Desi Jugaad For Macro Photography Using Reverse Ring

Sep 052012
 

 

Macro Photography Tips for using Reverse Ring

A few weeks ago our photography group  planned a macro shoot in Botanical Garden in Hyderabad, where I visit regularly with my kids to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful flora and fauna. We have also been going there with GHAC to photograph the birds and butterflies and other small creatures found at the Botanical Garden Kondapur.
I was not sure if I should go as my understanding of Macro Photography was you need to buy an expensive specialized lens and other gear. The other reason was I did not want to kill bugs to take the pictures( the bug has to be still, in order to be in focus), but that was easy to overcome as I decided to click flowers and other static objects.

reverse ring macro shot for green insect on marigold flower
A Bug Inside A Flower 
 I prayed to the search gods at Google and voila I discovered a cheap way of doing macro photography or in our desi way a jugaad to do  macro photography using a reverse ring that came very cheap.
I bought this cheap INR 199/ reverse macro ring on eBay and then went to YouTube to understand how to use it.
 Note to Readers: Please Click on Images to see bigger Size

Some Challenges of using a Reverse Ring for Macro Photography: 

As the lens connectors are not getting any input from the camera you face following challenges

  1. You can not control aperture so need to set it manually
  2. The Viewfinder goes blind and you need to use screen for
  3. Due to very high magnification, the depth of field is very narrow so one needs to work very carefully as slight movement changes the focus point
  4. Your lens innards are exposed to elements so one needs to be extra careful when clicking outside as the pins can gather dust and any splashes of water in the garden can damage the lens.
While not perfect and actually painful at times as you cannot use auto-focus on your camera, when you look at the price compared to a proper macro lens, I have no reason to complain. I clicked the pictures without a tripod but would strongly recommend the same as even the smallest motion can blur the picture. Also be very careful  as your lens electric contacts are exposed to nature and can easily get damaged by water, mud etc. when you are out in nature. 

close up of flower using reverse ring macro
Very Small Flowers Shot With Reverse Ring 
3 lobed fruit
The Real Fruit Is Size Of A Malnourished Pea


Pictures from more visits to the Botanical garden are here

grass flowers with spider web thread macro photography

The Web OF Spider On Grass Flowers
 
adenium flower closeup using macro photography

The Anthers of an Adenium Flower

As you have seen if you want to experiment with Macro Photography, you need not begin  with buying an expensive lens, you can begin with a cheap INR 199, reverse ring and start your experiments with macro photography. Just remember that  you will be in full manual mode and you need to use live view of your camera as the viewfinder will not work.

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  2 Responses to “Desi Jugaad For Macro Photography Using Reverse Ring”

Comments (2)
  1. Subhorup Dasgupta says:
    September 17, 2012 at 9:59 AM

    Very impressive. I have read a lot on reverse lens work, and maybe some day when I have a fancy DSLR and a couple of lenses in my kit, I will try it out. Your post and pics have instilled some courage in me. Keep at it.

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