Non insect macros anyone?

Archibald wrote in post #19051431
Shapely woman from another planet!

Wearing a hat.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19051394
This was a test run in building my "macro" studio around a new set of old Pentax M42 mount bellows.

I used constant lighting with LED clamp lights diffused through a plastic disposable cutting board. My T2i attached to the bellows at maximum length, spun vertical, & my M42 mount Mamiya 55mm F/1.8. 1/2 second exposure F/16 (look how shallow!) ISO 100. This screw was shot in place of a very tiny flower I plan on attempting to shoot tomorrow. Judging by the looks of things it will require a stack.

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Is your lens reverse mounted? If not, for this kind of magnification you should get better quality if you reverse mount it. You also might need shorter extension tubes. This what I did with a cheap reverse mounted 50mm f/2 lens:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/acGF​Nr

No the Mamiya is not reversed (yet). I have a reversing ring to mount it to the front filter of another lens but not one yet to reverse it to M42. When it was reversed on my 85mm F/1.8 I was pleased with the results.

I was looking into the El-Nikkor 50mm F/2.8 enlarging lens & saw a video on line where the gentleman said he thought that lens was even sharper when reversed. I questioned this at first but his results were awesome. Since you are the second person to tell me this I will definitely have to give it a shot.

If you know of a link where I can find such an adapter, I would appreciate it. Thanks for the advice. These bellows are going to be as much fun as they will be a challenge.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #19051427

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2iTm​W84 Shapely woman and hat by MedicineMan4040, on Flickr

Love this!

Learning slowly....LOL..

Does this count?

Yes, quite a challenge.

I shot a very tiny flower/weed?? in my yard & wanted to start with a "solid" subject. I also shot the screw this morning with my diffused off camera flashes & preferred the look over the results I got with the LED. Here is a shot of a single image that is as close to the front in focus of the stamens or pistols? And another shot with my phone to show the size of the flower compared to a U.S. dime.

I did a stack but wasn't happy because I rushed it with too few shots I think.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19052032
Yes, quite a challenge.

I shot a very tiny flower/weed?? in my yard & wanted to start with a "solid" subject. I also shot the screw this morning with my diffused off camera flashes & preferred the look over the results I got with the LED. Here is a shot of a single image that is as close to the front in focus of the stamens or pistols? And another shot with my phone to show the size of the flower compared to a U.S. dime.

I did a stack but wasn't happy because I rushed it with too few shots I think.

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I like the shallow DOF on this so I wouldn't beat myself up about not getting the focus stacking right. I see a lot of dust on the sensor though so you might want to give it a good cleaning.

Thank you, I like shallow DOF also but I'm always trying to get more in focus.
Yea, I didn't do much cleaning up in PS. That Rebel is 10 years old so I guess I should expect a little dust.

Here is the stack I like the best. It's 20 images. I tried A,B, & C versions in Helicon and I liked B the best. Again, not much pp in PS.

I am just shocked at the magnification I'm getting. Went in knowing it would be more than I'm used to with extension tubes but still shocked.

Pigpen101 wrote in post #19052134
Thank you, I like shallow DOF also but I'm always trying to get more in focus.
Yea, I didn't do much cleaning up in PS. That Rebel is 10 years old so I guess I should expect a little dust.

Here is the stack I like the best. It's 20 images. I tried A,B, & C versions in Helicon and I liked B the best. Again, not much pp in PS.

I am just shocked at the magnification I'm getting. Went in knowing it would be more than I'm used to with extension tubes but still shocked.

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Yes, impressive magnification. Is there any way to control the magnification? Or with your rig, is it just whatever you get? Good experimenting in any case.

What f stop did you use?

Yes, I tend to go full tilt too quickly. I had the bellows almost maxed out, I maybe have 3/4 inch more to move the body back, so there is a lot of room for me to back off for less magnification. I can also switch to my FF body for less magnification.

These shots were f/8, ISO 100, 1/160th sec, 2 OCF w/ 6in x 9in softboxes both @ 1/8th power (plan on playing with flash ratios later). The flashes were also diffused through the plastic cutting board.

I can't find a 52mm reverse mount to M42. Do you think a 52mm-42mm filter ring would mount on an m42??