Mico Photography

dragonfly · Post by **dragonfly** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 6:45 am

Hi I am new here, I have started doing macro photography but eventually I would like to get into micro photography, I have two good canon macro lenses 180mm 3.5l and the mpe 65mm I also have a reverse ring and a set of extension tubes, also various other canon and sigma lenses
would I be able to get micro results with this equipment with a bellows setup if so what would you recommend, is it possible to fix a micro lens say nikon to a bellows system? any advice would be most appreciated

many thanks

Roger

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:41 am

Roger, welcome aboard!

The MP-E 65 has excellent resolution up to its limit of 5X.

At 5X and above you will get sharper results by using microscope objectives. See our FAQ: How can I hook a microscope objective to my camera? for detailed information.

--Rik

dragonfly · Post by **dragonfly** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:15 pm

Thanks Rik, really appreciate your help and advice, think I will have to leave the microscope objectives till later as I can see the nikon objective is quite expensive, I think I will try and pick up a bellows and use one of my canon lens reversed, I will probably get the stackshot and use it with the mpe and zarene

many thanks

Roger

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:32 pm

The combination of StackShot, MP-E 65, and Zerene will work very well.

See http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 7462#77462 for an example shooting a tiny lichen in the field.

--Rik

dragonfly · Post by **dragonfly** » Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:12 am

i noticed that doing the stacks using the stackshot you using a lot of shutter actuations which worries me

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:58 am

Yes, deep stacks do use a lot of shutter actuations.

But please study the analysis by Chris S. HERE.

My experience is basically the same as his summary: "I regard the shutter as a consumable studio supply, and whenever I need to replace one, I'll do it without much angst. That said, I haven't needed a replacement shutter, yet."

Strictly speaking, I did eventually use up one shutter. That was on my Canon D300 (the original Digital Rebel). Using it up took roughly 5 years, from 2004 through 2009, by which time the camera was so obsolete that I simply upgraded from 6.3 to 15 megapixels with a new T1i. Some time later I decided that it would be nice to have a cheap backup, so I bought another D300 on eBay. The whole body cost $200 by that point.

--Rik

dragonfly · Post by **dragonfly** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:33 am

Thanks Rik is the stackshot really built for studio use or can it be used outside and what camera do you think works best with this system as I have the 5d mk2 and the 7d thanks once again for your kind advice

Roger

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Feb 02, 2013 12:48 pm

I would characterize the StackShot as being designed for studio use but suitable for use outside with reasonable care. My main concerns would be possible corrosion if it stayed wet, and mechanical wear/binding if it got grit into the moving parts.

I don't know think camera type is much of an issue for the StackShot. It has a maximum lift weight of something like 15 pounds in a vertical configuration.

More important is how the different sensor sizes play with the optics you have and the size of subjects you want to shoot. Subject frames between 23 and 36 mm wide can be done using the MP-E 65 with full-frame, but not with APS-C.

--Rik