poor mans macro

[Not4wood]

Hahaha, whats the matter Sis

Hey, watch those Chuck Norris jokes.....................

[AfricanButterflies]

I love it! I'm not the only Heath Robinson out there.

I use a 28-105mm Zoom-Nikkor reversed onto my 105mm AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor. I use two Cokin 62mm filter rings epoxied face to face - a bit more than $4 but it's really robust.

I get nearly 4:1 with this 'poor man's MP-E 65'... ARE YOU LISTENING NIKON?

It works with my Kenko extension tubes too... and then I can get really high magnification. This butterfly egg is only about 0.2mm across, so you can see micron-level detail on it. It's not much of a crop either. Probably 20:1 on the sensor.


To get this kind of detail you have to do two things. Get yourself a good tripod and a Manfrotto 454 sliding plate, then go to this website and download CombineZP. It's freeeee!

CombineZM News

Have fun

Steve

[loeee]

OK, I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'm interested. Steve, do you photograph butterfly eggs in situ or bring them into a studio situation? Also, is the Manfrotto sliding plate a type of focusing rail? I would ask what I could expect to pay for the Manfrotto thing, but we're using different currencies in different economies so it probably wouldn't translate.

I also have done some reverse lens-on-lens macros. I use a velcro fastening elastic wrist brace to reverse my old 50mm onto my 100mm.

[AfricanButterflies]

Hi All

I bring the eggs into a studio situation. In fact many of them are laid in captivity! I normally have the food plant sprig fixed using press-stik into a cut-off pasteur pipette filled with water as shown. The baby larvae need fresh food to eat when they hatch (I photo those too.)



I then take it to my workbench and use a lab clamp and stand to hold the leaf with the egg in front of a backdrop - usually some cut leaves from the garden, or for bigger subjects an A4 print of some suitable rocks or vegetation. D80 with tripod and plate then goes up in front, SB-R200's (they REALLY help) on stands and an electronic cable release. Plus a cover over the viewfinder to keep out stray photons.

The Manfrotto 454 costs about 90 bucks US; got mine locally for about 1000 rand, same amount of money! Here's a site selling them:

454 Bogen - Manfrotto 454 Micro Positioning Plate (#3419)

BTW I also use medium apertures - the 105mm VR is diffraction limited at below f11 and I know using tubes and close up attachments makes it worse. So I normally use f11 for between 1:1 and 2:1, and f9 for bigger magnifications.

All the best

Steve

[geezrx]

Thanks for the replys. I find this macro photography fascinating.

After my fumbling attempt to focus on the eraser, I figured some device capable of fine focus adjustment would probably be desirable under the camera.

Steve, can a ballhead be successfully used under the plate you mentioned or would something similar to a Manfrotto pan rotation unit 300n be necessary?

I'm thinking long range for some of the stuff. Next on my list is a macro lens. Or maybe a 200 or 300 mm prime or a long range zoom or ...

[loeee]

Thanks for the info Steve. It would probably cost me quite a bit more, because I'd have to get a decent tripod and head to put under it! LOL

[AfricanButterflies]

You could use a ball head but unless it's a very robust one I'd go pan and tilt. Macro lenses can get very heavy when you start adding tubes and reversing lenses onto them.

All the best

Steve

[geezrx]

Thanks Steve,

A Manfrotto tripod and head are already in route. Tripod rated for 15.4lbs and the ball head rated for 17.6lbs.

I suppose those are dead weight allowances. The torque load of heavy stuff hanging off the camera front could be a whole different thing. Guess time will tell if my selection is adequate.

As for Macro lens, I'm torn between the Tokina 100 f/2.8 and the Nikon micro 105 f/2.8 VR. Both lenses have great revues with the Tokina having an excellent price point and the Nikon having VR. I'm not nearly as steady now as when a pup so the VR has value to me for hand held shots. Good chance I'll cough up the big bucks on this one.

I'm beginning to see why I called this endeavor poor mans micro. I'll be broke till I'm done.

[AfricanButterflies]

Originally Posted by geezrx

As for Macro lens, I'm torn between the Tokina 100 f/2.8 and the Nikon micro 105 f/2.8 VR. Both lenses have great revues with the Tokina having an excellent price point and the Nikon having VR. I'm not nearly as steady now as when a pup so the VR has value to me for hand held shots. Good chance I'll cough up the big bucks on this one.

I'm beginning to see why I called this endeavor poor mans micro. I'll be broke till I'm done.

I don't use the VR for ultra close ups but this lens is brilliant if you use it with the R1C1 flashes, hand held. Provided there's no subject movement, the VR means no camera shake and no ghosting. I'd recommend the Nikon lens any day.