Equipment Choices 1
Use What You Have?
All of us already have at least one camera; many of us have several cameras. Can we do any macro photography with the equipment we have on hand? Back in the "good old days" we probably could not; but in this bright new digital era, we probably can. I'll discuss this more later, but my mantra is, as always, experiment. Take the camera you have, look at the manual, and see what the manufacturer has provided in the way of a macro or close-up mode.
All of us already have at least one camera; many of us have several cameras. Can we do any macro photography with the equipment we have on hand? Back in the "good old days" we probably could not; but in this bright new digital era, we probably can. I'll discuss this more later, but my mantra is, as always, experiment. Take the camera you have, look at the manual, and see what the manufacturer has provided in the way of a macro or close-up mode.
This little speckled frog was photographed with an older Canon (A590IS) camera that I brought with me on our trip to Africa. My wife and I went out in a little dugout canoe, poled by a local entrepreneur. We were in a marshy area where the water was probably only two or three feet deep. The canoe was fairly wobbly, as you might expect, and I brought the little camera because I was afraid of tipping over and losing one of my "good" cameras. We saw several frogs clinging to the reeds; this one was about 1-1/2 inches long, and he did not pay any attention to us at all. In order to get this shot, I set my little camera to its macro mode, which utilized the wide angle setting of the zoom lens. So there we are: I am holding the reed with the frog with my left hand, holding the camera with my right hand, and all of us are bobbing back and forth as I try to get the frog in focus. This shot is the best of the 5 or 6 I made. The reed the frog is on is about as thick as your everyday yellow pencil.
Supplementary Lenses
Supplementary lenses, sometimes called diopters or close-up filters, are an inexpensive and often surprisingly good way to do close-ups, especially in the field. These are lenses, usually single but sometimes double (better) lenses which allow your regular lens to focus much closer and thereby yield a larger image. These lenses often come in sets of three (+1, +2, and +4). The numbers refer to the “strength” of each lens, measured in diopters. A +1 lens is a lens with a focal length of 1 meter; a +2 has a focal length of ½ meter, and, similarly, a +4 lens has a focal length of ¼ meter. These are generally available in strengths up to +10. They screw into the camera lens filter threads, so be sure to get the size that fits the lens you will use with them. Some cameras do not come with threads for adding supplementary lenses. Before you rush out and buy a new camera for this reason, try improvising a lens mount. For example, get a spare lens cap, carve out the center of the cap, and glue in a close-up lens. This is a surprisingly effective method for starting out with close-up photography. If this method works for you, you will have saved money and still achieved what you set out to do.
Diopters are available from both reputable (Tiffen, Kenko, Hoya, B&W, Canon, etc.) and unknown manufacturers. You can also frequently buy used ones (B&H Photovideo, KEH camera, Adorama, etc.) These lenses are designed so that more than one can be used at a time; if you choose to do this, put the higher power lens closer to the camera lens. Remember also that the more lenses are used in combination, the greater is the likelihood of flare and internal reflections from the lenses.
Reversing Lenses
For most photography, the distance from the back of the lens to the sensor is small, and the distance from the front of the lens to the object is large. When you do close-up and macro photography, this relationship may not be valid. Since most lenses are designed for the usual setup, the lens corrections are not optimum for close-ups. One solution to this design limitation is to reverse the lens on the camera. Adapters are made to permit this reversal, but there are some problems in making it work well. Most modern lenses are electrically controlled by the camera body, and reversing the lens breaks the connections. Equipment is available to permit the camera to continue to control a reversed lens, but it is expensive. Novoflex makes such adapters, and they may also be available from some Chinese manufacturers. This method does yield decent results, but, for the price, there are generally more versatile solutions.
Supplementary lenses, sometimes called diopters or close-up filters, are an inexpensive and often surprisingly good way to do close-ups, especially in the field. These are lenses, usually single but sometimes double (better) lenses which allow your regular lens to focus much closer and thereby yield a larger image. These lenses often come in sets of three (+1, +2, and +4). The numbers refer to the “strength” of each lens, measured in diopters. A +1 lens is a lens with a focal length of 1 meter; a +2 has a focal length of ½ meter, and, similarly, a +4 lens has a focal length of ¼ meter. These are generally available in strengths up to +10. They screw into the camera lens filter threads, so be sure to get the size that fits the lens you will use with them. Some cameras do not come with threads for adding supplementary lenses. Before you rush out and buy a new camera for this reason, try improvising a lens mount. For example, get a spare lens cap, carve out the center of the cap, and glue in a close-up lens. This is a surprisingly effective method for starting out with close-up photography. If this method works for you, you will have saved money and still achieved what you set out to do.
Diopters are available from both reputable (Tiffen, Kenko, Hoya, B&W, Canon, etc.) and unknown manufacturers. You can also frequently buy used ones (B&H Photovideo, KEH camera, Adorama, etc.) These lenses are designed so that more than one can be used at a time; if you choose to do this, put the higher power lens closer to the camera lens. Remember also that the more lenses are used in combination, the greater is the likelihood of flare and internal reflections from the lenses.
Reversing Lenses
For most photography, the distance from the back of the lens to the sensor is small, and the distance from the front of the lens to the object is large. When you do close-up and macro photography, this relationship may not be valid. Since most lenses are designed for the usual setup, the lens corrections are not optimum for close-ups. One solution to this design limitation is to reverse the lens on the camera. Adapters are made to permit this reversal, but there are some problems in making it work well. Most modern lenses are electrically controlled by the camera body, and reversing the lens breaks the connections. Equipment is available to permit the camera to continue to control a reversed lens, but it is expensive. Novoflex makes such adapters, and they may also be available from some Chinese manufacturers. This method does yield decent results, but, for the price, there are generally more versatile solutions.