macro micro suggestions

[Dave Wooten]

Need mic ro lens for project photographing bird eyes. Bird is captive and hand held. 1:1 or gre enlargmen[B]B]td be best. Nikon f 3 and f 100.

[Dave Wooten]

Need micro lens for project photographig bird eyes Bird is captive and hand held. 1:1 or greater. Lens recommendations requested

[jeffreyg]

The Nikon 105 f1:2.8 will get you to 1:1 without any attachments. To get closer there may be a reverse ring adapter? If there is you would have to use it on manual. I have the 105 which I use on an FM2, an F100 and D300.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

[Dave Wooten]

Thanks...how close/ far lens to subject?

[Ian C]

The manual focus versions of the 105mm Micro Nikkor have maximum magnification 1:2. The newer autofocus versions attain 1:1.

The optical center of a 105mm lens needs to be about 210mm from the subject to attain 1:1 magnification. The extension can be completely provided by the helicoids (if it has that much travel), extension tubes, bellows, or any combination of these.

This assumes that the lens is used facing forward. Reversing a lens often places the optical center at a different position altering the magnification. It can be difficult to predict how reversing a lens affects the magnification, depending upon the position of the optical center of the reversed lens.

[Dan Fromm]

Ian, the 105/2.8 AI/AIS MicroNikkor has a floating element that reduces the lens' focal length as the lens is focused closer. At its close focusing limit, according to Bjorn Roslett focal length is 88 mm. So your arithmetic is a little off.

The lens goes to 1:1 on the PN-11 extension tube. The range of magnifications available with the lens on the PN-11 is 1:2 to 1.14:1

You may have been thinking of the 105/4 MicroNikkor, which goes to 1:2 on its own mount and from 1:2 to 1:1 on the PN-11. It does not have a floating element and its focal length does not change as it is focused closer.

Dave, if you want to go much above 1:1, hand-held won't work, even with flash. The problem is that unsteadiness will move the plane of best focus. Shooting my 105/2.8 MicroNikkor AIS hand-held at 0.88:1 isn't easy, and I use flash.

But if you have faith in your steadiness, perhaps you should abandon Nikon and switch to Canon. Canon's 65/2.8 MP-E goes from 1:1 to 5:1 on its own mount, talks to all EOS mount cameras.

[Dave Wooten]

Thanks all and for the canon tips. I've been looking about and what about the hiking 200mm? Also camera will be on tripod

[Dan Fromm]

Dave, pardon my ignorance. What is a hiking 200 mm? I have a 200/4 MicroNikkor AIS, see my comments on it in the for sale listings. Not Nikon's best, and at its close focusing distance its focal length is around 135 mm. The AF version is much better but goes only to 1:1.

I've shot a 210/9 Konica Hexanon GR-II mounted, with adapters and a cheap Zenit belows with more adapters at each end, against a 200/4 MicroNikkor AIS at 1:2 (the MicroNikkor's close focusing limit on its own mount), at medium distance and at considerable distance at f/9, f/11, f/16. The Konica Hexanon won at all distances and apertures. So if you can bear to use a lens with manual aperture on bellows -- many people can't -- a good grade of ~ 200 mm process lens may be what you need. Think Apo-Artar (there's a 210), Apo-Nikkor (150 or 240), Apo-Ronar 150 or 240), G-Claron (210), Konica Hexanon (210), ... A 150 mm process lens will give less working distance than a 210 or 240 but will require less extension to get the desired magnification.

If the camera is on a tripod, how are you going to focus? Move the bird? If so, unless you use something like (pardon my choice of words, I don't know what devices used to restrain birds are called) a squeeze box on a rail to hold the bird, you're in trouble. Bird in hand is as unsteady as camera in hand.

Best practice with closeup work is to set magnification, then focus by moving (usually) the camera-lens assembly or (rarely) the subject.

[Dave Wooten]

Thanks...thought I typed nikon 200. My cell changes words it doesn't recognize. I have a good stash of process lenses. The birds are racing pigeons and are holdable. I have used a medical dental yashica camera but it has no tripod threads...color transparencies. I might have to resort to process lens or make a device to hold the dental camera.

[John Koehrer]

Just use a beanbag on top of the tripod to steady the camera. You have flexibility to reposition it and stability for sharpness.
Use a folded washcloth as a trial.