Tuesday 28 April 2015

Take Macro Images Without a Macro Lens.

Macro photography is one of the most fascinating methods of photography, as it lets you see everyday objects in a totally new way. Getting a close look at plants, materials,can be a fun experience, but spending hundreds of rupees on a macro lens isn’t realistic for many people.

Reversal Ring is solution for that.

Reversal rings allow you to mount your lens on your camera backwards. Instead of the lens being close to the camera body, it’s now further away, which allows you to focus on objects that are much closer to your camera. The inability to focus on a subject that is very close to the camera is what makes macro photography almost impossible with a regular lens.

There are two types of reversal rings. The first type has threads on one side and lens-mounting projections on the other. The threads screw into the end of your lens, and the other side mounts to your camera like a regular lens.

The second type of ring is threaded on both sides, and lets you mount a lens backward on another lens. This greatly increases the focal length of your setup, and moves the lens even further away from the camera body.

How to Use Reversal Rings for Macro Photography.

1. Remove the lens cap from your lens and screw the reversal ring into the filter threads. Switch the lens to manual focus.

2. Remove the lens from the body of the camera, turn it around, and lock the reversal ring into place on the camera body like you would a normal lens.

3. Adjust the aperture on your lens. As you may notice in the image above, the electronic contacts that usually allow your camera body to control the aperture of the lens are no longer facing the camera body. You’ll have to adjust the aperture manually. If you have a manual aperture ring, just turn the ring until you get to the aperture you want (starting with something in the middle, like f/11, would be good).

If you don’t have an aperture ring, you’ll need to use a bit of a workaround. Many kit lenses have small levers on the back that control the aperture. By sliding this and blocking it with a piece of cardboard or poster tack, you can get some very rough control over aperture. (If you’re not sure how aperture works, use an online camera simulator to play with it and see what happens.)

If you can adjust the aperture on your lens, going with a smaller aperture (bigger f/stop number) is going to advantageous, as the depth of field in macro photography can be very small. Once you’ve done this, you’re ready to go!

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