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Lens Reversal Macro

by alspix @ Tuesday, 03. Apr, 2007 - 12:54:44 pm

gnat_hand
The other day I thought I'd try a little macro experiment with my new Pentax dSLR. Many years ago I bought a M42 reversing ring for just such antics on my Praktica film SLR, and I'd just bought a pentax k -> M42 adapter, so sticking these two onto the camera body along with a 49/52mm adapter enable the standard lens to be reversed. You can of course buy a k-mount reversing ring, but the three seperate gadgets have other uses too!

The lens used is the standard 18-55mm kit lens, set at the 18mm position which gives greatest magnification

Spotted a gnat on the bathroom wall I thought would make a good subject. The lights were dim, tripods/flashes etc were in the other room and being lazy I popped up the internal flash, even though I knew it would probably be useless, flash is usually way too powerful at such close range.

However, things worked out quite well! The flash was blocked by the lens so the gnat was in shadow from the direct blast. The reflected light off the walls was just about right.

To control depth of field and get a bright enough image in the viewfinder to focus, adjust the aperture manually by holding one finger on the lever sticking out of the lens. This takes a bit of practice to get the right exposure!

gnat

gnat-eye

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beata [Visitor]

05/04/07 @ 17:07

ojej fajny blog ;D. o chuj przecież ty polskiego nie umiesz xD. a chuj z tym, napisać po angielsku? Nie! Nie chce mi się ;D. Hi, cool blog. Fuck. Peace ; ** ^^ xD.

I used to use a lens reversal ring with a Pentax SP1000 back in the mists of time. To be honest I'd forgotten how effective the technique could be.

Toying wiht the idea of purchasing myself a new set of bellows to try out some digital macro.

Your gnat was very cooperative, or did you glue him to the wall? ;)

Mary-Anne [Visitor]

24/06/08 @ 18:20

Incredible! Is it a professional camera? I can never get such clarity...
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Cheekygeek [Visitor]

25/07/08 @ 03:13

Nice! I also had forgotten about the lens reversal trick. I actually made on out of a step-up filter adapter and a plastic body cap many years ago (you'd have to hold it on the body, but it would work!). Took one of my all-time favorite pics with it - a small yellow flower against a green out-of-focus background, at the top of a mountain in Olympia Nat'l Rainforest.

Just ordered my first DSLR yesterday (Pentax K200D kit) and can't wait for it to get here! Sounds like you shoot Pentax too?

alspixalspix pro
25/07/08 @ 10:39

There's always something more satisfying about using home made stuff, even if you do have to hold it all together while using it! Yeah, I already used a Pentax film SLR so the pentax DSLR seemed like the natural thing to do as the lenses fit.

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