reversing adapter vs. extension tube vs. add-on macro lens?

[paul_ferrante]

I am new to this so please excuse my ignorance. I have done some searching but

am still unclear. I have a D80 but am financially tapped right now so can't

afford a decent macro lens. My question is: what are the

advantages/disadvantages to lens reversing attachments, glassless extension

tubes and macro lens attachments (glass)?

Also, when I get the money (months down the road) what is a decent but

inexpensive macro lens to buy?

[leicaglow]

Hi Paul. If you just want to play with macro photography a bit, a reversing ring or tubes are fun. The reversing ring is limited in its use because you have little control over focus, but you can get quite close up (from memory, a 35mm lens reversed will about fill up the image). Extension tubes are a good way to go, but they won't give you auto-use of lenses, and you'll find themselves switching them a lot. One you didn't mention is bellows. This is my preferred macrophotography tool, but generally it gives a lot of magnification (more than you may want). The real way to go is a Micro Nikkor lens. The 60mm is a great lens for your D80, but you'll find yourself using it in manual focus mode anyway because close up subjects will cause it to hunt for focus. You could also find them used, or even use the old 55mm AI Nikkor in f/2.8 or 3.5. It's a good lens too.

[ioshertz]

I used a reversing attachments for several times and sold it

this gives very nice magnification, but is hard to use because you don't have focus control and sometimes - depends on the body - you don't have metering - I don't know how it would be with D80 but on my f55 I hade to choose the apperture and the shutter speed alone

after that I bought macro lens - these are great for the reasons I said already - you have everything - AF, metering... and also gives nice picture

now I have macro lens - 60mm micro and I can honestly say this is the best of all ;)

but... it costs not less, especially for my budjet

I recommend you to try everything by yourself and to see which will fit best for you

[vivek iyer]

Yeah, get an used 55/2.8 or 55/3.5 Micronikkor. Could cost about the same or even less than the other contraptions.

[juan_parm_nides]

I have found in Ebay some used Nikkor 60mm micro at a very nice price. Consider this too.

 

Regards.

[conrad_hoffman]

Just a note on lens reversal. As you focus closer, the lens moves away from the sensor. At some point, the image on the sensor will be the same size as the object. This is 1:1 or a magnification of 1X. At that point, the lens will be exactly two times it's focal length away from both the sensor and the subject. (the distances are measured from separate points in the lens, so the sensor will not be exactly 4X the focal length away from the subject) Up to that point, you do not reverse the lens- it's going to give you the best quality it can. Beyond 1:1, where the distance from the sensor is increasing, and the distance to the subject becomes less than 2X the focal length, you should reverse the lens for maximum quality. Bottom line, bigger than 1:1 reverse the lens, less than 1:1 leave it alone.

[jim_e.]

I've got a 55/3.5 Paul that I don't use that much. The front element has very minor surface scratches that in no way affect the image quality. If I sold it I would catch hell from a buyer. It is the old compensating type serial number 249365. Give me an address to mail it to, po box, whatever, and I'll send it to you no charge. At least then someone will be using it.

[mike w]

Cool Jim that was a nice thing to do!

My 2 cents is that I use the Kenko Extension (DG type)tube set they have all the contacts for the electrical stuff and the auto focus works to until you stack more than 1 or 2 then it gets a little sticky. Close up filters are OK but I prefer the tubes.

 

Hope this helps

 

Mike

[bob_camarena]

Check out this link. It's a pretty good article on macro and close-up photography that will answer most of your questions.

 

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/nikon_articles/other/close-up_macro/macro_1.html

[craig_coray]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Nikon 3T,4T, 5T and 6T diopters, so I will!

These are dual element screw-on close-up attachments that are amazingly inexpensive and

equally amazingly sharp. They come in 52mm and 62mm sizes, and two strengths. When

used with a short or medium telephoto or a medium zoom you get anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4

life size, depending on the focal length and the strength of the diopter. My favorite combo is

a 80-200 F4.5 zoom with the 4T diopter attached. The subject stays in focus as you zoom

and there is no loss of light!! Way beyond being inexpensive, this approach is fast to set up,

very portable, and gets professional results. I think I paid $35 apiece for mine a decade or so

ago. Check these out! John Shaw devotes a chapter to these in "Closeups in Nature".

[paul_ferrante]

Thank you Jim, I would love to take you up on that offer, but this site won't give me you email address. Please email me at: paul_ferrante@sbcglobal.net to exchange info. Thank you very much.

[kayak203]

Macro is fun, but did you have a particular use? Your intended subject, working distance and need for flash might make a difference on the best value.

<br><br>

Reversing rings cost about $20 and give really big magnifications, but are hard to get enough light and you have to manually fiddle with the aperture control leavers to have enough viewing light to manually focus, then release to take the photo. I should learn more about reversing, but my experience was a lot of fiddling.

<br><br>

Extension tubes cost about $120 for a set of three, 12mm 20mm & 36mm. Also, you can just but a 25mm tube, but that might be limiting. They meter correctly, but autofocus is questionable and you often need to manually focus for macro. The Kenko version has 7 electrical contacts which does not seem to be quite enough to support VR lenses. They are nice because the working distance is several inches and you can use a variety of lenses that you might own with them.

<br><br>

Macro filter lenses can also work, but some of the cheaper ones might not be good quality. The Raynox is fairly cheap, and I have seen good images from it mostly on P&S cameras, but I don't have any experience with it. I have the Canon 500D with 2 elements and it is pretty good for about $110 for a 72mm lens and less for a smaller lens. The image is enlarged almost twice what the lens alone gives, and I believe VR should not be affected. Auto focus seems to work.

<br><br>

Macro flash speedlight can improve depth of field by allowing a smaller aperture, and the sb-21 or the newer version, attaches to the lens filter threads, typically 62mm and you can easily get a 52 - 62mm step up ring for the standard, or you can get a special ring for the sb-21 to allow 72mm attachment. You can also use a normal SB-600 / 800 speedlight off the camera in commander mode with the D70 and probably with the D80.

<br><br>

I haven't bought a dedicated macro lens yet and I probably won't unless I have a specific need. Macro lenses can sometimes also be used for portrait lenses, but the image might not be as pleasing as with a real portrait lens. I guess my macro images would look better with a real macro lens. Enough rambling, please let me know if I miss-spoke or otherwise missed anything.

[paul_ferrante]

Not at all Paul E. Thank you for the input.

[vivek iyer]

Craig, I know you meant well. But these T diopters cost a lot more than the used Micronikkors 55 nowadays!

 

Jim, Great! :-)

[craig_coray]

Vivek,

 

I'll admit I haven't priced these in a while, and it looks like they may be harder to find, but

B&H is advertising the 3T for $40 and I found the 5T and 6T used for even less. So I guess it

depends on where you look.

[jim_e.]

Sent an Email to you Paul but don't know if it went through. I'll just give it to you here. Its Barkhorn97@aol.com.

[ioshertz]

and also the Nikon 3T,4T, 5T and 6T diopters are no longer produced - I wanted to get a 6T for my nikkor 60mm - on 62mm filter screw on, I was cuirious of the result but....

 

good luck with the 55 micro! :)

[Ed_Ingold]

A reversing adapter is primarily intended for magnification greater than 1:1, because the assymetry of most lenses will give better results that way. You get magnification because reversing the lens adds extension. If your magnification is less than 1:1, the image quality will be better using extension tubes. You can use extension tubes with long or zoom lenses too. They are highly effective with one of the 300mm lenses. However, zoom lenses no longer track focus when extension tubes are used - an annoying but workable situation.

 

Diopter lenses are another option, especially with zoom lenses, since the focus and zoom functions still work as intended. Canon makes two-element lens in larger sizes (up to 77mm) which work as well as the discontinued Nikon lenses.