A portrait of a Micrommata sp., about 6.5X, Fuji X-M1 + JML 21/3.5.



Best

- Macrero

Mike, thanks for sharing your experience, it seems that the Raynox are one of the best options. I'll buy one of each. I wonder how a plain achromatic doublets will do as a tube lenses, but I'll see for myself once I get the Mitu. Well, I've seen the test when a Fujinon-A + Mitutoyo outperformed the ...

I did indeed pick up one of these to include in my 80mm shootout, which is progressing slowly. I'm basically hung-up on how to display the results, wanting to do the animations I've previewed, but conflicted about their limitations. Anyway, I did a quick check with the AGFA lens and can say it is e...

Hi Pau, yeah, I've read about the Raynox, it seems a good option, cheap, light and not too difficult to mount. I would like to hear about the performance when the tube lens is not focused exactly at infinity and at lower magnification (5X or so) but I guess I'll have to wait till the objective arriv...

Hey guys, so I have worked with finite objectives (mainly Nikon CF), albeit some years ago I have used infinity corrected objectives too with several "tube lenses" - G-Claron's, Apo-Gerogon's, Apo-Ronar's and I recall that I had good results even with a zoom lens - a Canon nFD 80-200 f4 L, by the wa...

Yep, the combo triples the JML's working distance and that's a nice bonus. The 21mm has a tad better coverage above 4X though. They both have fixed diaphragms, the JML 5.4" at 4.5 and the Rodagon - 5.6. Reversed in what way? :-k I think I've tried it in any possible manner. Btw, I did another experi...

Sure, I know the tiny JML ain't the last word, but it is a good reference lens, to me a very few lenses match its overall quality, that is not only sharpness/resolution, but also colour correction, absence of false colors in the out-of-focus areas, coverage, versatility, etc... Maybe if you borrow m...

Yup! It looks better now :D A test stack at 4.5X with a step size calculated on f/3.5: http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Macrero/Combo%204.6X%202%20Test_zpsduizsrg4.jpg 100% crop: http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Macrero/Combo%204.6X%202%20Test2_zpsxnvoezmw.jpg Keep in mind that my ...

Very very interesting !! You learn something new every day... That explains it all, this morning I did a stack at almost 4X and compared it with the JML 21, the combo stack looked better to my eyes, I could not believe it, I thought there was something wrong with the JML stack... So then I've been d...

Ah, gotcha! I can't tell exactly, but it actually doesn't matter. I use the combo like a bellows lens (to put it in some way), mounted on a Canon FD Auto bellows its range of magnification is 1.5X - 3.7X. Quality is uniform in all the range, except corner performance, which is logically worse at low...

So here is the other CA test shot:



crop:



Whatcha think?

Yo Chris, I acually took the LO-CA test shot this morning, thanks for reminding me :P Direct lighting with no diffuser to highlight potential CA issues, this is a crop: http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Macrero/DSCF0003_v1_zpsf0wq6alr.jpg Not too shabby... I'll try to done the LA-CA test thi...

Another test stack, at 2.5X. No editing/sharpening, just a levels adjustment. Again, don't mind the insects shape, dirtiness, etc, just a quick test stack: http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa407/Macrero/2016-04-23-00.31.23%20ZS%20Test_zpst5uacpcl.jpg some crops: http://i1196.photobucket.com/album...

Trial and error is the only method that never fails :P I actually enjoy testing new (especially unusual/unknown) lenses almost as much as taking my photos. It is one of the (many) things I love about macro/micro photography. I mean if you are a bird photographer and you want a quality lens, you have...

It seems you've got a nice combo! In many cases lens combos work better if the camera side lens has longer focal length than the subject side one. Time ago I tested a Luminar 40mm on a 70-200 Canon zoom with good results. The most critical test is the corner performance, how good is it? I knew I ha...