User experience from using in-camera focus bracketing

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zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

Has any member here tried in-camera focus bracketing, with Raynox DCR-150 over the kit auto zoom 40-150mm? Does it work reasonably well?

I am guessing working distance/minimal focus distance is around 6 inch or so, and focusing should be easier, if I back off a bit from that minimal focus distance?

Thank you very much.

I think I may be getting the camera first (likely a E-M5 Mark II for family use), use the Raynox DCR-150 for macro for now, then upgrade to the Oly 60mm macro in the future.

crisarg
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Post by crisarg »

Hello!

I'm an E-M1 Mark II and 60 mm macro user. It's an awesome combination for focus bracketing in the field!

The Raynox lenses doesn't work with my 40-150 Pro lens regarding focus bracketing.

They DO work very well with the 60 mm lens.

See some of my field work here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/crisarg/a ... 4789017865
Cristian Arghius

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zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

Thank you, Cristian. Your images are beautiful!

When you said that Raynox lenses did not work with your 40-150mm pro lens on E-M1 Mark II for focus bracketing (but they did so well with 60mm macro), what exactly did not work? Please kindly elaborate.
Last edited by zzffnn on Tue Nov 14, 2017 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

crisarg
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Post by crisarg »

I do get some vignetting effect in the corners (not black!), probably due to the 72-43mm adapter.

But worst, the bracketing is always stopping after a couple of exposures. I don't know exactly the cause and I didn't bother to thoroughly look after it, sorry.
Cristian Arghius

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zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

crisarg wrote:I do get some vignetting effect in the corners (not black!), probably due to the 72-43mm adapter.

But worst, the bracketing is always stopping after a couple of exposures. I don't know exactly the cause and I didn't bother to thoroughly look after it, sorry.
Thank you very much, Cristian.

I read somewhere that a firmware update is supposed to help with the bracketing stop problem. I am not positive though.

I will receive Raynox 150 in a few days and will try it with my kit zoom 40-150mm non-pro. Worst case scenario, I will use it for manual single shot macro, for now.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

crisarg wrote:See some of my field work here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/crisarg/a ... 4789017865
Those field stacks are amazing, Cristian! Especially your photo of that fly!

Did you hand hold the camera, while doing the focus bracketing, or did you use a monopod/tripod?

crisarg
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Post by crisarg »

I only encountered an error with Raynox on Oly 40-150 Pro lens. Any other combination works without a glitch.

Thanks! All those images are made on a tripod.
Cristian Arghius

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jojm
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Post by jojm »

I'm really not a frequently user of DCR 150 & 250 but for a friend I've made two tests at the beginning of the year.
These tests was made with the combination M.Zuiko PRO 40-150mm f 2.8+MC14.
This lens combination is the one I use as tube lens with infinity corrected microscope objectives and using focus bracketing to make my stacks following the idea described here by chuong nguyen
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=30177, page 3.
My operating mode is described here in French.
http://www.lenaturaliste.net/forum/view ... 86#p102451

Vanadinite from Mibladen, Maroc.
FOV 3 cm.
1/10s, F 4.0, ISO 100
62 frames
Focus bracketing step: 2
Lens combination : zoom M.ZUIKO PRO 40-150mm f 2.8+MC14+DCR 250 at 70 mm

Image

Wulfenite from Mezicà, Slovenia.
FOV 2.5 cm.
1/20s F 4.0 ISO 100
35 frames
Focus bracketing step: 2
Lens combination : zoom M.ZUIKO PRO 40-150mm f 2.8+MC14+DCR 250 at 85 mm

Image
Last edited by jojm on Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

JL
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Post by JL »

Hi Jean-Marc.

For the sake of the forum members not familiar with minerals, the labels in the pictures are apparently in inverse order. Vanadinite is the mineral in the first picture.

jojm
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Post by jojm »

Hi JL, thanks.
I've edited my message, captions were inverted, now it is corrected.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

Thank you, Jean-Marc.

I like you beautiful lighting on those minerals. I have a piece of Vanadinite in my collection and enjoy it.

When you said "Lens combination : zoom M.ZUIKO PRO 40-150mm f 2.8+MC14+DCR 250 at 70 mm", that "70mm" is working distance (from Raynox to mineral), correct?

I did read a translated version of your French forum post. I learned that MC14 is 1.4x teleconverter and the zoom lens should be used at more than 135mm focal length.
Last edited by zzffnn on Mon Nov 13, 2017 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

Got my Raynox 150 on a kit zoom Oly 40-150 mm (zoomed to 150mm) just now, on my Olympus E-PM2 camera (which is an old micro 4/3 that cannot do in-camera focus bracketing).

It auto focuses pretty well, at about 7.5 inch away from subject. On-sensor magnification is about 0.75x (23 mm of ruler ticks covered my 17.30 mm wide camera sensor).

Also tried it on kit zoom 14-42 mm. No vignetting at 17mm or longer focal length. The 12-42 kit zoom lens needs a few step-up ring adapters to take the Raynox though.

Just a data point.
Last edited by zzffnn on Tue Nov 14, 2017 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

jojm
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Post by jojm »

zzffnn wrote: When you said "Lens combination : zoom M.ZUIKO PRO 40-150mm f 2.8+MC14+DCR 250 at 70 mm", that "70mm" is working distance (from Raynox to mineral), correct?
No, it is the focal distance of the combination Zoom+MC 14. In the case of the vanadinite that means 50 mm read on the zoom x 1.4=70mm.
zzffnn wrote: I did read a translated version of your French forum post. I earned that MC14 is 1.4x teleconverter and the zoom lens should be used at more than 135mm focal length.
This limit is due to vignetting with microscope objective infinity corrected installed instead of the Raynox DCR 250.
With this combination, the range of focal distances which gives me good results is from 135mm to 210mm.
So, this means that with an objective 10x calculated for a 200mm tube lens, you can go from 6.8x to 10.5x.

Thank you for your kind comments about my photographies ;-)
Last edited by jojm on Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

Does anyone here know what magnification Raynox 150 + Oly 60 mm macro (at 1:1) provides? Or what is the field of view that covers the sensor, after magnification?

I am guessing Raynox 250 provide 1.67x more magnification than that of 150?

My optical math is terrible.

Thank you!

JL
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Post by JL »

I can not answer your questions, but probably you can ask Mark Berkery at https://beingmark.com/macro-illustrated/ . My understanding is that he uses a M43 camera coupled with a 60 mm Olympus macro and Raynox lenses, as you can see in his blog, he does get spectacular results.

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