Close ups using stacked Tc's

[glsammy]

Having seem Matt_xyz's awesome shots with his 5:1 lens, I decided to try a crazy set up just to see how far I could push my Sigma 150mm.

Here's a couple of shots which were taking with the 150mm, together with 1 x 2X TC PLUS 2 X 1.4X TC's!

Obviously they can't touch the quality of Matts shots, I never for a second thought they would.






I was amazed I got any kind of shot at all.

Obviously I used a tripod, with mirror lock up and cable release. 1/30sec exposure. Not sure what the true aperture was, as you get false readings when using that many Extenders.
Focusing was obviously manual,the biggest problem was judging the focus as the image in the viewfinder was extremely dim.

Here's a few other shots.

Common Ants:





These are just about full frame shots.
The set up was different for these. My Sigma 150mm with the 2X TC.

Very small spider:

This was shot with 68mm Extension tubes plus 2X TC.



To give you an idea of the true size, here's a shot of the spider with the Sigma 150mm at 1:1:





All shots used my Sigma Ring flash, on manual mode.
The fact the shots are even possible is a huge credit to the Sigma 150mm.

[macro junkie]

not bad..i take it matt has a mpe-65?

[Ollie]

That first fly is awsome Graham. You are putting ideas in my head that may cost me money

Roger

[pressld2]

Some excellent shots there Graham, considering the set up! I agree that it says a gret deal about the quality that the Sigma 150 can produce in the hands of the right photographer.

Like Roger, it's got me thinking about my bank balance! I don't currently own any TCs but will seriously rethink that now.

Dave P.

[glsammy]

Thanks.

Macro junkie, yes Matt has the MPe-65.

I'm not suggesting this is any substitution for that lens, using that many TC's it's very hard to get any kind of shot and it's strictly for very static insects. The quality certainly suffers, as you'd expect.

The fly was very small and these are just about full frame shots, hardly any cropping, apart from some of the width.

I've yet to test the absolute limit for me, that will be all extensions plus all TC's.. I doubt I'd even be able to see anything through the viewfinder.

[matt_xyz]

good stuff Graham, it's always interesting to push a lens to its limits. Although I used my Sigma 150 with converters and extension tubes last summer for some reason I never experimented with combining the two. I always enjoyed using the lens with 68mm of extension tubes, that gives you nearly 1.5x magnification (as I'm sure you know) which is fairly useful. It was that set-up that whetted my appetite for the MPE-65

Matt

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by matt_xyz

good stuff Graham, it's always interesting to push a lens to its limits. Although I used my Sigma 150 with converters and extension tubes last summer for some reason I never experimented with combining the two. I always enjoyed using the lens with 68mm of extension tubes, that gives you nearly 1.5x magnification (as I'm sure you know) which is fairly useful. It was that set-up that whetted my appetite for the MPE-65

Matt

These only stand up as full frame shots. If you crop or zoom in, you can clearly see the limitations!

I must admit I'm seriously tempted by the MPe-65. I've always enjoyed doing the close up shots that lens would certainly broaden the possibilities.

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by glsammy

These only stand up as full frame shots. If you crop or zoom in, you can clearly see the limitations!

I must admit I'm seriously tempted by the MPe-65. I've always enjoyed doing the close up shots that lens would certainly broaden the possibilities.

Graham,

Have you or anyone else tried with extenders rather than tele-convertors?

Its a cheaper option surely ?

[eeyore]

Ive tried a set up bodged together using a blacked out pringles tube as an extender (naturally you loose all your lens functions) but it does give you about 350mm of extension which equals arround 3:1 - that said it was very hard to use in anything other than studio conditions

the site that gave me the original idea can be found here Extreme Macro Photography on a budget by Photocritic

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Hobjob

Graham,

Have you or anyone else tried with extenders rather than tele-convertors?

Its a cheaper option surely ?

Yes, done many!



Here's one with the 2X TC Plus 65mm Extension tubes, at maximum magnification. This is far easier to manage than the three stacked TC's, and gives better quality.




Here's one with just the 65mm extension tubes:



Now you can see the difference.