# What Macro Lens Could Do This?



## PhilGarber (Apr 19, 2009)

Hi-

  Does anyone know what macro lens could possibly take a photo as close and as sharp as the photo here? http://jcksn.com/2008/10/01/amazing-insect-macros/ . 

I want a nice macro lens.. Just wanna know how old I'll be when I can afford it.


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## Marc Kurth (Apr 19, 2009)

The photographers skill and experience is what makes this shot special to you. There are many truly great lenses out there, but..........

Marc


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## PhilGarber (Apr 19, 2009)

What I mean is what lens can get that close and sharp, physically speaking.


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## prodigy2k7 (Apr 19, 2009)

I honestly dont know, but im assuming a Canon 100mm or 180mm macro lenses can do that...


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## kundalini (Apr 19, 2009)

Marc was correct.... it was the photographer that made that shot. 

Pretty much any macro lens could have been used.


[edit]  geesh....... did any of you go through the links?  Holy cow, some serious macro there....  I never saw any reference to Canon, but it was mostly in a language i am ignorant of..... Russian maybe?


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## Joves (Apr 19, 2009)

The Nikorr 105 Micro can do that as well. It all depends on what you want to spend. Then there are bellows and other techiques.


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## TwoRails (Apr 19, 2009)

That was taken with a Nikon D200 on a Manfrotto 055PRO tripod with a Rodenstock Rodagon 80mm f/4 enlarging lens attached to a Novoflex macro bellows.  Taken by Martin Amm

shock: That shot is in the May issue of Pop Photo )


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## Overread (Apr 19, 2009)

Well that beats us all 
However I doubt that one could easily get a shot like that with a straight macro lens without cropping from the original shot - which of course is not ideal as its cutting down on overall image usage.

I have use a 1.4 teleconverter on a Sigma 150mm macro lens to get a result like the following:






which looks to be similar to the magnification that the other setup is getting - possibly a little less - so maybe a 2*TC backed off just a bit. 

As for the clarity that is coming from 3 places:
1) ambient lighting

2) editing - one has to have a good image first, but good editing can give that extra punch that is seen in many shots

3) flash - this is not always needed as ambient lighting can be used if one has a good enough light source and reflectors, but flash is often used and a good solid flash setup can give a very big increase to overall image quality

Oh and the water is probably from one of hte following sources:

1) early morning dew - early morning also very likley since this was a tripod shot and dragons don't always hang around - this early morning for when insects are still cold from the night and not yet warmed up and active.

2) rainfall - just after a rainstorm - colder weather so the insect is more likley to be a bit more docile as it again has to warm up.

3) spraycan - though it would certainly need to have a colder insect to start with - morning again - the water in the sprayer (clearly not pointed right at the bug) used to add more water to the scene - the bug staying still as its cold

Not some people catch bugs and fridge them to get them slow - its not something that I do and many other macro shooters also tend to refrain from it as the bugs do not alway recover from the effect - besides in the field is much more fun and early mornings won't kill you (heck you might even see some nice sunrises )


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## blash (Apr 19, 2009)

Overread said:


> (heck you might even see some nice sunrises )



Better yet, you might photograph them! :camera:


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## Jaszek (Apr 19, 2009)

TwoRails said:


> shock: That shot is in the May issue of Pop Photo )


I knew I saw it somewhere lol


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## Phranquey (Apr 19, 2009)

PhilGarber said:


> What I mean is what lens can get that close and sharp, physically speaking.


 
There are a variety of lenses out there that can get you that close. As far as set-up, my best guess on that shot was early morning, and using a squirt bottle set on mist to cover him with droplets. You can catch dew covered bugs that are pretty sluggish first thing in the morning, but that shot looks like quite a bit of water to be just dew.

Similar to Overread's...I posted it in a previous thread...... It was taken with a 105mm f/2.8, and it wasn't even down to 1:1. I tried to get a little closer after this shot, but he didn't care for that & took off.


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## PhilGarber (Apr 20, 2009)

TwoRails said:


> That was taken with a Nikon D200 on a Manfrotto 055PRO tripod with a Rodenstock Rodagon 80mm f/4 enlarging lens attached to a Novoflex macro bellows.  Taken by Martin Amm
> 
> shock: That shot is in the May issue of Pop Photo )




Yeah, I saw this in Pop Photo, but didn't see how it was made.


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## TwoRails (Apr 20, 2009)

Phranquey said:


> There are a variety of lenses out there that can get you that close. As far as set-up, my best guess on that shot was early morning, and using a squirt bottle set on mist to cover him with droplets. You can catch dew covered bugs that are pretty sluggish first thing in the morning, but that shot looks like quite a bit of water to be just dew. ...


 Nope.  Other than the usual minor adjustments, it is "as was."  Don't have time right now to look for it, but the article may be posted on Popular Photography's Web site.


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## dking (Apr 23, 2009)

This picture was taken with a Nikon D80, Kenko Extensio tube and 50mm 1.8 Nikon lense.  Not to bad considering Extension Tubes and Lense cost just over 200.00

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu221/dking10/DSC_0037.jpg


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## yoshi900 (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm looking around for extension tube. The price I found for the Kenko extension tube is about $160. Then there are cheapie extension tube on ebay that's like $10. 

Since there is no glass in the extension tube, does it make a difference between the kenko and the cheapie tube?


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## Overread (Apr 25, 2009)

Yes - the Kenko tubes are of a more sturdy construction and also have electrical contacts in them - that means you can control the aperture of your lens when you put it on and your camera is also able to use its metering so that you can get a correct exposure.
With the cheap tubes its generally a thinner construction (not as strong) and no electrical contacts, so there goes your metering and aperture control - both things that you really need.


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