Macro Equip. for Nikon F3HP

[janet_morley]

I have an older Nikon F3HP and have been trying to do some macro photography with a 2x converter and a sakra 75-200mm 4.5 lens. The results are unimpressive, so I want to purchase the best equipment I can afford (even if it's used) but have no idea what I should get. I have other lenses-28mm 2.8 nikon- and 50mm1.8 nikkor. I also purchased a used bellows, but when I put the camera and 28mm lens on it I couldn't see anything but black through the viewfinder.

I was watching the sales of 55mm macro lenses on Ebay, and also extension tubes, but how about reversal rings etc. Any ideas?? I'm lost. Thanks Janet

[pete_andrews]

"have been trying to do some macro photography with a 2x converter and

a sakra 75-200mm 4.5 lens. The results are unimpressive" -

Naturally.<br>Get an f/2.8 55mm micro Nikkor, if your finances permit

it. It's a fine lens. You'll be able to get to half lifesize with the

lens on its own, and with the bellows, you'll get to 1:1 and above.

The bellows on their own won't let you cover the crucial lower

magnifications between 4:1 and 1:1.<p>I'm curious, though, why you

didn't try the obvious combination, and fit your 50mm standard lens to

the bellows.

[richard_cochran]

Get John Shaw's book "Closeups in Nature", where he discusses

all the options in detail. Even if your macro shots aren't

nature, get this book!

 

<p>

 

Your 28mm lens should've worked on the bellows, at least

if you don't extend the bellows far. Were you keeping

the lens wide open for viewing? A reversing ring would

probably help with working distance as well as image quality.

If you extend the bellows far, using that 28mm lens facing

forward, it won't be long before you're focusing on the front

element or closer (which won't do any good at all, of course).

 

<p>

 

I really love my 105 f2.8 micro with my F3HP. But if I already

had your set of equipment, I'd see what I could do with

the 50mm f1.8 on the bellows before investing in more

equipment. That's a nice lens which should do almost as well

as the 55mm micro by the time you stop it down for reasonable

depth of field.

[janet_morley]

Pete, I used the 28mm on the bellows because it was the lens that

came with the F3. I bought the bellows on Ebay and as soon as I got

it I grabbed the first lens I could get my hands on and tried it out.

It must have been that I had it extended too far, because I couldn't

see anything at all in the viewfinder-it was all black. I thought it

must be one of two things, I'm doing something wrong, or the F3 isn't

the right camera to use with the bellows. (by the way, the F3 is new

to me too) Maybe I'll try my old Nikon N2000 on it as I'm used to

that camera?

Richard, I'll also try the 50mm instead of the 28mm and see if that

helps me. The reason I was looking for more than the bellows is they

say they are unhandy and delicate to carry in the field. I go for a

lot of Nature walks, as we live in the country, and wanted to do some

pictures of frost, or snowflakes. I was watching the sale of a couple

of 55mm macro lenses on Ebay and I was thinking of getting one. I

just wanted to get funtional, useful equipment. Thanks for your

replys. Janet

[john_owlett1]

Well, Janet, the usual suspects on Nikon close-up photography are out

in force to-day ... Hi Pete! Hi Rich! ... and I don't disagree with

anything they say. But there are one or two things I'd like to add.

Well, actually, there are so many things I'd like to add, I could be

writing all night! :-( So, like Pete and Rich, I shall have to

restrict myself.

<p>

My first suggestion is the cheapest. Nikon publishes a couple of

free brochures that will give you an overview of what sort of tools

there are and what they are used for. You should be able to get at

least one of them from your local Nikon importer for the cost of a

phone call. The one I'm sure you can get is called "Nikon

Photographic Accessories" ... reference code 8CE30600 ... my copy was

printed in July 2000. The one that may no longer be available, but

contains more information if you can find it, is called "Nikon World

of Close-up Photography" ... reference code 8CE30500 ... my copy was

printd in February 1998.

<p>

Of course, like anyone else who takes close-up and macro photographs

-- mine are mainly of flowers and fungi -- I support the

recommendation of John Shaw's book. Heather Angel's "How to

Photograph Flowers" is another of my favourites.

<p>

I'm going to distinguish between "close-up photography" and

"macrophotography". Close-up photography runs from a magnification of

1:10 (about 2 feet away with the 50mm lens) up to a magnification of

1:1 (where the image on the film is the same size as the subject).

Macrophotography runs from 1:1 up to 20:1. Any larger magnifications

are photomicrography and a different game altogether.

<p>

The cheapest way into close-up photography is to use "close-up

attachment lenses" which screw onto the front of your lens like a

filter. The most suitable would be Nikon's 3T and 4T lenses, with

which you should be able to get to a magnification of about 1:3 with

your 50mm lens. This magnification has the subject only 8 inches from

the film plane, and awful near the front of the lens.

<p>

To get larger magnifications, you need to move the lens away from the

film plane. This can be done with extension tubes, but the easiest

way with the highest optical quality is to buy a special-purpose

close-up lens (often called a "macro" lens, and called by Nikon a

"micro" lens), which is designed to rack out a long way, and to give

good results when it is racked out a long way. Nikon makes four

manual focus "micro lenses":

<ul>

<li>Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8, which Pete suggested. The lightest and

most convenient, but with the shortest "working distance" between

front of lens and subject. Focuses to a magnification of 1:2 or, with

a PK-13 extension tube, to 1:1.

<li>Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8, which Rich suggested and which I also

use (IMHO it's the default flower photography lens). Has enough

working distance for flowers and ground insects, though not enough for

butterflies. Focuses to a magnification of 1:2 or, with a PN-11

extension tube, to 1:1.

<li>Micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4. Huge brute with magnificent working

distance. An extension tube to get it to 1:1 would be unwieldy, so I

believe many owners use a close-up attachment lens.

<li>Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/2.8 PC TS. Table-top photographer's lens

which not only focuses close, but shifts and tilts as well.

</ul>

So far I've written about close-up photography and, whatever they may

be called, macro and micro lenses do not go far at all into the realm

of macrophotography. That is the realm of the bellows and, usually,

of indoor photography: I did once use a bellows in the field and found

it fairly inconvenient. But indoors, a bellows can give huge amounts

of extension with great control.

<p>

Ordinary camera lenses are computed to be used with a long distance at

the front and a short distance at the back. So, when you are

operating at much more than 1:1, they work better if you reverse them.

And, when reversed, it's short focal lengths that give you the largest

magnifications. Nikon claims that, if you use its latest bellows the

PB-6 <b>and</b> its PB-6E bellows extension with a reversed 20mm lens,

you can get a magnification of 23:1 ... in the nearer fringes of

photomicrography.

<p>

The main nuisance about bellows is that you lost the automatic

diaphragm. If you take a lens off the camera and turn the aperture

ring, you can see the iris inside the lens open and close. Put the

lens onto the camera and the iris is opened up so you can see what

you're doing through the lens: the iris is allowed to spring closed as

the mirror goes up just before the shutter opens. If your bellows has

no equivalent then the iris will stay stopped down; worse than that,

because of the huge extension, much of the light that gets through the

lens is soaked up by the sides of the bellows and you really are

staring into the gloom.

<p>

The PB-6 bellows has a lever in the front standard that holds the iris

open. If you use a double cable release like the AR-7, screwing one

tip into the F3HP shutter release and the other into the front

standard of the PB-6, then you get all the old convenience back again,

except that you have to use stop-down metering. Do you have anything

like this on your bellows?

<p>

If you want to reverse a lens on the bellows (and the Nikkor 50mm

f/1.8 is quite suitable for reversing), then you need the BR-2A and

the BR-6 macro adapter rings as well. You fit the BR-2A into the

front standard of the bellows; you screw the front of the lens onto

the BR-2A; you fit the BR-6 onto the lens mount; you screw one tip of

the AR-7 into the BR-6; you can even put a filter on the front of the

BR-6 to prevent the subject flying into the lens and getting lost.#

<p>

Hmmm. I seem to have digressed. Now I don't have time to cover

stacking lenses and using flash and ...

<p>

But I must comment on your concern about the suitability of the F3.

As a completely impartial F3 user, I think tha the F3 is the most

suitable camera in the World for close-up photography. A particular

boon is the ability to change the eye-level viewfinder for a DW-4

magnifying viewfinder, and the standard "K" screen for an "E" screen

for close-up photography or an "M" screen for macrophotography.

<p>

Later,

<p>

Dr Owl

[janet_morley]

John, anytime you feel like writing about macro photography please

feel free!! I printed your response so I can absorb all the

information. I'm sure it will help me in figuring out what equipment

I need, and if you want to write about stacking lenses etc. by all

means do so! Thanks again everyone. Janet

[steve_phillipps]

Hi Janet,

Cheapest hi-quality option are extension tubes. With your 50mm lens

you can get 1:1. Because they are just empty tubes with no glass in

the way, they don't upset the performance of your 50mm lens like a 2x

converter would.

Another possibility is a reversing ring which mounts your 50 or 28mm

backwards via the filter thread.

Regards

Steve

[janet_morley]

Steve, I just purchased a reversal ring and was playing around with

it this weekend. I took about 6 color chots outside that I had

devoloped and I really like it! I put some black and white in the

camera and took some shots of my daughters cat's eyes. I also bought

some spiratone extension tubes, three in all. I'm hoping the brand is

a good one, but was willing to give it a try because like you said

they are just tubes. I am now currently shopping (on ebay) for a 55mm

2.8 micro lens, but I'm cheap so I may have to wait a while for that.

I'm looking forward to getting the tubes (they haven't arrived yet).

Thanks for the information! If you think of anything else you want to

share let me know. Janet