Advice Wanted Macro - Close Up

[boojum]

OK, up here north of the equator the days are getting shorter and it is getting colder, too. Where I live it is not the rainy season but the rainier season so outside photo jaunts are fewer. So, stuck pretty much inside I have to photo something, right? And photos of the kitchen get boring very quickly so I am thinking the Land of Lilliput where the small things are. Macro/close up time!

Added later to clarify, I want to do this on an X2D.

My options seem to be, in ascending order of cost:

1) A close up filter
2) Extension tubes
3) Extension bellows
4) Macro lens

I would like to keep this as inexpensive as possible. I understand there is a trade-off between cost and results here so I ask what are your experiences with these options? What were your best results?

 

[Brian]

Macro lens is the way to go, and they are cheap. Working inside- you can use a 50mm~60mm lens, no problem.

You have enough cameras with Liveview, so an F-Mount Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 would be an inexpensive option.

 

[boojum]

Macro lens is the way to go, and they are cheap. Working inside- you can use a 50mm~60mm lens, no problem.

You have enough cameras with Liveview, so an F-Mount Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 would be an inexpensive option.

I should have been more clear, I want to do this with the X2D. Of course I could use what you suggest with my TTArtisans adapter and electronic shutter. I'll check to see if I can do focus stacking with an adapter but I think not as the focus cannot be controlled by the camera. I am really fond of the X2D color and definition.

 

[Brian]

You will need to have a lens controlled by the camera for focus stacking. In that case: I would try an inexpensive close-up Diopter lens that screws into the filter-ring. What size filters does the lens take? If it works- then you could spend money on a more expensive one.

 

[boojum]

You will need to have a lens controlled by the camera for focus stacking. In that case: I would try an inexpensive close-up Diopter lens that screws into the filter-ring. What size filters does the lens take? If it works- then you could spend money on a more expensive one.

Yes. The XCD 55v takes a 72mm close focus filter. B&W makes a +3 and a +5 that I know of. B&H is out but maybe elsewhere. Then the images have to be glued together. The HB image editor, Phocus, does not do that. So Helicon is what HB recommends. (Helicon Focus - Helicon Soft). In Ukraine so the money is going to a really good cause. The question now is should I get it on Windows or Mac? I have only an iPad Pro 3 so that would not be good. The Mac Mini M2 chip is $700. This is a lot of money to take a picture of a toothpick. Strong drink, loose women and black cigars are seeming a better option right now. But the women keep hanging up on me, so . . .

Macro is very interesting to me. Van Leeuwenhoek started with a passion for things tiny using his invention. Maybe I can find some interesting lint around the house.

The X2D does marvelous focus stacking.

Your suggested path makes the most sense. It is all the crap and collateral that go along with it. But that stuff is part of the solution regardless of how I am able to get close. Yes, for focus stacking it is filters or extension tubes to start. Bellows will not work, no autofocus, and then macro lens is a bit steep. Little steps, little steps.

 

[camprl1]

You will need to have a lens controlled by the camera for focus stacking. In that case: I would try an inexpensive close-up Diopter lens that screws into the filter-ring. What size filters does the lens take? If it works- then you could spend money on a more expensive one.

Surely you don't need to have a lens controlled by the camera for focus stacking. It must make it easier and more accurate, but one can do it manually. I have a small, manually operated focusing rail (Sunwayfoto MFR-150S) that can move the camera in fractions of a millimeter at a time via its worm gear mechanism.

 

[boojum]

Surely you don't need to have a lens controlled by the camera for focus stacking. It must make it easier and more accurate, but one can do it manually. I have a small, manually operated focusing rail (Sunwayfoto MFR-150S) that can move the camera in fractions of a millimeter at a time via its worm gear mechanism.

I can do focus stacking in the X2D as a function of the firmware. Just set it and forget it. Then take the assembled images and run them through focus stacking software for a finished image. This has great appeal. I can set the camera for hundreds of images each a second apart. You can do it manually of course.