Low Budget Macro - Please Critique

[Valls]

Hey there guys!
I'm giving a shot to macro photography (no pun intended), but I'm in a very very low budget... I have a Nikon D5300 and I'm using in the shot below a AF-S 55-200mm F4.0-5.6G VR2 lens, which have a minimum focal distance of 3.6ft. So I've attached a magnifying glass in front of it, to reduce that distance. So keep that in mind, for you're about to see some nasty aberrations!

So here's the pic, a light bulb's filament:

It was shot handheld, at 200mm, F5.6, 1/160 shutter speed, ISO 1250 (lack of decent light here) and post-processed with Adobe Lightroom.

So, give me your thoughts! Can this be passed on as "Macro Photography"? Please disregard composition, this was pure experimentation with the magnifying glass!

Would a "Close-Up Filter" perform better then the magnifying glass? Different ideas (such as inverting the lens) are also welcome!

Once again, thanks guys! Cheers!

 

[Valls]

Oh, almost forgot! If you wanna mess with the original raw file, check the aberrations and stuff, here it is: _DSC0433.NEF

 

[Coreysaysyo]

Very interesting idea there, pretty good capture considering the fact that you only have a magnifying glass over the lens.

I will have to get back to you in a couple of days. I am about to receive this lens --> Amazon.com : Tamron Auto Focus 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR (Model A17NII) : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

It is also for my D5300. So I will be able to tell you if it is worth the price. It has a built in macro mode, so I definitely will be checking that out soon. Also, the picture you took is decent, I just think even with a cheaper lens, you might be able to get better macro shots. Plus I do recommend that you have a nice a sturdy tripod. You can get a nice tripod from Amazon basics that will do the trick.

Tripod --> Amazon.com : AmazonBasics 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Bag : Camera & Photo

Not sure if you have problems getting amazon stuff in Brazil, but none the less, there is the link.

If all of this is too expensive for you budget at the moment. Then you could get a cheaper, more high quality Magnifier. That will actually screw onto the end of your lens. Now I am not going to recommend one of those. Just because there are a lot of different thread types. You would have to get one that works with your lens

Hope some of this helps, I do a lot of rambling.

In the end, nice shot! Just keep experimenting, you never know what you may find out. In the end, it may turn out to be better than getting dedicated equipment for your situation. Anyways, here I go rambling again. Have a great day mate

 

[Valls]

Hey Corey! Thanks for commenting!
I had one of this Tamron lens in my hand last weekend, its very nice! I couldn't actually do much of a testing for lack of time, but I'm pretty sure its very nice! And well, you got a great pricing there in amazon! (The one I handled this weekend the guy wanted to sell for about US$200, and a new one here in Brazil costs around US$330... we get lousy prices down here, due to overwhelming taxes)... Unfortunately, though, due to the absurd prices we get here, I wont be buying any new lens in a while...

I do have a cheapo tripod, though! I will give macro another shot later when I get home, for the tripod is there! Thanks for the tip, by the way.. I didn't really consider using it, but it will make the image much sharper and will be easier to get decent focus, since the camera is standing still! Oh and about amazon, I bought a book there once... But you know, books are light and customs usually don't look at it! Getting a tripod could be a bit expensive (due to the shipping) and could get stuck at customs, for taxing (damn taxes)... I might try, though! It's a lot cheaper than buying here...

You've been of much help, thanks! And please, do tell me your first impressions on that lens you got! I'm eager to know!

Have a great day yourself!

 

[Coreysaysyo]

Here are a couple of images I took with the Tamron lens. Lot of color fringing, but at this price I can't complain.

051 by Corey Mathery, on Flickr

053 by Corey Mathery, on Flickr

054 by Corey Mathery, on Flickr

Screenshot of fringing:

Screenshot_18 by Corey Mathery, on Flickr

Overall I am happy with the lens, I think it performs great for the price. I am ready to take it out, and shoot some actual wildlife though.

 

[Valls]

I can hardly notice the fringing without zooming in! Does this lens have a profile for lens distortion correction on Lightroom? I think you can probably get rid of most of the fringing there, specially if you shoot raw!
Do seem to be a very nice lens! And with 300mm (about 450 for us cropped sensors, I reckon.. correct me if Im wrong) some wildlife will look great! Do post here of you get some, but I'll follow you on Flickr just in case!



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[goooner]

I think extension tubes will get you better results with your current lens, and they are relatively cheap.

 

[Valls]

I think extension tubes will get you better results with your current lens, and they are relatively cheap.

Good idea! Didnt consider that, also... whats the difference in the pic with a extension tube and one with a lens inverter?

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[goooner]

I haven't used any of them tbh, but I think you might still get AF on some of the better extension tubes. With the inverter you lose AF if I'm not mistaken. Do you only have the 55-200, or do you have a 'wider' lens as well?

I think the tubes should also work on all F mount lenses, where you might need adapters to fit the lens thread in the inverter set-up.

 

[Valls]

I haven't used any of them tbh, but I think you might still get AF on some of the better extension tubes. With the inverter you lose AF if I'm not mistaken. Do you only have the 55-200, or do you have a 'wider' lens as well?

I think the tubes should also work on all F mount lenses, where you might need adapters to fit the lens thread in the inverter set-up.

I do have a 18-55mm! But the focus ring is a little weird with it... i mean, it doesnt stop at minimum and maximum focus... it moves freely, and only works with the camera turned on! As if it was electronic only, somehow... its the AF-P version of the lens! But good point about the AF... Specially with this 18-55 i mentioned! I took some pics holding it reversed and couldnt get any real good results! Also the mount you mentioned... well, extension tubes are a better option indeed! And probably will yield better results, judging from what i got with my lens reversed...
Thanks for the idea, i will look into it!

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[goooner]

No problem. There are e few good youtube videos on extension tubes, and I know some guys around here use them to great effect.

 

[Valls]

So, I gave it another shot, literally... Still with the magnifying glass, but this time I used the magnifying glass' handle as a monopod of some sort... also, i fired the pop-up flash, bouncing on some white papers... I forgot to check the ISO (amateur hahah), so I ended up using a sort of high ISO, 1000... my shutter was at sync speed, 1/200, and the aperture went high, above diffraction issues, because of the also high ISO (which should have made me check it, but I didnt).. I shot it at F32 (geez)...

Anyway, I kinda like the result! So here it is:

Its a metal sphere of about 3mm, and I can see myself in the reflected image in it... that's why I'm happy about it! the magnifying glass, as bad as it can be, it still preserves much of the detail! when I get the extension tube, I might get even better pics!

 

[petrochemist]

You certainly seem to be doing well with a simple magnifying glass, I particularly like your ball bearing shot.
Extension tubes are great, and with some systems can even be simple DIY tubes - not all systems insist on electrical communication between lens & body.

One other technique you could try without spending money is stacking lenses. Hold a wide angle lens reversed in-front of a longer lens, using the wide angle as a magnifying glass. With lenses set to infinity the magnification this gives is (focal length of reversed lens/focal length of other lens). It's normal to use a prime lens for the reversed lens but it can still work with zooms.
Combining your 18-55 & 55-200 should give magnifications from 1:1 upwards to well over 8:1 (DOF etc will generally make it unusable before the optical limit is met).
The main downside to the technique is that some lens combinations vignette very badly IIRC that's more common at the wider end for each lens, but you can try it for yourself without any expense just holding the lenses together.

I generally use old primes as the reversed lens so that the aperture can be fully open & weight is minimalised, & I use a coupling ring to hold the lenses together, but you have to work with what you've got...

 

[Valls]

One other technique you could try without spending money is stacking lenses.

Sir, I was so amused by your idea that I jumped right into it, even before answering you! Used no tripod, low light, all screwed, and still managed to do it! Imagine what I could do with my tripo and some decent subject lighting?

Here's what I got with my 18-55 reversed in front of my 55-200:

I just LOVE the result! I mean, not talking about composition or anything like that, but just how close I could get to it! This 3mm ball looks like a shiny basketball or something! And, due to lack of light and tripod, this is with the 18-55 at 55mm! At 18mm I just could not handhold it! I'm so excited about this! hahah

Thank you very much for the idea!

 

[petrochemist]

Glad I could help!
The technique was quite often mentioned in older macro books, but has largely fallen out of favor with the advent of auto focus etc.

Getting good results at higher magnifications is very challenging on technique, but it needn't be expensive. Over the years I've managed proof of concept shots for quite a few techniques, but I'm afraid I still have a LONG way to go before I can class myself beyond apprentice in any of them