Macro photography on a budget (10$)
Today, i'm gonna show you how you can take macro photos on your DSLR for really cheap, and get nice results. I'm gonna tell you how much every adapter and lens worth with some examples.
This is my equipment for taking macro photos:
- Macro reverse ring for Canon Eos (52mm) here you can see price of this adapter. (Ebay)
- Macro tubes for M42 lenses (You get 9mm, 16mm, 30mm adapters) here you can see price of this adapter. (Ebay)
- Sigma 28-70mm with 52mm filter thread (I bought this lens for cheap, it was 9$) here you can see price of this lens. (Ebay)
- Canon 50mm 1.8 II (I bought this lens for 60$ used) here you can see price of this lens. (Ebay)
- Industar 61 l/z 50mm (This lens i got from my friend, he does't use it) here you can see price of this lens. (Ebay)
This first photo was taken only with Canon 50mm 1.8 II at minimal focus distance. It's about 0.5m from subject.
| Camera | Lens | Shutter speed | F-stop | ISO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon 600D | Canon 50mm | 1/100 sec. | f/5.6 | 100 |
This photo was taken with Canon 50mm 1.8 II with reverse macro ring. Difference is huge, and quality of photo is amazing.
| Camera | Lens | Shutter speed | F-stop | ISO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon 600D | Canon 50mm with macro reverse ring | 1/10 sec. | f/8 | 100 |
This photo was taken with Sigma 28-70mm with reverse macro ring and lens was at 28mm focal length. It's little wider than photo with Canon and reverse ring but quality of photo is still amazing.
| Camera | Lens | Shutter speed | F-stop | ISO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon 600D | Sigma 28-70mm with macro reverse ring | 1/20 sec. | f/8 | 100 |
This photo was taken with Sigma 28-70mm with reverse macro ring and lens was at 70mm focal length. Difference is huge when you compare it with Canon 50mm with reverse ring and Sigma at 28mm and quality is still good.
| Camera | Lens | Shutter speed | F-stop | ISO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon 600D | Sigma 28-70mm with macro reverse ring | 1/13 sec. | f/8 | 200 |
This photo was taken with Industar and macro tubes with all extension together. You can see that it is little bit softer than using macro reverse ring but quality of photo is still good with little sharpening in post production.
| Camera | Lens | Shutter speed | F-stop | ISO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon 600D | Industar 50mm with macro tubes | 1/6 sec. | f/11 | 100 |
I'm gonna buy also macro tubes for Canon lenses to try it on my Canon 50mm. You will be informed when i buy this, i'm gonna show you examples. It's more expensive than these adapters that i showed you. There is also version of macro tubes with auto focus.
Thank you for stopping by, i hope this was useful for you. Have a nice day/night, depends where you are from. :D
It's nice to see how those old, nowadays incredibly cheap lenses perform.
About focus breathing i never looked that, but probably there is some. Sigma is beast for macro, you are right about calculations. One thing i wanted to mention about Sigma, when focal length is on 70mm i cant use built in flash, cause i'm really close to subject and i need external flash for that. Yeah, macro tubes are not that really great on Industar, but i tried them on my Helios 44-2, it gives amazing results.
Poking the lens through A4 paper sometimes could be an efficient form of a "soft-box".
Life-hack No2 could be to turn it upside-down. It allows me to use flash for some focal lengths between 18 and 55.
The expression on the people's face when they see you holding big camera upside-down with the giant paper at the front of it is simply priceless. Extremely Pro Look - Level 799
I'm gonna try upside down with flash. Hahahah :D
Opet nešto korisno i poučno :D
Uvek. :D
Great job. I just bought my Sony 50mm macro. And I am more then happy. But yeah with some invention you can manage it.
Nice, when you combine that with Sony a6500 you will get great results. :)
Изузетно корисне информације, @miroslavrc, само настави. Управо ми је стигао реверзни прстен за Фуџи, па ћу вероватно идућег месеца послати први тест са објективом Nikon 50mm f1.8 series Е.
Hvala veliko. Ocekujem onda fotografije sledeceg meseca, imas super objektiv. Taj je iz 80tih, jel da?