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A Few Macro Tips

ipreventdeath

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
242
Hey guys, I used to be huge into Macro Photography. I would get shots of my pets, things in the yard or anything else I could find. I created this reverse lens set-up many years back and it has worked for me so far. No need to buy an expensive camera or expensive macro lenses. I just used some basic parts and a little know-how and got fairly good results. I'm no professional by any means and refuse to pay high prices to take a few shots here and there. It may seem a little intense to some people out there, but if you're into photography and want a cheap way to get some incredible levels of magnification, this may be a start.

I use this basic Canon Rebel K2 35mm SLR I received for my birthday when I was in HS.
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This is the primary lens I use. I cant even remember the brand. Its 28mm, f/2.8 manual lens, which is important with this technique as there will be no communication between the camera body and lens.
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I also purchased an extension tube set designed specifically for Canon SLRs to add distance between the camera body and reversed lens. This will add magnification qualities to the lens with the amount of light entering the camera being sacrificed. Its a great technique is using high amounts of lighting. I also purchased a reverse mounting bracket. This item is absolutely needed to properly mount the lens to the camera body. I then took the plastic bottom cap of the lens and cut a hole on its base. I glued a UV lens filter to this to provide protection to the lens itself.
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Here I have the lens reverse mounted to the camera body and again with tubes attached.
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While this is just a 35mm film camera, they can still take high quality images. These are all uncropped, true macro photos.
US dime.
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The face of Andrew Jackson on a US $20 bill.
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The face of an angel statue in my in-laws garden that measures 2in tall. The face itself measured 3/4in.
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The complete set-up would cost someone roughly $150-200 with the majority of cost coming from the lens. I purchased the tubes and reverse mounting bracket off of Amazon for less than $30 w/ shipping included. Hopefully I can show off what this thing can do with my animals soon :). I hope this may be of interest!
 

ipreventdeath

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
242
I did want to mention, the smaller the lens (ie. 20mm vs 300mm) the more magnification. Using a telephoto lens wont work. I have a 50mm and a 90mm lens I also use to get certain magnification levels.
 

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