Picture 1 – as close as we can get with the bundled NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens without cropping
Reverse Macro Photography is a technique I remember reading about months ago but didn’t get around to trying until today. Most people I know who recently bought a DSLR camera also bought a prime lens to compliment their kit lens. Like most Nikon users on a budget, I bought the inexpensive NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D.
Macro lenses are expensive, so here’s a way we can experiment with macro photography without killing our wallets.
The first step is to stack your two lenses together. With my 18-55 lens mounted on my camera and zoomed to 55mm, I opened the aperture on my 50mm lens all the way to f/1.8 and focused to infinity.
Next you need to hold the two lenses together so they are touching front to front. I kept my UV protection filters on each lens so that if anything got scratched, it would be a cheap filter instead of a lens.
Turn your mounted lens on manual focus and zoom in by moving closer and further away from the object until it comes into focus. I used aperture-priority mode for the shot below with no problems, but if your camera is having trouble metering then switch to manual mode.
Picture 2 – taken with the 18-55mm lens and the 50mm lens stacked together, no crop
Vignetting occurred but it’s nothing we can’t crop out:
Picture 3 – after cropping
If you get really into reverse macro photography, it might be a good idea to buy a macro reversing ring which screws onto the front of each lens and holds them together. I’ll be showing examples of shots taken with this technique throughout the week.
Intriguing! I should try this!
Give it a shot! I look forward to seeing the results!
i’ll give this a shot.
Cool tips Todd.
Here you go! I tried it! A pain to focus w/o a tripod, tho!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arexsu/sets/72157615288225135/
cool stuff.
Jonasacorda – Have fun!
Craig – Thanks, just trying to tide myself over until I finally fork over the cash for a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro Nikkor.
Arex – Cool stuff. I think a tripod would really hinder your ability to move closer and away from the object.
Unless you plan to shoot macro professionally, you might be better off with a Tokina, Tamron or Sigma macro lens – they are all about NT$10K. I have a Tokina 100mm f2.8 that’s great for the little bit of macro that I do.
Sounds great Craig! I’ll keep my eye-out for a secondhand one next time I’m in Taipei or Taichung. Now I just need to decide what I want more this time around:
a) macro lens b) 35mm f/1.8 c) extra speedlight d) D90 [better get my wife's approval first on the last one]