First try on beyond 1:1

Particle_Man · Post by **Particle_Man** » Sun May 11, 2008 2:46 pm

Found this little one creeping around on my porch, so I decided to see if I could get at least something from my reversed lens stack rig.

First shot with Sigma 150mm f2.8 @F13, Sb-800 camera left. Uncropped

Second shot Sigma 150mm with 50mm f1.8 reversed in front. 50mm set to f5.6. Slight cropping done to remove some unwanted air.

I do have issues getting good IQ with this rig. Is it equipment or the classical user error here?

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Sun May 11, 2008 5:28 pm

Leave the front lens (the 50mm) at maximum aperture. Stop down the 150mm. A couple of test shots on a non-moving subject will give an idea how far you can stop down the 150mm and get good results. But you will likely be happy with the results with the lens set to the f11-f16 range (With Nikon macro lenses on Nikon bodies the display indicates the actual "effective" aperture. If this is the case with the Sigma as well, then you can likely stop down until the viewfinder "reads out" about f22).

(Jody Melanson gets spectacular results with his 150 Sigma + reversed 50mm. I think he shoots at about f22)

Particle_Man · Post by **Particle_Man** » Sun May 11, 2008 10:24 pm

Charles Krebs wrote:Leave the front lens (the 50mm) at maximum aperture. Stop down the 150mm. A couple of test shots on a non-moving subject will give an idea how far you can stop down the 150mm and get good results. But you will likely be happy with the results with the lens set to the f11-f16 range (With Nikon macro lenses on Nikon bodies the display indicates the actual "effective" aperture. If this is the case with the Sigma as well, then you can likely stop down until the viewfinder "reads out" about f22).

(Jody Melanson gets spectacular results with his 150 Sigma + reversed 50mm. I think he shoots at about f22)

Ah, then it's the classical case of user error!

I'll have a new go tonight.

Erland R.N. · Post by **Erland R.N.** » Thu May 15, 2008 11:01 am

I just love the look of these kind of insects.

The first shot is great, the second just lack a bit of DOF.

Btw, I think I asked my nikon-equipped friend a couple of weeks ago, and was told the Sigma 150 does not report actual apperture on a D200.

Erland