spider macro (i want closer!!)

cyclopopcicle · 5 May 2009 at 07:52

i would love to be able to get better clearer shots of insects from macro like from the thread made by "famas" , but cant get any closer than my pics below, what would i need to get to be able to use the lenses i have now? or is it a no go with what i have?
i have the Sony a 200 with 18-70mm sony lens, and also the sigma 70-300mm APO lens, which has a macro mode, that will get me 2:1

thanks

greedy123 · 5 May 2009 at 07:56

extension tubes or a macro filter

D.P. · 5 May 2009 at 08:42

A true macro lens will get you 1:1, twice what the sigma offers.

cyclopopcicle · 5 May 2009 at 09:10

D.P. said:
A true macro lens will get you 1:1, twice what the sigma offers.

i appreciate that, but the cost is a limitation, unless you can point me in the direction of some good priced 1:1 macro lenses

SteveOBHave · 5 May 2009 at 09:18

you can probably pickup a reversal mount for the 18-70mm. It'll set you back around £25 or so.

Snapshot · 5 May 2009 at 09:52

What's the filter thread on the 70-300mm? I have something that will bring it down to 1:1 if it's 58mm.

blastman · 5 May 2009 at 13:41

reversing threads are dirt cheap off the bay.

I bought a 52mm-52mm one for about £5. I mount my 50mm prime (which needs to fully open otherwise you'll see a dark ring round your pictures) on the end of a FD sigma 28mm macro with a x3 TC.

I have no idea what the mag ratio is on that but it's pretty damm close!!!

&

The above where taken with my setup (sadly I have no flash so I had to use a wide aperture just to get enough light in hence the shallow DoF).

Hope it helps.

cyclopopcicle · 5 May 2009 at 14:51

Snapshot said:
What's the filter thread on the 70-300mm? I have something that will bring it down to 1:1 if it's 58mm.

yes its 58mm
what do you have?

Snapshot · 5 May 2009 at 16:57

YHM as this isn't the sales forum.

greedy123 · 5 May 2009 at 18:06

with reversing threads is it the wide angle lenses which will give the most magnification?

Snapshot · 5 May 2009 at 20:46

Yes. You divide the focal length of the lens on the camera by the focal length of the reversed lens to get the magnification. So a 105mm and a 50mm will give 2x magnification; a 105mm and a 35mm will give 3x.

greedy123 · 5 May 2009 at 21:46

how do you control the aperture of the reversed lens though?

Snapshot · 6 May 2009 at 06:47

It stays wide open. You have full control of the normally attached lens and that's all you need.

greedy123 · 6 May 2009 at 08:29

Ok, I fancy having a play with a reversing ring now lol. Which lenses should I use for the best result? I have:

canon 17-55mm F2.8 (78mm thread)
canon 18-55mm (kit) (58mm thread)
canon 50mm (52mm thread)
canon 28-135mm (72mm thread)
canon 60mm macro (52mm thread)
sigma 150mm macro (72mm thread)

Would any combination result in a better result than the sigma macro? I still don't understand the maximum magnification value for lenses. Surely a 300mm lens has a greater magnification than a 150mm lens?

Snapshot · 6 May 2009 at 22:59

greedy123 said:
Ok, I fancy having a play with a reversing ring now lol. Which lenses should I use for the best result? I have:

canon 17-55mm F2.8 (78mm thread)
canon 18-55mm (kit) (58mm thread)
canon 50mm (52mm thread)
canon 28-135mm (72mm thread)
canon 60mm macro (52mm thread)
sigma 150mm macro (72mm thread)

Would any combination result in a better result than the sigma macro?

Forget about the zoom lenses. The usable combinations are 150mm with 50mm or 60mm on the front. This will give you 3:1 magnification as opposed to the Sigma's native 1:1.

I still don't understand the maximum magnification value for lenses. Surely a 300mm lens has a greater magnification than a 150mm lens?

Only when focussed at the same distance. A macro lens is designed to focus to very short distances which a standard telephoto lens isn't. For example, a 150mm lens will give 1:1 magnification when focussed to 150mm (this is a simplification for the sake of illustration so anyone who knows better please keep quiet) and a 300mm lens will give 1:1 when focussed at 300mm but most 300mm lenses probably can't focus closer than 1 metre so will only give 1:3 magnification. I hope this makes some sort of sense.

D.P. · 7 May 2009 at 08:21

cyclopopcicle said:
i appreciate that, but the cost is a limitation, unless you can point me in the direction of some good priced 1:1 macro lenses

For Sony cameras I don't know, for Nikon or Canon just go to a 2nd hand camera shop and there will be loads of cheap macros (55/60,105mm 2.8 lenses).

For Sony cameras you might have to buy new.

Snapshot · 7 May 2009 at 19:49

D.P. said:
For Sony cameras you might have to buy new.

There should be a good number of s/h Minolta lenses around.

greedy123 · 7 May 2009 at 21:26

Snapshot said:
Forget about the zoom lenses. The usable combinations are 150mm with 50mm or 60mm on the front. This will give you 3:1 magnification as opposed to the Sigma's native 1:1.

Only when focussed at the same distance. A macro lens is designed to focus to very short distances which a standard telephoto lens isn't. For example, a 150mm lens will give 1:1 magnification when focussed to 150mm (this is a simplification for the sake of illustration so anyone who knows better please keep quiet) and a 300mm lens will give 1:1 when focussed at 300mm but most 300mm lenses probably can't focus closer than 1 metre so will only give 1:3 magnification. I hope this makes some sort of sense.

Cheers for help. Just ordered a 72mm to 52mm reversing ring. Will post once I try it (coming from Hong Kong!).

D.P. · 8 May 2009 at 08:34

Snapshot said:
There should be a good number of s/h Minolta lenses around.

I guess it depends on the location and the shop. I go almost weekly to a 2nd hand camera shop to look for bargains. Always loads of Nikons and Canons, a fair few Tamron/sigma in Cannon and Nikon mount, and some Lecia, Zeiss, and medium format stuff. I've only ever seen 1 or 2 Sony or minolta lenses or bodies. The other camera shops I occasionally glance at are similar. Pentax and olympus is much the same.

Maybe in Switzerland everyone shoots Nikon/Canon. Maybe Monolta/Sony/Pentax users take their glass to special shops (which I have never seen and certainly aren't in my home town).

(this is why I don't see the appeal of other camera systems, personally for me I just could not physically buy 2nd hand glass for love or money from an actual shop)

Yesterday when I looked you could pick up a perfectly good working 55mm Canon Macro or 60mm Nikon for 50-60 quid. The AF-S/AF-D version being more but manual focus for macro work is no big deal.

cyclopopcicle · 9 May 2009 at 19:17

got a sigma Achromatic macro lens from Snapshot, and here is the result (cheers)
i need to use my tripod, this was hand held

the pic of i don't know what type of fly on a strawberry flower