Macro lens vs Bellows

<p>Close up photography is something that I have put on the back burner until recently. Actually I have been accumulating macro equipment on and off for years, but have never invested much time in taking those type of pictures.</p>

<p> In any case, my modest stock in Macro equipment include: a Nikon 55mm f 2.8 Micro lens with, PK12, PK13 and PN-11 auto extension tubes. During the years I switched over from Nikon to Canon so I purchased a Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro lens. About 5 years ago I purchased a Nikon PB-6 bellows, but was not quite happy, so a few years later I also purchased a PB-4 bellows system that allows tilt and shift movements. Both of these units have been collecting dust until recently.</p>

<p>Since I'm a BIG John Shaw(nature Photographer) fan and since purchasing this equipment was partly due to my reading one of his books on Nature, I also purchased a butterfly flash braket from Kirk Enterprise. With that I purchased a couple of discontinued Nikon SB-15 hot shoe flash and cables so that I could attach to the Kirk bracket 'ala John Shaw'.</p>

<p>Years ago I had the patience to take a few pictures, wait till I used up the entire roll, then take them to the lab and wait a couple of days to get negatives and prints. With the outset of digital I don't have that quality anymore, at least I don' t think so. I also figured I could learn much quicker with digital. </p>

<p>So I finally bit the bullet and bought me one of those Nikon to Canon lens adapters a few days ago. Now I can use my Canon 30D with a Nikon Bellows and Nikon Lenses. Another must-have item according to John Shaw, is a lens reversal mount adapter. I never though I would be buying one of these geeky items, but what the heck they are not that expensive anyway and they really work, they really increase the lens to subject distance with hardly any distortions.</p>

<p>Now is all of this overkill ? Maybe I could have done just as well with my Canon 30D and the 100mm lens. Is a bellows system really that important ? I notice they are discontinued now with less than a handful of manufacturers making them. Other than than 1:1 ratios, when would a bellows system outperform a regular Macro/Micro lens ? thanks in advance.</p>

<p>The bellows, of course, gives you a greater range of potential magnification than most macro lenses. I actually prefer using macro lenses over the bellows, but I keep one on hand for the eventuality I may need it. Years ago I tried the lens reversal schtick...it worked ok, but I still prefer using a macro lens with/or without tubes. It is less cumbersome for me than the bellows setup. Good luck with your decision on which to use. My best animal macro shot was taken 2 days ago with just a macro lens (and handheld) and is posted hers in the W/N/W forum under the topic "arachnophilia"; a fine example of seizing the moment and things working out right, rather than careful planning. Generally I prefer the careful planning approach.</p>

<p>You have a great many <em>things</em>. The next step, logically, is to find which of them is (or are) best suited to the kind of work you want to do.</p>

<p>Hi Harry. It's seems like you are more into accumulating equipment than taking pictures ! Although bellows will give amazing results for table-top set-ups they are not very practical when stalking butterflies in the wild. The key to taking good close-ups is plenty of practice and patience. You need to get to know and explore each piece of equipment you have. You will find each has advantages and limitations. Don't buy anything else until you have explored the limits of what you already have. Good Luck. </p>

<p>A bellows will give more magnification, but is terribly inconvenient. In fact, I have never used my bellows outside. So, use the macro lens when you can, and the bellows when absolutely necessary.</p>

<p>IMHO, a bellow is just another macro tool and options. If you don't have a Canon MP-E macro lens, a bellow still can yield some of the best optical result with a proper lens. If you do have a MP-E, they could be helpful beyond 5:1. Some bellow can add extension like your PB-6 and give some working distant flexibility at high magnification. Some have move-able back standard and help keep prespective some what constant while you (stack) focus. With macro, there is no single best way for a given shot. Some ways are better some are worst. Having a tool like a bellow at hand do help at time. </p>

<p>A bellows requires more patience and deliberation than a dedicated macro lens but that can make the effort all the more rewarding (in that sense it's a bit like shooting film versus digital, actually). I have a PB-4 too and if you like operating well-made mechanical devices then it really is a pleasure to use, with the added benefit of allowing you to experiment with tilting effects. It obviously isn't much use for keeping up with alert bugs etc but there's plenty of excitement to be found in exploring barely visible textures and details with magnifications above 1:1</p>

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<p>Harry, you have the gear. Why don't you try it out to find out what suits <em>you</em>? Asking strangers what <em>you </em>will like seems pretty silly.</p>

<p>A bellows attachment, or extension tubes, generally work better <strong>with </strong>a macro lens than a conventional lens. That's because a macro lens is designed to have a flatter field and better edge sharpness at close distances. The same is true if you reverse the lens, because then the lens to subject is less than the lens to film plane.</p>

<p>One accessory you don't mention is a pack mule. With that much gear, you probably should put one on your short list ;-)</p>

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<p>Other than than 1:1 ratios, when would a bellows system outperform a regular Macro/Micro lens ? thanks in advance.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>So many situations come to mind...</p>

<ul>

<li>Well, the one obvious one is that critical focusing at high magnification is a lot easier with a "focusing rail" that moves the camera and the lens together as one unit, and the PB-4 and PB-6 both have excellent built-in focus rails, equal in quality to a $300 or so Novoflex Castle-Q or Castle-L</li>

<li>Are you familiar with the technique called "focus stacking"? That's when you take several pictures, focused at different depths, and combine them with a program like CombineZ or Helicon Focus. One of the problems with focus stacking with a conventional macro lens's normal focus collar, or with a standard focus rail like that Novoflex I mentioned earlier, is as you focus, the front of the lens moves. This causes a change in perspective, which causes stacking "artifacts", weird little boarders around edges that are usually referred to as "fringing" or "echos". A PB-4 or PB-6 bellows allows you to use the focusing technique called "bellows draw", so that only the rear standard is moved. By not moving the lens, there's no perspective shift, and you get perfect, fringe free stacks.</li>

<li>Another good reason to use the bellows is that, since the death of film, you can get enlarger lenses, like the Nikon El-Nikkor 50mm f2.8, that become fantastic high magnification, low distortion, high sharpness macro lenses on the bellows. And you get them dirt cheap. Sometimes, you find them on the side of the road, sometimes you have to pay $25 for them on eBay (for lenses that used to sell for $500!). The 50mm f2.8 on a PB-4 covers the magnification range from 1.4x to 4.2x. The 80mm is great from 0.5x to 2.3x, with a lot more working distance than the 50mm gives at 2x.</li>

<li>The PB-4 (and I think, the PB-6) allows you to rotate quickly from a horizontal shot to a vertical, in case your macro lens doesn't have a rotating tripod collar.</li>

<li>At magnifications beyond 1:1, it's often hard to light subjects. That MP-E65 mentioned elsewhere in this thread has a huge front barrel and filter ring, and casts enormous shadows on the subject, making it hard to position your lights, or get sunlight to the subject. Those El-Nikkors I mentioned aren't even half the size, and much easier to light around. For the maximum ease of lighting, the tiny Zeiss Luminars are incredible, not to mention optically excellent.</li>

</ul>

<p>p.s. you're not planning to shoot butterflies with a butterfly bracket and bellows, are you?</p>

<p>The bellows is great for deliberate work, flowers, berries, really slow moving or frozen insects, but not really the tool for living things.</p>

<p>"p.s. you're not planning to shoot butterflies with a butterfly bracket and bellows, are you?"<br>

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Joseph right now I don't think I could even shoot a snail with my bellows let alone butterflies. I'ts going to be a long learning curve for me, but I see Macro Photography as Golf, not too strenuous and relaxing(although it can get nerve wracking at times).</p>

<p>The so-called Butterfly bracket allows you to position a small flash above the lens at various angles, thereby mimicking sunlight. According to John Shaw he never liked the Ring Flash that allot of Macro photographers use, because it produces very flat lighting. This is why I purchased 2 Nikon SB-15's which come with TTL to attach to the Butterfly bracket. previously I tried the small Holga($10) mini-flash units, but they kept falling appart on me. </p>

<p>Harry,</p>

<p>My advice is to sell everything but the 100mm macro lens. The Nikon bellows is great for 1:1 and higher mag, but I doubt you will need that. Nowadays a good macro lens going to 1:1 is a better idea and much easier to use. I guess you should keep the flash stuff. I agree with Joseph about the enlarging lenses up to a point but enlarging lenses are not very good at 1:1 as a general rule and can be surprisingly poor. Most enlarging lenses are designed for 8-15X magnification i.e. a lot less mag than 1:1. Also most people shoot at magnifications less than 1:1 so a macro lens is so much easier. If you want great bellows performance at 1:1 you will need a dedicated bellows macro lens such as the those made by Rodenstock or the various old Minolta/Nikon/Pentax etc etc lenses without focussing units.</p>

<p>Harry – yes I also get<br />an impression that you are into accumulating equipment rather than capturing<br />images! Bellows are GREAT for table-top shoots – but they are impractical when<br />stalking butterflies (or wildflowers in the field. One key to taking good close-ups is just like<br />the directions to Carnegie Hall [practice, Practice,<br />Practice ] and patience. You MUST know and<br />explore each piece of equipment you have – try buying a bouquet of flowers and<br />then experiment!. You will find each lens/accessory has it’s own <unique><br />sets of advantages and limits.<br /> <br />Happy shutter clicking!<br /> <br />Derek</p>

<p>The question is not really valid. some macro lenses, such as the OM 80mm macro will work only with extension bellows or tubes). Problems with framing or focusing are more related to magnification than to how you obtain that magnification.<br>

Bellows and tubes use only air as a medium whereas TCs of supplementary lenses use glass and that can degrade the image. I use any of these, to suit my circumstances. TCs maintain working distance, the others reduce it. Most lenses will work better reversed when used above their designed magnification range.</p>