Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Super Takumar 135/3.5 and Takumar bellows
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:40 pm    Post subject: Super Takumar 135/3.5 and Takumar bellows Reply with quote
I'm having fun with my Super Takumar 135/3.5 and bellows. A 50mm lens on the bellows takes equally nice pictures but you have to get soooo close, the 135mm seems better for critters.

These shots are around f/8 or f/11, with the bellows extended almost all the way.

1) Hornet lost and confused on the window screen. I used flash which made an ugly highlight on her eye, but there wasn't enough light to get the shot without it.



2) A horsefly. These guys are big and ugly, I couldn't get the whole thing in focus. Here's my best shot of that weird stripey eye and those nasty jaws:



3) Here's the same horsefly with the wing and legs in pretty good focus



I know there are some great macro guys here, maybe you can answer a question or two.

1) Does the handheld rule of 1 over focal length for shutter speed still apply for macro? It seems much zoomy-er when I've got the lens cranked way out on the bellows, do I need faster shutter speeds to reduce motion blur?

2) I've been using live view, and leaning my body forwards and backwards to get stuff into sharp focus. Does this make sense? If I adjust the knob on the bellows for focus I can change the composition in a hurry, and if I'm zoomed in x10 on live view I won't even notice.

Anyway, suggestions welcome.


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
More macro bug shots. All handheld and/or propped up on the deck.

1) This isn't a great shot but it might give you some scale. This is a nest of baby spiders, each spider is about the size of a pinhead and the whole ball o' spiders isn't much wider then a quarter. Super Tak 135mm f.3.5



2) Bellows at maximum extension. Super Tak 135mm f.3.5


3) I switched to the Helios 58mm, bellows at about half extension. The spiders have spread out a bit now. Maybe I'm nuts but I see some Helios swirlies.



4) And here's the Helios at full bellows extension.



5) 100% crop of above shot



The extra magnification is awesome with the shorter lens, but you've got to be right on top of the critters. Most bugs would have ran away long before I got the shot.


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Did you work with it hand held?
At least it looks like that.


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Himself wrote:
Did you work with it hand held?
At least it looks like that.


Yeah, handheld and braced against whatever was handy. There might be some motion blur as well, some of the spiders were moving and any breeze would shake the whole web.

This was almost right on the ground, my tripod won't go that low. I suppose this would be a good place for those flexible gorillapods.


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 6:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice shots. What iso were you using on the later ones as the crop shows quite a bit of image noise.

Feel free to squish the horsefly for me. I am allergic to their bites.


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Blimey, you are getting in very close there. Excellent shots!

Are you using flash? I am no macro expert, but I find this helps when shooting hand held in the wild. I try to set the camera up so that I am using the lowest manual power on my flash, which equates to a flash duration of something like 1/20,000 sec IIRC. This certainly freezes the action Smile

I don't want to start a war and it is probably because the shots have been resized for the web, but to my eyes are they lacking a bit in sharpness?


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
Nice shots. What iso were you using on the later ones as the crop shows quite a bit of image noise.

Feel free to squish the horsefly for me. I am allergic to their bites.


ISO 400. I didn't sharpen or do any PP for noise, and the Rebel XS is not exactly famous for high ISO performance Rolling Eyes

And yeah horseflies are evil critters aren't they?


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
martyn_bannister wrote:

Are you using flash? I am no macro expert, but I find this helps when shooting hand held in the wild. I try to set the camera up so that I am using the lowest manual power on my flash, which equates to a flash duration of something like 1/20,000 sec IIRC. This certainly freezes the action Smile

I don't want to start a war and it is probably because the shots have been resized for the web, but to my eyes are they lacking a bit in sharpness?


The hornet in the first post used on-camera flash and I got some ugly highlights on the insect's eye.

The horsefly was shot on a very sunny day, the spiders were done on an overcast day.

These were all taken on my deck, I suppose I could easily have plugged in my trouble light and brought it over. Something to consider for next time.

re: sharpness, yeah these are not razor sharp. Actually the hornet in the first post is pretty good and it was the one I used flash on, probably no coincidence. I was shooting handheld and neither lens is a macro lens, I gotta think I'm losing some resolving power at 130mm of bellows extension.

Maybe I should try all my m42 50mm lenses for macro sharpness, the Super Tak 50mm f/1.4 or the Zeiss Jenna 50mm f/2.8 might do better.

Does anyone know if the handheld rule changes for macro, i.e. is a 50mm lens cranked out to the very end of a bellows still hand-holdable at 1/50s?

EDIT - critique is happily accecpted, I'm here to learn.


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I find that, when using on-camera flash, a couple of square feet of bubble-wrap rolled up and put in front of the flash works as a good diffuser. Won't eliminate highlights, but helps. I prefer an off camera flash, but it's just one more thing to hold Sad


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 1:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
great results fuzzy! I also liked the tak 135 when I tried it on bellows


PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 1:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Those extreme close-ups are always very difficult.
Very nice results!

BTW, I am selling such a lens. Wink
http://forum.mflenses.com/re-evaluation-of-lens-camera-sets-t40052.html
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
Page 1 of 1