Week 19 - May 12, 2013
Wazzat??!! A reversal ring allows me to mount my old Vivitar 28-105mm film lens backward on my Canon 50D for great macro shots!
Reversed & Up Close
Last week I tried something I'd been reading about regarding doing macros (ultra-closeup photos for those not familiar with the term). This week, after having spent a "whopping" $34.11 on a couple of lens reversing rings and a kit of diopter filters, I did some more playing.
One of the reversing rings arrived, allowing me to reverse mount an old Vivitar 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 zoom I used to use on my old Pentax ME Super 35mm film camera. Because the old lens has a manual iris, it's great as it still allows me to have some aperture control. The zoom is interesting in that with the lens reversed backward, it too operates backward from what your would think - the more you zoom, the wider the field of view and the further you can get from your subject. With no zoom (at the 28mm position, you can fill the frame with really tiny objects. (Note the shot of the "eye" from a dollar bill which is only about an 1/8" as is the close-up the center of a petunia.) The wider shot of the dollar bill is at the full-zoomed 105mm position. It's fun having a "variable macro" and I'm impressed with the sharpness. I've not yet received a reversal ring that will allow me to reverse-mount my old Pentax 50mm prime. It could be sharper yet.
I'm not quite as impressed with the close-up diopters. The kit came with +1, +2, +4, and +10 filters. The +1 and +2 lenses add so little extra (use on my Tamron 17-50 zoom, that I might as well shoot without them and simply crop the image tighter. The +4 is somewhat useful. The +10 is only sharp at the center of the image, especially if you don't stop down the lens quite a bit. Combining the +2 and +4 (so you have +6 or diopter strength), is a pretty decent combination IF you have plenty of light and can stop down to about f/8 or less. They are easier to use though and unlike the reversed lens, retain full automatic focus and exposure control of the lens.
Because it's Mother's Day weekend, we'd bought some hanging flower pots and so I had lots of nice macro subjects. The dollar bill and penny shots aren't as interesting, but help give you a sense of scale to show just how close these combinations can focus. Fun stuff overall! I'm enjoying exploring the "up-close-and-personal" side of photography. Click the images below to view them better and see descriptive captions.
Last week I tried something I'd been reading about regarding doing macros (ultra-closeup photos for those not familiar with the term). This week, after having spent a "whopping" $34.11 on a couple of lens reversing rings and a kit of diopter filters, I did some more playing.
One of the reversing rings arrived, allowing me to reverse mount an old Vivitar 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 zoom I used to use on my old Pentax ME Super 35mm film camera. Because the old lens has a manual iris, it's great as it still allows me to have some aperture control. The zoom is interesting in that with the lens reversed backward, it too operates backward from what your would think - the more you zoom, the wider the field of view and the further you can get from your subject. With no zoom (at the 28mm position, you can fill the frame with really tiny objects. (Note the shot of the "eye" from a dollar bill which is only about an 1/8" as is the close-up the center of a petunia.) The wider shot of the dollar bill is at the full-zoomed 105mm position. It's fun having a "variable macro" and I'm impressed with the sharpness. I've not yet received a reversal ring that will allow me to reverse-mount my old Pentax 50mm prime. It could be sharper yet.
I'm not quite as impressed with the close-up diopters. The kit came with +1, +2, +4, and +10 filters. The +1 and +2 lenses add so little extra (use on my Tamron 17-50 zoom, that I might as well shoot without them and simply crop the image tighter. The +4 is somewhat useful. The +10 is only sharp at the center of the image, especially if you don't stop down the lens quite a bit. Combining the +2 and +4 (so you have +6 or diopter strength), is a pretty decent combination IF you have plenty of light and can stop down to about f/8 or less. They are easier to use though and unlike the reversed lens, retain full automatic focus and exposure control of the lens.
Because it's Mother's Day weekend, we'd bought some hanging flower pots and so I had lots of nice macro subjects. The dollar bill and penny shots aren't as interesting, but help give you a sense of scale to show just how close these combinations can focus. Fun stuff overall! I'm enjoying exploring the "up-close-and-personal" side of photography. Click the images below to view them better and see descriptive captions.