A Macro on the Cheap!

April 6th, 2008

If you thought that getting macro shots meant getting a Nikon "Micro" lens, think again. It is possible to do macro photography with a smaller and cheaper option.

Being a Nikon guy, there are two obvious ways to go macro: Get the 105mm/2.8 Micro lens or the 60mm. The 105 has been modernized with VR, Nano-crystal coating etc., so chromatic aberration and picture quality are probably better than the 60mm.

These lenses are not cheap, however.

There is a cheap workaround if you already have a 50mm lens:reverse it. Yes, just unscrew it and hold it so the front of the lens is touching the bayonet. You'll need to control aperture manually using the aperture ring on the lens and focus is achieved by moving the lens closer to or further away from the object. Depth of field is very shallow, same as on the other macro lenses, so you'll need to stop down considerably. Due to this, you'll probably need a tripod to control the setup if you have anywhere less than 4 hands on your body.

The picture quality is surprisingly good!

If you think you'll be needing this setup more often, an adaptor-ring is available to make things simpler: the Nikon BR-2A 52mm Lens Reversing Ring.

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