help me spend my money for a macro lens

ThomasHorton

Re: Focus Stacking. I use Enfuse. It is an add-on to Lightroom and I think PS. Works great and very inexpensive.

FlowtographyBerlin

i did read about this 200mm f4, but i worry that with the longer focal length of 200mm the depth of field will get shallower and prevent me from getting the objects sharp from front to back

i dont really want to do a bunch of focus stacking as surely it will just add a lot more time to the work, and i would like the option to have either a shallow DOF, or the whole product in focus should i choose

correct me if i am wrong, but wont a bellows solution create the same issue, ie increasing the focal length and shortening the DOF in the process? and also, the bellows i have seen only go back and forth, and do not offer the tilt/shift function ?

Ok, first of all, clear up one misconception: If you're looking at the same framing, the DOF will always be the same for the same aperture, no matter what focal length. If you take a portrait of someone's head with a 35mm and have the head fill the frame, and you take the same shot with a 105 and have the head fill the frame, your picture will be very different – but given you use the same aperture, the nose will be the same out of focus in both shots. Just technically, of course there will be differences in the bokeh quality etc. pp.

Secondly, I can't agree more to what @Msmoto and others have emphasized, and what I totally forgot: If you're looking at serious product photography in the sense of everything being in focus, you will need, yes, need a solution to tilt (not shift) your lens. Forget about AF and VR and all that, because you'll be wanting to focus manually anyway. I was once looking into buying a medium format lens and use a tilt adaptor with it, there's this tack-tack-tack sharp Schneider Kreuznach lens that you can get on eBay for something like 800 Euros, I think it's a 150mm f/4 or so. A friend used this combination and it was superb.

WestEndBoy

I think that this makes a lot of sense. The 105 has VR and auto-focus because it is being sold as a regular lens that can also do Macro, or a way to buy Macro and still use it for other purposes.

I like the 200mm F4 because I want a macro lens and don't care what else it does (however, it is a very good telephoto prime at F4). If you care what else it does, then you might want the other features.

PB_PM

The 105mm VR can also accept Nikon TC's and it works rather well with the TC14E II. In fact I rather like using the TC, since it increases the working distance. It does make it hard to see subjects in dim light though, so a flashlight might be required.

WestEndBoy

I have a TC-201 saved for the 200 F4. Extension tubes should also work.

Msmoto

Well, I received my RRS focusing rail and it is very nice. And, my first attempt at focus stacking, seriously, first time, used HeliconFocus to process about 25 images shot with the 105mm f/2.8 Macro Nikkor at f/5.6. SB-800 source with soft box.

The face is about 30mm tall, from the front of the ball to the nose is about 75mm….
My conclusion is that for subjects which will tolerate the time required, this is the way to go. I have a lot to learn about this stuff, however.

proudgeek

Nice. Any specific reason you chose Helicon over Zerene for stacking software?

Golf007sd

@Msmoto: I like it. Now which RRS rail setup did you go with?

Msmoto

Helicon over Zerene…. My impression from the info I found was a lot of the medium format folks use Helicon, and I was thinking a little ahead…like a D800E. Helicon can use large files or so I am told. It is exceedingly easy to use.

The RRS focusing rail….B150-B And of course now I am ……. ahh…mmm…. Looks like my focusing rail is lonely and needs an RRS tripod, head, etc. :-S

spraynpray

@Msmotos: What is that haloing in front of the nose and right cheek? In fact it is surrounded by various halo's. Are they there on the individual shots?

paulr

Mikep, So you want to spend some money on a Macro lenses , Well here's your chance in April this year
At last Schneider will be bringing out their 28mm PS/TS lens. Not only will you be able to take macro shots, but when the weather improves you can shoot perfect building shots.
, So down to cost, probably about the same price as a New Nikon D4S at a mere £5394 00 Thats Sterling not Dollars!!

That should make an impact on your annual expenditure.

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/lenses/schneider-pc-ts-super-angulon-28mm-f4-5-lenses.html

Msmoto

@spraynpray

The halos…..what halos? LOL I think this example needs to be possibly done in a different way. When the lens/camera was focused on the nose, the foreground ball was a wisp of cotton visually. My technique, focus on the ball in foreground, then move the camera/lens toward the subject so as toy bring the head into focus, may not be sufficient to handle the large range in the image foreground to background.

So, I will do my research and determine if possibly one needs to refocus as well as move the camera while acquiring the multiple images. On the original images these were even worse.

Now a word about why there is focus stacking, tilt/shift being discussed on this thread. My assumption about the question of "which XXX to buy", a common question, is the OP has minimal knowledge of the equipment needed to do macro photography, and rather than have someone purchase a lens, thinking they can do macro, the thread adds a larger base of knowledge upon which to make a decision. An example is the $7500 lens offered up by paulr……..will not do it in all situations…….and this is not said in lust…LOL

proudgeek

Helicon over Zerene…. My impression from the info I found was a lot of the medium format folks use Helicon, and I was thinking a little ahead…like a D800E. Helicon can use large files or so I am told. It is exceedingly easy to use.

Interesting. I've probably done less research than you have. This is the article that originally inspired me to start looking at this technique.
http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Learn-And-Explore/Article/h91fgucv/techniques-flower-power.html

He's shooting with a D3X.

Msmoto

@proudgeek

Please understand that I am a total novice in this area. I have found that to get a result is easy. I think to get a good result is far more difficult and I am going to work on this. Thanks for the above article. I think the more images one uses the better the result. So, I will no doubt buy some roses and go to it with maybe fifty images….shooting the 105mm at f/4. But, first I will read some instructions….. ;;)

proudgeek

You've done two, so you're less of a novice than I am.

I'm still working with the macro lights trying to master them before I take that next step. I think (although I'm not sure) that you don't have to shoot so wide open. In fact, I found it interesting that the photographer in this article shoots at f/16. Maybe it's because these macro lenses are engineered to create less diffraction stopped down? I'm going to take a wild guess the 105's sweet spot is somewhere around f/8. Although it's total trial and error for me too. Thanks for sharing your process to this point. I sense that we're beginning to steer this into new thread territory, and for that I apologize.

One more thing: My wife, who usually finds my photography hobby rather boring, is finding this particular obsession rather interesting, as it means my going out to the florist every few days to get fresh flowers. There's a lesson in there somewhere I suppose.

dissent

I think that halos are artifacts of the stacking process, and are usually handled through the retouching procudure. At least this is how it seems to work in Zerene; can't speak to the process for using Helicon. In Zerene I think you can also mitigate some of these artifacts by choice and adjustment of the stacking algoritm used; I imagine Helicon has something similar.

mikep

So down to cost, probably about the same price as a New Nikon D4S at a mere £5394 00 Thats Sterling not Dollars!!

on yer bike paulr !

that one is defo too much for me right now. surely 28mm was be too close for small products ? watches etc, i was thinking more like 85-105 mm range to get some distance between the lens and the subject

but you tell me paulr, it seems to be your specialist area, im all ears

paulr

Mikep Why Schneider should charge nearly double for the 28mm T/S lens is beyond belief.
For that money you might as well buy a Large Format camera and take full advantage of shift and tilt movements and get change besides.
PS Sorry I do not own a Bike , but enjoy taking images of the Boy Racers, After all the Tour De France is starting in my home town of Leeds this year, so an ideal opportunity to get some cracking shots

Sorry for the deviation.

WestEndBoy

The longer focal length versions, which are more likely what you need, are only about $3,000.