Macro Lenses

Mystery57

Mystery57

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Andrew
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Recently I have been hearing more and more people saying they take their macro shots with a prime lens reversed.

Is there a benefit of doing macro this way, or is a Macro lens better.

I use a Canon 100 L IS macro, yet have seen shots allegedly taken on a 50mm reversed lens by some obscure manufacturer, which looked better than my own.

What is the implication on focal length of a lens when it is reversed

Really curious about this
 
Mystery57 said:
Recently I have been hearing more and more people saying they take their macro shots with a prime lens reversed.

Is there a benefit of doing macro this way, or is a Macro lens better.
Click to expand...

If you're aiming for the same magnification with the two methods then it's hard to comprehend that the reversed lens would produce better results assuming that the true macro lens was of reasonable quality.

Mystery57 said:
I use a Canon 100 L IS macro, yet have seen shots allegedly taken on a 50mm reversed lens by some obscure manufacturer, which looked better than my own.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm....in the kindest possible way, I'd advise you to revisit your methods and hone your skills. The 100L IS is up there with the best (within a price bracket).
Mystery57 said:
What is the implication on focal length of a lens when it is reversed

Really curious about this
Click to expand...
It very much depends on the internal construction of the lens (focus method, internal extension etc) and the properties of the "mother" lens.

Bob
 
shorter reversed lenses give greater magnification. You are looking at maybe 35mm manual prime or so. This is how MPE 65mm is done more or less.

But, and this is a big but, normal macros should really be great from 100mm macro, which makes life a lot easier with AF and IS. It is a great optical design, incredibly sharp and contrasty.

I think you maybe looking at differences in lighting, composition and framing rather than benefits of working the complicated way.
 
Normal macro lenses like your Canon 100mm will autofocus from infinity right down to 1:1. A reversed wide-angle lens will be manual focus at best and will be able to focus from about 30cm down to a few cm. Often you can get higher magnification than 1:1 using various extra extension rings (which you can make yourself from old screw-filters).
 
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