I guess you use the camera's long exposure noise reduction? No, actually. I don't like letting cameras do things without my control. I came up in the days of manual cameras and hand-held light meters, and rarely even use auto-exposure in general photography. I'm still waiting for this auto-focus fa...

Stacking with such long exposure time will cause the sensor to heat and increase noise. Agreed that it could increase noise, but in my case, I'm not seeing it, even in stacks with hundreds of images. The camera I use in the macro studio is a Nikon D7100, always at base ISO. The stacking algorithm I...

Cool 3D model, and images.

I don't see the problem with long shutter speeds. I turn my lights down so that I can expose for 8 seconds- (my method of eliminating the effect of shutter-induced blur). The stacks do take longer, but I'm off doing something else.

--Chris S.

Looks really good to my eye.

--Chris S.

Matthias, welcome to the forum! :D You are moving fast. This is a very nice "proof of concept." I particularly admire the way you use light. With the objective you're using, my standard step increment is 2 µm. Am pretty sure 4 µm would work with only a moderate reduction in fine detail contrast. Agr...

As an aside, I find it interesting that in a "Beginners" forum, everyone posting their edits is not what this forum is about It would seem to me that this is exactly what this forum should be about. How else do beginners improve without critical feedback? Perhaps a separate forum could be establish...

Gedaliah, Another good piece of work. I do have some ideas for your image, though--take or leave them as suits your vision for your work. I've taken the liberty of editing your image. Normally, forum etiquette is to ask before doing this, but since you asked for "any and all feedback," I'm assuming ...

Gedaliah, Welcome to the forum! :D I agree with the others--nice job for early in the macro journey. And since you're here asking for constructive feedback--bravo for this, sir--you're going to get even better. We've all experienced the frustration of fighting with equipment. Once you get a solid ma...

. . . unfortunately, it is too unwieldy, even without tubes. The tripod collar is near the mounting flange, and reversing it puts the collar at the far end away from the camera, throwing the whole thing way off balance. If I still had my specimen of this lens, I'd try fastening a longish Arca-Swiss...

Tim, have you tried using a reversing ring to mount the 200mm micro-Nikkor reversed on the extension tubes? This would be likely be unwieldy, given the size of that lens, but it might work. I sold my specimen of that lens--despite its excellent reputation, my copy was something of an optical dud. --...

Yusuf, welcome to the forum!

I don't see an attached image.

--Chris S.

. . . there are very mixed reviews when it comes to its use as a macro lens - which I think is mostly due to its behaviour when used with the aperture wide open at 4.0. While it's quite sharp at 4.0, that's not the 'taking aperture' that Rodenstock had in mind. They designed the lens to be used at ...

Alan Smith wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:42 am

I bought this Nikon SMZ-2 on Ebat for £49 delivered.

Well done! If I find such a beast, I'll hit "buy" in an instant.

--Chris S.

Ksparks519, welcome aboard! :D I don't disagree with anything Mark said. Older macro lenses tend to be both good in quality and friendly on the budget. In my experience, close-up work is easier, and quality is better, with a dedicated macro lens that has a longish focal length. The 50mm macro lenses...

Guessing, here--maybe C-Ring Reticle Retainer?

--Chris S.