro shots i've ever seen)
just becasue you're equipment didn't cost thousands of dollars doesn't mean it can't do good results.................

HELL some of the sharpest photos i've ever seen were from a shoebox with a pinhole in it.....

JoshB

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 14:44

Thanks for that link chemicalbro, I'm looking over it now. Very interesting. :)

I do agree that interrupting current could possibly be unhealthy for the camera and lens involved, as per advice from mbrown I'll probably be getting a 50 1.4 soon, I'll try something like that setup on that forum you mentioned with it and see what kind of results I get.

That listerine setup sounds hysterical, do you have any links to his photos? That's quite a setup.

chemicalbro

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 14:56

JoshB

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 15:02

Wow, that is a superb image!!

Very nice! I'll never look at listerine again the same way. :)

Ballen Photo

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 15:36

the forum he posts on you have to subscribe to............. but here's one of his images....

he really does use a listerine cap taped in front of his lens with 2 binocular glasses fitted inside............. he comes from an astronomy background so is well versed in making things with lenses ;)
the inventiveness of some people amazes me :)
WOW Alan! That IS nice! Who is He? Can you post a link to His site?

JoshB, Thanks to your posts, You've pushed me over the edge. :shock: I've just ordered an M42 to 49mm thread adapter from ebay. I still have some fully manual Pentax lenses, and most of them have a 49mm filter thread on them, and I have some M42 to EOS adapters, along with a few M42 Takumar lenses, so this settup should be a "Natural" for me. ;)
-Bruce

JoshB

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 16:05

Ballen Photo

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 16:19

Bruce,
Hahah, I'm glad. I'm a sucker for this supermacro style so the more the merrier.
Can't wait to see your results. You've gotta post them here now when you get that adapter :) It's mandatory! :p :D
LOL! I dont think they've even shipped it yet, and when I DO get it, I'll have to make a trial run of it first. ;)
I think this is going to be fun. :D
-Bruce

JoshB

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 16:39

lol :)
It's quite fun, I've been running all over my yard looking for subjects. I really think the neighborhood kids think I'm on drugs. They see a guy get down on his knees and elbows taking pictures of what appears to them as just grass.

I should have my 58mm adapter sometime next week, I hope. I ended up paying just as much for the adapter, in shipping so it could get sent from China in 4-5 days instead of 10. haha. :) Then I'll try for less fuzziness.

Ballen Photo

21st of July 2005 (Thu), 16:53

lol :)
It's quite fun, I've been running all over my yard looking for subjects. I really think the neighborhood kids think I'm on drugs. They see a guy get down on his knees and elbows taking pictures of what appears to them as just grass.
Oh NO! What will the neighbors think of me now? ;)

I should have my 58mm adapter sometime next week, I hope. I ended up paying just as much for the adapter, in shipping so it could get sent from China in 4-5 days instead of 10. haha. :) Then I'll try for less fuzziness.
Should be very interesting considering what you've managed so far WITHOUT the ring. :D
-Bruce

chemicalbro

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 02:30

Ballen
the site that Dan posts his pics on is here
http://www.phototakers.com/forum/

look in the macro section for posts by DanL

mbrown

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 07:59

Hope you got his permission before lifting his photo to place it here in this thread!
Sorry, ....... just a big thing with me!!

chemicalbro

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 10:58

Ballen Photo

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 11:41

Ballen
the site that Dan posts his pics on is here
http://www.phototakers.com/forum/

look in the macro section for posts by DanL
Thanks Alan, I'll have a look. :D
-Bruce

chemicalbro

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 12:38

Mr Brown
heres a copy paste of the mail dan sent me

theres also a link to most of his images if anybody is interested

From: DannL
To: chemicalbro
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:29 pm
Subject: Re: use of one of your images

Wow! I got an email. Thanks . . .

Definitely, Permission is Granted.

To expedite your venture I set up a folder on a server with all the images (plus some). The hyperlink is near the bottom of this email. These were all taken with either a single 30mm, double 30mm or Double 25mm configuration of the binocular lens. They were also all taken with the new Sony DSC-S60 (came out in April 2005 - $245 Walmart) + $14.95 for Binoculars + $2.00 for Mouthwash and Tape. I have not tested this on a high dollar camera so the results will definitely vary from camera to camera. Any graininess in my images is all my fault . . . that's my effort to remove any blurriness caused by movement with the sharpening tool.

Please "copy" the ones you need (any or all) to your own system/web host. You can then repost them as you see fit. Please let me know when you've got what your like, and then I can remove the images on my system.

To images - http://www.wwwconnect.net/freeforall/

.............................
you all gotta at least look at blacky :)

in case anybody is interested look at the image titled macrolens.jpg
it shows an illustration of his SBFML (super breath freshening macro lens) :)

Ballen Photo

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 12:49

you all gotta at least look at blacky :)
WOW! What a PHENOMINAL shot! In fact, I didn't see a bad one in the lot, but Blacky, WOW! :shock: Maybe you should send Dan a link to this post so He can see the comments about His photos here? ;)
-Bruce

chemicalbro

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 12:52

yeah i'll do that :)

its not the photos that get me (although 99.9% of them are stunning) its his damned inventiveness :)

chemicalbro

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 12:53

NOW how to find a bottle of listerine with a cap big enough to fit on a 50mm :)

mbrown

22nd of July 2005 (Fri), 14:41

Sure did Mr B..... I wouldn't dream of using somebody elses work without asking 1st
afterall the copyright is held by the creator (Dan)

I've had my fingers burnt a few times with people ripping off my 3d models so i know what thats like....

Very cool!! http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif