I am curious if I would need a special "macro" lens or if one of my current lenses would take close ups, of say something like I watch face, If I had bellows that were longer?
I am curious if I would need a special "macro" lens or if one of my current lenses would take close ups, of say something like I watch face, If I had bellows that were longer?
Generalizations are made because they are Generally true...
Any lens will do the job. A lens optimized for near distances will do the job better than a general purpose optimized for distant subjects.
To make best use of a lens' optimizations, use it facing normally for magnifications up to 1:1, reversed for magnifications above 1:1.
Most lenses need a bellows extension 2x their focal length to achieve 1:1. Enlarger lenses like Componons have always done the job for me upto 1:1.
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
Some lenses designed for close work, will also function nicely at infinity. However, many general purpose lenses designed for infinity or distance, do not work well close up.
Any lens will take macro shots as has been stated already. But they will not necessarily be the same quality as a dedicated macro lens, which has also been stated already. In fact among macro lenses there can be specialization. For instance an Apo Macro Sironar is excellent at reproduction ratios from 1:3 to 5:1 (assuming you have enough bellows extension, a good enough camera support and enough light. But if you want to copy slides or negatives an Apo Rodagon D will easily out perform it.
Conversly, if you take your watch shot, and fill most or all of the frame, with a general purpose lens corrected for 1:10 0r 1:20 then the same shot with a true macro will be crisper, have more detail and will overall be of higher quality
So, if you are doing insurance record shots the general purpose lens will be fine. If you are shooting it for a high end auction house it probably will not be good enough.
If one were to use a macro lens for general use, should it be reversed? (I would presume so...)
BTW, most general-use lenses I use for close ups do quite well, and I seldom reverse them. A big exception is the Super Angulon; visibly terrible at about 1:1.
"I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."
Not unless you want to use it for a ratio that is closer to inverse of the ratio it has been designed for than to the latter.
In practice, the only LF lenses you will want to reverse (for general photography) are the more extreme micro lenses (Luminars etc.), which actually are intended to magnify the subject onto film, with ratios past 1:1. Macro lenses proper have greater subject distances and have their sweet spot somewhere in between 1:1 and 1:10 - reversing them might give them a secondary sweet spot in the corresponding micro range, but would make them even worse for general applications.
Last edited by Sevo; 29-May-2013 at 12:35. Reason: clarification
Sevo, are you sure? As far as I know Luminars are made to be used facing normally, i.e., with the front end facing the subject. The 100/6.3 Luminar is recommended for magnifications from 0.8x to 8x, is threaded at both ends for easy reversing. I've had one, an abused dog, and have had the use of a good one. In my experience reversing the good one made no difference. Reversing the shorter Luminars is very difficult, they have mounting threads at only one end.
Also, aren't you confusing long working distance microscope objectives with the effects of working at magnifications lower than 1:1? I mean, working distance, however you define it, given focal length increases as magnification decreases.
Mark, "macro lens" has at least two meanings so answering your question is harder than you'd expect. In the small format world, "macro lens" usually means a lens optimized for near distances that will focus to 1:2 or even 1:1 or a hair beyond 1:1 on its own mount. In the LF world, "macro lens" often means much the same, a lens optimized for near distances that's intended to be used at magnifications up to 1:1. But there are also macro lenses from, mainly, microscope makers or microscope divisions of merchant lens makers such as Zeiss that are intended to be used only at magnifications above 1:1. When the first type is used above 1:1, it should usually be reversed to preserve its optimizations (big on one side, small on the other); usually because a few of them really are symmetrical. The second type is rarely used below 1:1 so reversing isn't an issue.
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