Poor man's macro

[fast eddie]

So I wanted to play with macro, but lacking the budget for a real macro lens, I bought a BR-2A and reverse mounted a old Canon 50mm onto my Nikon D5000 (I just got a BR-3 and a filter to protect the back of my 35mm, so I'll try that soon too).

Anyway, I went straight outside and started shooting. One cool thing is: since this set-up is totally manual, it's forcing me to get out of Aperture priority mode, and understand my camera better.

Here are a few captures, I realize they are not perfectly focused, or framed - these were hand held - I was too excited and didn't want to to grab my tripod. I'll play again soon with my tripod and wireless remote.

But for now I'd love to hear your thoughts, critiques or experiences with this kind of set-up.

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peace
Ed

 

[Derrel]

Good job on taking the bull by the horns and getting the BR-2A lens reversing ring!!

One good lens for this type of use is the Nikon Series E 36-73mm f/3.5 lens...it works pretty well for high-magnification reversed work.

One of the trickiest issues when working this way is how dim and dark a lens can be when it is stopped down. A strong LED light can help you focus. Also, electronic flash can make lighting the subject easier. One of the trickiest things is how to control the lens's aperture on lenses that have no aperture rings...like many "modern" Canon and Minolta/Sony lenses and the Nikon G-series lenses.

I have found that using a tripod can be a real PITA with this kind of a setup--it is usually easier to just rock back and forth and shooting when the focus looks good...literally moving your body and the camera to move the focus in and out....and again, electronic flash is very helpful, so that you have enough light to shoot at f/11 to f/13, with that dim viewfinder due to the lens being stopped down already.

 

[fast eddie]

Thanks for the feedback Darrel.

I found a Nikon Series E 36-72mm f/3.5 lens on Ebay, pretty cheap, might be something I add soon.

I figured I'd need to learn how to light my subject better and offset the loss of light for the reversal, but overall I was surprised to get anything near focus and depth I was looking for. It really inspires me to put some more time into this - and think of new subjects.

Peace
Ed