Electronic Control for Manual Bellows?

[Deanimator]

Has anybody ever used one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Vello-Macrofier- ... 2470955011



with manual bellows to allow control of the aperture of a modern lens? They say it works with manual extension tubes, so it ought to work with manual bellows.

I just don't have, and am unlikely to have $800-900 for a Novoflex auto-bellows for Canon EF.

If it works, it would allow me to use affordable manual bellows, and still allow me to both easily set the aperture, and use DSLR Controller to do focus stacking.

[rjlittlefield]

That looks like the same model that I tested, under yet another brand name, or perhaps a knock-off.

The one I have works well.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=26404

--Rik

[Deanimator]

That looks like the same model that I tested, under yet another brand name, or perhaps a knock-off.

The one I have works well.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=26404

--Rik

Thanks, that was extremely helpful.

Your setup is nearly identical to mine when I use my reversed 50mm Minolta MD manual. I have no focus control with the Minolta, but I can use the much larger live view and zoom to focus effectively.

I love DSLR Controller and use it just about every time my camera is on a fixed mount, be it my table mount for macro or my tripod for long focal lengths.

If it works with a reversed lens, it ought to work with manual bellows as well, correct?

[rjlittlefield]

If it works with a reversed lens, it ought to work with manual bellows as well, correct?

Sure. The metal ring that connects the reversed lens to the adapter, on the camera side, acts just like a really short bellows.

--Rik

[Deanimator]

That looks like the same model that I tested, under yet another brand name, or perhaps a knock-off.

Do you do focus stacking with DSLR Controller? It looks like you do.

Do you always take the default focus bracketing suggestions, or do you modify them to suit you?

If the latter, how do you determine what settings you'll use?

That last fruit fly was a stack of 277 images, but that's what the software chose. Does that seem right to you or is there a rule of thumb you use to determine if you should diverge from the suggested defaults?

[rjlittlefield]

Do you do focus stacking with DSLR Controller? It looks like you do.

Most of my what I do is with the StackShot rail, or a StackShot-ized microscope focus block, or CamRanger. Periodically I touch base with things like DSLR Controller so that I can respond reasonably when people ask what they can get for cheap.

Do you always take the default focus bracketing suggestions, or do you modify them to suit you?

If the latter, how do you determine what settings you'll use?

The only suggestions I really trust are the ones that I make myself, and those are usually accompanied with a caveat that says something like "But it depends a lot on the subject and how you'll be using the image. If you need to optimize the number of frames, then there's no substitute for running some tests with your own equipment and workflow."

That last fruit fly was a stack of 277 images, but that's what the software chose. Does that seem right to you or is there a rule of thumb you use to determine if you should diverge from the suggested defaults?

277 for a fruit fly would be reasonable if it were shot with a microscope objective. If you're talking about the fly at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 796#212796, then 277 seems pretty high.

One approach is to use the tables at https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/d ... romicrodof to get an estimate of slice thickness based on magnification and aperture settings, then divide that into the depth of your subject.

--Rik

[Deanimator]

277 for a fruit fly would be reasonable if it were shot with a microscope objective. If you're talking about the fly at http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 796#212796, then 277 seems pretty high.

That's kind of what I thought.

Some day, I hope to graduate to microscope objectives and a Stackshot, but I don't have the money now, and frankly, I haven't come close to exhausting the possibilities of my 100mm macro and extension tubes.

One approach is to use the tables at https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/d ... romicrodof to get an estimate of slice thickness based on magnification and aperture settings, then divide that into the depth of your subject.

That's helpful. Thanks.

Prior to seeing your reply, I started another stack, this time arbitrarily setting it at medium and 50 exposures. We'll see what happens.