Not quite "extreme" macro

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mtuell
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Location: Tucson, AZ
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Not quite "extreme" macro

Post by mtuell »

I realized that I could try something a little different - probably been done before. I've read about people taking a pair of lenses and using one backwards as a macro lens, with a dual 52 mm adapter or whatever is needed. I've tried a Mitutoyo on a telephoto at 200 mm.

What I did here was to put a 52-42 mm adapter on the 55-200 mm telephoto, but instead of also putting a 42-26 mm, I screwed in an old Soviet fixed focus lens (58 mm f/2 M42). I took a quick shot of a Japanese beetle (deceased), with no tripod and no stacking... it worked a heck of a lot better for semi-extreme-macro than anything else I've got, including putting a cheap Bower macro lens on top of the standard 18-55 mm or 55-200 mm lenses I have. It has less magnification than even a 2x Mitutoyo, but sometimes, that's good! :)


Image

Image

It of course has the issue of being in the way of the on-board flash, but that can be alleviated with off-camera flash, external lighting, or even a ring light on the lens.

Is this pretty standard stuff?

Thanks,
Mike

ChrisR
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Post by ChrisR »

Way to go Mike, you have to try these things :)

If you do a search on "combo" you'll find quite a bit. Sometimes it works better than others. Wide apertures work better for the front lens or you lose the corners, but it does depend on both lenses' construction.
Some curve the field a lot, some clip the corners but still leave a useful amount.
Chris R

mtuell
Posts: 289
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 12:42 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Post by mtuell »

I realized what I've got here is one of the original series of Helios 44 prime lenses. The Helios 44-2 is famous for a defect which causes "swirly" bokeh, but this isn't one of those. This is an original one from the '60's that has 13 iris blades rather than the 8 or 6 they switched to later. I've read that this lens, in its many variations is probably the most widely mass produced camera lens ever - they made millions of copies of it. I don't think there are a whole lot of these silver 13 blade models around, though.

I got some shots on b&w film, which I just got back. When I enlarge a couple I'll post the results if they turn out like I hoped. I ran it wide open at f/2, hoping for a nice bokeh effect. We'll see!

I also finally got a mount set up to attach a camera to a linear stage, so once I work out how to control off-camera manual settings flash, I'll try some macro with better stability than the hand-held image shown above. :roll:

Mike

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