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Download PDF - The Canadian Nature Photographer

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MACROPHOTOGRAPHY TOOLS, TIPS & TECHNIQUES FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS 2012<br />

Reverse Lens Adapter and Lens Stacking<br />

<strong>The</strong> most economical way to get into macrophotography is to purchase a reverse lens adapter for<br />

approximately $10-$20. <strong>The</strong> adapter screws into the front of the lens where your filter would normally<br />

go, and it also attaches to you camera body. Many of the cameras automated lens features will not<br />

function this way. You get more magnification if you use a wide angle lens or add extension tubes.<br />

Normal lenses are designed to focus an image optimally when the distance between the front of the<br />

lens and the subject is greater than the distance between the front of the lens and the film plane. In<br />

macrophotography, objects are often closer to the front of the lens then the distance between the front<br />

of the lens and the film plane. For this reason, if you reverse a normal or wide angle lens and attach it to<br />

your camera you can achieve good results and high magnification. Wide angle lenses between 20-35<br />

mm in focal length are particularly suitable and can achieve magnifications of between 1.0X to 2.0X. <strong>The</strong><br />

disadvantage of this technique is that the lens must be stopped down manually, and to focus you will<br />

have to move the camera back and forth!<br />

I have tried using reversed lenses I have found them awkward to work with. One photographer whose<br />

pictures of spiders I admire is Thomas Shahan (thomasshahan.com) – he uses a reversed lens attached<br />

to extension tubes on his Pentax DSLR camera to achieve beautiful high magnification pictures of spiders<br />

and other arthropods.<br />

Reverse lens adapters are available for about $20.<br />

Robert Berdan | 24

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