Investment ring. How to do macro photography without macro

Today I bring you a trick to do macro without a macro lens. Some time ago, in the article on economic alternatives to macro objectives, I told you about it. This is the investment ring. But this time I go a little further and explain how to use it.

And it is that a few days ago, we convened a Photochallenge with this topic and many of you asked how this was, or you commented that nothing had come out of it, well, today I will tell you a little about its advantages, disadvantages, what you can obtain or what not and how to use it.

First, let me tell you that if you are looking for a real macro lens, in this article you will find our recommendations and purchase advice.

What is the investment ring?

The reversing ring or reversing ring is a double threaded metal ring that attaches with one thread to the camera and the other to the front of your lens so you can attach it to your camera upside down.

By placing your lens upside down what you get is to be able to get much closer to your subject and achieve a macro photograph, that is, that this subject appears magnified, much larger than what you could achieve with your lens in its normal position if it is not a specific macro objective.

Because goals have a minimum focus distance, beyond that distance it is impossible to take a focused picture. The minimum focus distance is usually represented as in the following image. In this case it means that below 45cm you cannot focus.

By reversing the lens, you can get much closer to the subject, regardless of this minimum focus distance set by the lens used.

For who is the investment ring?

The ideal user for the investment ring is anyone who wants to try the macro and does not want or cannot invest much. Macro lenses are quite expensive and not all pockets can afford it, even more so when you don’t know if you really like macro or not, because not everyone should be excited about this discipline. On the contrary, for about 10 euros that the investment ring costs, you can try the macro.

Now, obviously, this price difference has to have an explanation, and that is what I am going to tell you now.

The investment ring is indicated for people who have a lot of patience and eager to spend some time taking photos without knowing what will come out of it. And it is not at all recommended for lovers of sharpness, because this photographic accessory It can offer macro at a laughable price and a good time of entertainment, but what is said sharpness… better not expect miracles.

In short, if what you want is to try, experiment, play, have fun, be entertained and discover new ways of taking photos, this could be your next toy. If, on the other hand, you already have it clear and you are looking to do macro seriously, to the point and with sharpness, it is better to look for a specific macro lens.

Advantages and disadvantages of the investment ring

Some advantage We have already seen them, it is cheap to rage and offers you the possibility of experimenting and having a good time playing. On the other hand, we must also say that it is an accessory that does not take up anything and weighs very little, so it is a very good option to carry in your backpack on your outings and experiment.

Regarding the drawbacks, in addition to needing a lot of light, you lose all connections with the camera, that is, you cannot use autofocus or adjust the aperture.

How is the investment ring used?

The reversal ring is attached to the front of the lens like a filter and then mounted on the camera from that side.

As I have told you in the drawbacks, with this gesture we lose the connection between the lens and the camera, therefore you have to take into account that you will not be able to use the autofocus. The focus is fully manual, And when I say manual, I mean manual. That is, you have to move yourself and move the camera until you find the focus point, this is sometimes complicated, even more so with such a limited depth of field.

Another issue is that, in this way, the shot occurs at the maximum aperture of the lens, that is, if you work with a lens whose maximum aperture is f/1.4, it will always shoot at f/1.4 with the shallow depth of field that this entails. . Unless you use a lens with rings that allows you to modify the aperture manually.

There are those who use an adapter to be able to modify the opening, but we are now going into accessories that go beyond the price of the inverter ring and that is not the objective of this article, but rather to tell you how to try macro photography while spending minimal money.

What kind of photos can I get with the inverter ring?

So that you can see what you can achieve with an investment ring, the best thing is that I give you some examples. I am going to show you a comparison of photographs taken with a 50mm 1.8 in its normal position (left) and with the lens inverted using the inversion ring (right).

• Snail photographed without an inversion ring
• macro snail with investment ring

• without inverter ring
• with investment ring

With this comparison I am not trying to show that one photo is better than the other, now we are not assessing this aspect, but the level of approach and magnification of the subject with a normal lens (not macro) without and with an inversion ring. As you can see, the difference is abysmal.

Recommendations when photographing with an investment ring

I have already told you that the investment ring also has its difficulties, I bring you some recommendations that can help you make your session more fruitful.

• Do it no hurries, It’s about playing and experimenting, it takes time to find the point, so it’s better to jump in when you have a quiet time.
• If you don’t see anything when you look through the viewfinder, it’s normal, look for the reason, it’s under there, and get really close.
• Choose a place with a lot of light, the closer you get to the subject, the less light will enter. You can also use artificial light, if you have an external flash it may be a good time to use it. You can also help yourself, for example, with an LED light.
• Beware of external lighting and harsh lights, you can always resort to diffusers, professional or homemade.
• The most used objectives are fixed focal length and standard focal length. This does not prevent you from trying with your lens from the kit, because you can also achieve very interesting results. The ones used in this article are the 24mm f/2.8 and the 50mm f/1.8.
• The ideal is to photograph static motifs, especially with large openings where it is very easy to lose focus. If you are going to photograph bugs, it is better that they are asleep, that they have no activity or that they are not alive (if it is not a problem for you). When photographing plants, avoid the wind. You can use something to slow down the air, however, keep in mind that the slightest breeze can make you lose focus and remember that depth of field is quite critical here.
• If you can, use a tripod to avoid tremors, especially if your pulse is less stable than the Euribor (as is my case); or if the lack of light leads you to resort to slower speeds to achieve a correct exposure. For the same reason, use a remote Switch, an application to shoot remotely or even the timer of the camera, any way that is not directly pressing the shutter button because this also causes trepidation.
• Take a look at these macro photography tips, especially if you’ve never done anything macro before.
• Some ideas to experiment with macro photography: abstract, plants, textures, insects.
• The smaller the focal distance, The closer you can get, the higher the magnification. Let’s see it with an example.

• 50mm with inverter ring
• 24mm inverted (without ring)

Before buying an investor ring

When you go to buy an investment ring, It is important that you take into account the lens diameter with which you are going to use it, because you cannot couple any ring with any objective. That is, if you plan to use it on your Nikon camera with the king of lenses, which is 58mm in diameter, you have to buy a 58mm diameter reversal ring, beware that this has nothing to do with the 50mm focal length. If this thing about numbers and “mm” confuses you, be sure to read this article where we explain the terminology and abbreviations of the objectives. you should also look that is compatible with the brand of your camera, in this case Nikon.

For example, for the case that we have mentioned above it would be this.

In my case, I have used this other one, since I bought it for my Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens that has a diameter of 52mm.

precautions

Considering that you are flipping the lens and exposing a part that is designed to be protected, you should be extremely careful with your lens. That is, be careful with dust, splashes, scratches or friction, for example. There are bricomanitas photographers who make a protective with a filter attached to the thread of the lens cap, for example, or who uses an extension tube.

It is also convenient that, after a session with the objective inverted, clean the equipment. It’s easy for dust specks to get into the camera directly or indirectly when you return the lens to its natural shape.

For remove it, do it as you would any other lens, press the little button to remove the lens and twist to unscrew. So that it doesn’t happen to you like it happened to me the first time I put the inverter ring on my old 450D camera, I couldn’t remove it, it was stuck.

Inexperience left me with the lens removed and the reversing ring on the camera, with no way to unscrew it. Yes, I pressed the same button that you have to press to dislodge the lens and nothing. One color left me and another came. The desperation was such that I saw myself with pliers in my hand (I’m a bit of a donkey sometimes, I admit it). Luckily I also have a point of lucidity from time to time and I found the solution with an opener of this type. Hey, well it worked perfect and I managed to remove the ring without any collateral damage. It doesn’t have to happen to you, but, if it happens to you, you already know a trick to remove it 😉 .

emergency solution

Macro without macro and without ring

You should know that you can do this without an inverter ring…