Alice in Telecentricity Land (plus Post Update)

In a recent blog post, I wrote …

The best advantage of a truly telecentric lens is there should be little or no “focus breathing” as the camera moves closer to/farther from the subject. Essentially that means the apparent size of the subject should remain the same. That should enable better focus stacking because the outline of the subject is constant. Source Credit: Experimenting with a telecentric lens rig (plus Post Update).

Using my clone of Rik Littlefield’s 0.8x magnification telecentric lens rig, there was little or no “focus breathing” in the test focus bracket that I created from 63 JPGs, as shown in the following slideshow.

First, a brief explanation of what is shown in the slideshow. The first frame is Photo No. 1 of 63 from the focus bracket, edited to make it black and white. The last frame in the slideshow is Photo No. 63 of 63, shown in full color.

I loaded the two photos as a stack in Photoshop. Next I changed the opacity of the last image in the slideshow to 0%, meaning the first image, now black and white, is shown completely. Then I flattened the layers and saved the output. I repeated the process, changing the opacity of the last image to 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. At an opacity of 100% the last image is shown completely and the first image cannot be seen.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Look closely at the slideshow and you might notice the subject shifts slightly to the right (from first to last slide), but nothing like the “focus breathing” that typically occurs when a non-telecentric lens is used to do focus bracketing. This means the photo composition that I saw in the first photograph is essentially the same in the last photo.

The following photo gallery features full-size versions of the same images used to create the slideshow, in order of increasing opacity.

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Let’s pause to review. We know the subject should appear to be larger when the camera moves closer to the subject. But in this case, the subject appears to be the same size in both the first and last shots of the focus bracket. Why? Well, this is the point where I might be beyond the limit of my expertise but based upon my understanding of telecentricity I’d say it’s because most of the light rays that pass through the lens rig are parallel.

Things are getting curiouser and curiouser

If my [educated?] guess is true, then parallel lines in a subject should remain parallel from foreground to background.

Let’s start with a thought experiment. Think about a pair of parallel railroad tracks. Many, if not most people have noticed that railroad tracks appear to converge toward a vanishing point in the distance. The same thing happens when you photograph parallel lines. Or does it? Not when a truly telecentric lens is used to shoot the photograph! Let’s look at an example.

I didn’t have time to shoot and post process an entire focus bracket of a small plastic ruler, so I shot two quick and dirty photos near the end points of the ruler. The first photo shows the foreground; the last photo shows the background.

I could have used Photoshop to edit the images so that the vertical blue lines are aligned, but I didn’t because I decided it’s more important to show another example that illustrates lack of “focus breathing.” Plus I think it’s easy to see at a glance the lines are in fact parallel, not convergent.

Yeah, yeah — I could have and should have done a better job of posing the ruler but like I said, the photos are quick and dirty. Expediency trumps perfectionism.

Post Update

Consistent with the “quick and dirty” theme for this post, I used Apple Preview to edit the preceding photos of a small plastic ruler.

I started with the first photo. I drew a horizontal red line between two vertical blue lines on the ruler. Next, I selected and copied a small area from the bottom of the photo.

Finally, I pasted the selected/copied area from the first photo onto the second photo. As you can see the vertical blues lines are virtually the same distance apart at both ends of the ruler. Therefore my Rube Goldberg lens rig is almost perfectly telecentric.

Related Resources

• Experimenting with a telecentric lens rig (plus Post Update)
• Telecentric lens rig revisited
• Telecentric combo at 0.8x to 1.69x, by Rik Littlefield – root of a long thread on photomacrography.net

Copyright © 2023 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Telecentric lens rig revisited

The following composite images show the results of my first test using a new telecentric lens rig, cloned from a similar rig designed by Rik Littlefield.

Helicon Focus was used to focus stack 63 “as is” JPGs from my Fujifilm X-T3 mirrorless digital camera (focused on the head only). “As is” is a descriptor that I use often in my photoblog, but that doesn’t mean the images weren’t edited — rather it means the JPGs were edited in camera using one of the Fujifilm film simulations (PROVIA / STANDARD).

63 JPGs | Helicon Focus | Rendering Method B

In my limited experience using Helicon Focus, rendering Method C seems to work better than Method B. (For what it’s worth, rendering Method A never produces good results for me.) In this case, I can’t see a clear difference in the quality of the output. Do you think one version looks better than the other?

63 JPGs | Helicon Focus | Rendering Method C

Look closely at the full-size versions of the preceding composite images and I think you will agree with me that the image quality is excellent!

Tech Tips

In a recent blog post, I wrote …

Rik [Littlefield] developed another telecentric lens rig that results in lower magnification (0.8x versus 1.69x) but better image quality. I need to order some inexpensive parts before I can build and test that rig. Source Credit: Experimenting with a telecentric lens rig (plus Post Update).

The last part I needed was delivered a few days ago, and much to my amazement all of the parts fit together! (See parts list, below.)

I used my Apple iPad mini 6 to shoot the following quick-and-dirty photos of the new telecentric lens rig.

Here’s a parts list (shown from left-to-right in the preceding photos).

• Fujifilm X-T3 (APS-C) mirrorless digital camera [not shown]
• Fringer EF-FX Pro II
• [1] Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens
• [2] 67mm to 52mm step-down ring
• [3] M52-M42 step-down ring
• [4] Fotasy M42-M42 helicoid [15-26 mm long (11 mm travel).]
• [5] M42 tube (7 mm long) [WeMacro 42mm tube set: 7, 14, 28 mm long.]
• [6] 42mm to 52mm step-up ring
• [7] 52mm-43mm step-down ring
• [8] Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter (43mm thread)

Notice the focus ring on my Canon Macro lens is set for infinity [highlighted by a green rectangle]. The distance between the front of the Canon lens and front of the Raynox close-up filter is ~54 mm, based upon guidance from Rik Littlefield.

With the Canon Macro lens set for infinity, the parts in front of the Canon lens work together with the lens to make it telecentric. Adding the Fringer adapter has no effect on the telecentricity of the Canon lens — it’s only used to enable my Canon lens to work with the Fujifilm X-T3 camera.

Safe step size

I used Rik Littlefield’s excellent DOF Calculator plus personal guidance from Rik to determine the safe step size to use for focus bracketing with the new telecentric lens rig.

My input is highlighted by a red rectangle; the calculator output is highlighted in green.

Notice I input a 20% step overlap (0.2) to be sure there was no “focus banding.” The calculator suggested a step size of 0.17589 mm. That’s equivalent to 175.89 µm (micrometers).

Since the smallest increment on my NiSi NM-200 manual focus rail is 10 µm, I divided 175.89 by 10 in order to determine the number of increments to turn the larger adjustment knob on the NM-200. The answer is 17.589 increments. For simplicity and safety, I turned the knob 15 increments between shots.

Copyright © 2023 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Experimenting with a telecentric lens rig (plus Post Update)

I’ve been experimenting with a telecentric lens rig. My rig is cloned from a similar one created by Rik Littlefield, using gear I already own.

I’m guessing you’re thinking “What is a telecentric lens?” The honest answer is “I don’t know.” I’m not sure I’ll ever understand what telecentric lenses are and how they work. I’m hoping practical experience will result in better understanding of the theoretical.

So why have I written a blog post about a topic I don’t really understand? Good question! The simple answer is because I have learned enough, mostly from Rik Littlefield, to know there are practical advantages to using a telecentric lens for macro photography.

The best advantage of a truly telecentric lens is there should be little or no “focus breathing” as the camera moves closer to/farther from the subject. Essentially that means the apparent size of the subject should remain the same. That should enable better focus stacking because the outline of the subject is constant.

My Rube Goldberg telecentric lens rig

Rik Littlefield’s telecentric lens rig features the same gear as mine (described in the next paragraph) minus the Canon-to-Fujifilm lens adapter because he uses a Canon EOS Rebel T1i DSLR camera body with his rig.

My Rube Goldberg telecentric lens rig is cobbled together using a Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter attached to my Canon EF 100mm macro lens using the plastic clip-on adapter supplied by Raynox. The lens assembly is mounted on my Fujifilm X-T3 APS-C digital camera using a Fringer EF-FX Pro II adapter.

Rik developed another telecentric lens rig that results in lower magnification (0.8x versus 1.69x) but better image quality. I need to order some inexpensive parts before I can build and test that rig.

Testing 1, 2, 3.

The following closely-cropped composite image shows the result of my first test of the telecentric lens rig.

I shot 57 images of a toy plastic lizard using my NiSi NM-200 manual focus rail. I used an aperture of f/8 and a step-size of 100 microns, as recommended by Rik Littlefield.

Helcion Focus Method B was used to focus stack the “as is” JPGs from my camera. The resulting TIF file was cropped using Apple “Preview” — that’s about as quick and dirty as cropping gets!

Post Update

The first time I heard about telecentric lenses is when Allan Walls teased the topic during one of his YouTube live-streams. During a subsequent live-stream, Allan demonstrated how to make a lens telecentric using a rig similar to one that Rik Littlefield created.

Telecentric Lenses – Macro Talk Too – from Allan Walls Photography, June 29, 2023 (1:12:10)

Allan’s YouTube live-streams are one hour in duration, but there’s usually a lot of chit-chat during a typical live-stream that might not interest readers of my blog.

In this case, I recommend that you watch the segment from 11:22 to 30:21. A lot of what I have learned about telecentric lenses from Rik Littlefield and Allan Walls is covered during that part of the video. (If you continue watching the video beyond the 30:21 mark, then you will hear my name mentioned twice.)

Copyright © 2023 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Making progress (on a steep learning curve)

OK, let me say right at the outset that using a manual focus rail like my new-ish NiSi NM-200 to create a 328-photo focus stack is insane! So I regrouped, made a new plan, and conducted some tests.

I discovered, albeit too late, that I needed to shoot a lot of  photos for my last focus stack because I chose to use an aperture of f/8 and the “safe step size” for f/8 (at 1x magnification) is 40 µm (micrometers, or microns) — a relatively small step size.

In contrast, at 1x magnification the safe step size for f/11 is 800 µm — during limited testing that seems to be the sweet spot for creating focus stacks that look fairly good using fewer photos.

Canon EOD 5D Mark II DSLR camera plus Canon EF 100mm macro lens (1x, f/11)

The following composite image was created from 20 photos.

The background is the non-reflective side of a piece of black plastic. It’s textured surface appears to be a bad fit for macro photography — notice lots of little white specks on the background. Not good.

f/11 | 1/200 s | ISO 100 | Manual WB (Flash)

But wait, there’s one more thing. Did you notice the copper penny hiding underneath the quarter? Well, it was supposed to be hiding. I borrowed the idea from another photographer whose name I can’t remember. The point is to create some visual relief for the coin in the photo. The plan might have turned out OK if I’d noticed the misalignment of the penny before I did the focus bracketing.

Fujifilm X-T5 mirrorless digital camera plus Fujinon 80mm macro lens (1x, f/11)

The following composite image was created from 26 photos.

For the background, I used the white reference card from a Vello White Balance Card Set (Small). I set the white balance for AUTO WHITE PRIORITY WBW — a new setting (at least new to me) that’s supposed to result in whiter whites.

f/11 | 1/250 s | ISO 125 | WBW

The subject is in focus from back-to-front, and I like the white background. I think this is the best composite image I’ve created so far, but as always, you be the judge.

Fujifilm X-T5 mirrorless digital camera plus Fujinon 80mm macro lens (1x, f/11)

The following composite image was created from 21 photos.

For the background, I used the black reference card from a Vello White Balance Card Set (Small). I think it looks better than the textured black plastic background in the first photo, although I think the white background looks best.

f/11 | 1/250 s | ISO 125 | WBW

Pixel-peepers will notice the far end of the nickel isn’t as sharp as the rest of the coin. That’s because a man-caused disaster forced me to leave out the first two photos in the set. I hope the man responsible for this sloppy work will be held accountable for his actions!

Tech Tips

I think it’s worth noting that all three composite images were created using unedited JPGs straight out of the camera. All of the composite images could have been improved by making a few edits to the RAW files such as adjusting exposure, increasing contrast, and adding a little sharpening, to name a few.

In these test cases, I was looking for focus banding caused by using a step size that’s too big and glitches caused by Helicon Focus, the focus stacking software I used. As far as I can see, no problems.

My NiSi NM-200 is mounted on a Manfrotto 405 3-Way, Geared Pan-and-Tilt Head. The camera line of sight was inclined at a 45° angle relative to the staging surface. That’s less important in this case and more important for an upcoming review of the NiSi NM-200 focus rail.

Both cameras were set for manual exposure. Both lenses were set for manual focus; the combination of manual focus and back-button [auto]focus gives me the best of both worlds.

I use single point focus nearly all the time. I moved the focus point to the farthest point of each subject, then used back-button focus to autofocus on the subject and shoot a photo. Without changing focus from the first photo, I used the focus rail to move across the subject from back-to-front in 800 µm increments (eight numbered increments on the NiSi larger adjustment knob), taking a photo at each step.

More light is required for proper exposure at f/11 than f/8. I used one Sunpak LED-160, one Godox TT685C external flash unit (plus Altura flash modifier), and one Godox MF-12 external flash to light the first subject (Virginia quarter). Two Sunpak-160s and two Godox TT685C external flash units (using Altura and Lastolite flash modifiers) were used to light the last two subjects (quarter and nickel coins).

Related Resources

• Zerene Stacker DOF Calculator
• Fujifilm Colors: Auto White vs Auto Ambience, by pal2tech (12:47)
• Helicon Focus – Quick Start on Mac OS, by HeliconSoft (2:20)

Copyright © 2023 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Zerene Stacker DOF Calculator

The DOF Calculator featured in Zerene Stacker is by far the best tool for determining depth of field and the safe step size for focus bracketing. Rik Littlefield, creator of Zerene Stacker, recently released an online interactive version of DoF Calculator. Sincere thanks to Rik for sharing his expertise!

How to use the calculator

There are several ways to use the DOF Calculator, as shown in the following screen capture. I used two methods to calculate the “safe step size” (with 20% overlap) for focus bracketing with all of my basic macro photography rigs.

Choose Option 1 for the best quality focus stacked composite images. Set the aperture for your camera lens to its “sweet spot.”

Screen capture used with permission from Rik Littlefield.

Choose Option 4 if you are using a microscope objective for a macro lens.

As you can see in following examples, it isn’t necessary to input values for every field in the calculator.

AmScope / Reakway 4x microscope objective

Determining depth of field – safe step size for a 4x microscope objective is the simplest calculation of all my macro photography rigs. All you need to input is the “NA” (numerical aperture) that’s labeled on the side of the microscope objective. In this case, the NA equals 0.10.

Photo Credit: AliExpress / Reakway.

It’s recommended that you use a 20% overlap between steps. Input a value of 0.2 in the field for “Step overlap.”

Screen capture used with permission from Rik Littlefield.

DoF: 0.054862 mm (54.862 microns)
Step size (suggested) at 20% overlap: 0.04389 mm (43.89 microns)

Let’s apply the output from the DOF Calculator (shown above) to my relatively new NiSi Macro [manual] Focusing Rail NM-200. The larger adjustment knob is shown below. One full rotation of the knob moves the carriage one millimeter, or 1,000 micrometers (microns). The knob is marked in 100 increments, so each increment on the knob is 10 microns. Every numbered increment is 100 microns.

For my 4x microscope objective, I would turn the adjustment knob four (4) increments between shots or 40 microns (rounded down from 43.89 microns). It’s OK to use a smaller step size than the DOF Calculator recommends.

Photo Credit: B&H Photo.

Laowa 25mm Ultra Macro (at 2.5x, f/4) plus Fujifilm X-T3

The Laowa 25mm Ultra Macro lens can be set for magnifications ranging from 2.5x to 5x. The following example shows the lens set for 2.5x. Input a magnification of 2.5, and a lens F-number of 4 (an aperture of f/4 is the “sweet spot” for this lens).

Screen capture used with permission from Rik Littlefield.

DoF: 0.068854 mm (68.854 microns)
Step size (suggested) at 20% overlap: 0.055083 mm (58.038 microns)

For the Laowa 25mm Ultra Macro lens, I would turn the adjustment knob on my NiSi NM-200 five increments between shots or 50 microns (rounded down from 58.038 microns).

Fujinon 80mm macro (1x, f/8) plus Fujifilm X-T3

The Fujinon 80mm macro lens is one of the sharper lenses I own. Maximum magnification is 1:1 (life size).

Screen capture used with permission from Rik Littlefield.

DoF: 0.56306 mm (~563 microns) ← remember 1 mm = 1,000 microns
Step size (suggested) at 20% overlap: 0.45045 mm (~45 microns)

Each increment on the NiSi NM-200 manual focus rail is equal to 10 microns. For my Fujinon 80mm macro lens, I would turn the adjustment knob four numbered increments between shots — equal to a distance of 40 microns (rounded down from ~45 microns).

Canon 100mm macro (1x, f/11) plus Canon EOS 5D Mark II

The Canon 100mm macro is another one of the sharper lenses I own. Maximum magnification is 1:1 (life size).

Screen capture used with permission from Rik Littlefield.

DoF: 1.0647 mm (1064.7 microns) ← remember 1 mm = 1,000 microns
Step size (suggested) at 20% overlap: 0.85176 mm (851.76 microns)

Each numbered increment on the NiSi NM-200 manual focus rail is equal to 100 microns. For my Canon 100mm macro lens, I would turn the adjustment knob eight numbered increments between shots — equal to a distance of 800 microns (rounded down from 851.76 microns).

Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (1-5x) plus Canon 5D Mark II

The Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens can be set for magnifications ranging from 1x to 5x. The following example shows the lens set for 3x.

Screen capture used with permission from Rik Littlefield.

DoF: 0.12251 mm (122.51 microns)
Step size (suggested) at 20% overlap: 0.098008 mm (~98 microns)

Remember, each increment on the NiSi NM-200 manual focus rail is equal to 10 microns. For my Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens set for 3x magnification, I would turn the adjustment knob nine increments between shots — equal to a distance of 90 microns (rounded down from ~98 microns).

Related Resource

What if you don’t know the magnification of the macro rig you’re using? Or maybe you add an extension tube and/or close-up filter to a 1x macro lens — how does that change the magnification of the lens?

How to measure magnification provides photo-illustrated step-by-step directions, including sample math calculations.

The Backstory

I have been working behind the scenes trying to figure out how to determine focus bracketing step size for a variety of macro photography gear that I own. I have tested many depth of field – step size calculators and all of them are fatally flawed in one or more ways except for the one in Zerene Stacker.

See How to calculate step size for a long thread of posts related to my search for the answer to what turned out to a more complex process than I imagined. Thanks to the many members of photomacrography.net, especially Rik Littlefield, who kindly and patiently answered all of my questions.

Copyright © 2023 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Theory into practice

What is the “neighborhood play” in baseball?

The “neighborhood play” is a colloquial term used to describe the leeway granted to middle infielders with regards to touching second base while in the process of turning a ground-ball double play. Though it is not explicitly mentioned in the rulebook, middle infielders were long able to record an out on the double-play pivot simply by being in the proximity — or neighborhood — of the second-base bag. Source Credit: Neighborhood Play, MLB Glossary.

And so it is with the 3-D printed plastic “lens” adapter I bought recently for my Fujifilm X Series cameras. The lens adapter, assembled so that it includes all three pieces (photo credit: Nicholas Sherlock Photography), puts a 4x magnification microscope objective in the neighborhood of where it should be for optimal performance.

Naturally I was curious to know exactly where the microscope objective should be mounted  and whether the “lens” actually performs better at that distance.

Theory

I consulted the experts at amateurmicrography.net and asked for guidance specifically for my Fujifilm X-Series mirrorless digital cameras. Thanks to Mr. Rik Littlefield for his quick reply!

First, Rik referred me to an article from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) forum: FAQ: How can I hook a microscope objective to my camera? In this blog post, I will refer to the following annotated image — the first one in the FAQ article.

Photo Credit: Rik Littlefield.

Let me summarize Rik’s detailed answer to my question.

Microscope objectives like the two 4x magnification microscope objectives I own and the 10x objective shown in the preceding annotated image, are designed to work with microscopes featuring a mechanical tube length of 160 mm minus 10 mm for the microscope’s eyepiece. [The microscope objective forms an image at the bottom of the microscope eyepiece, according to Allan Walls in Macro Talk #17 (~8:30).]

The difference of 150 mm (160 mm – 10 mm = 150 mm) is known as the optical tube length, and in photomicrography, is the distance the microscope objective should be mounted from the plane of the camera sensor (as shown above).

Photo Credit: B&H Photo. Fujifilm X-T5 camera (body only).

Fujifilm X Series mirrorless digital cameras have a flange focal distance (FFD) of 17.7 mm, meaning the distance between the plane of the camera sensor and the face of the lens mount on the front of the camera body is 17.7 mm (as shown above). 150 mm – 17.7 mm = 132.3 mm. 132.3 mm is the ideal mounting distance between the “lens” and the outside of the camera body.

The next photograph shows the customized 4x magnification macro rig I was able to cobble together using photography gear I had on-hand already, following Rik’s recommendations. Briefly, several extension tubes were used to mount the “crop” configuration of my 3-D printed plastic lens adapter and 4x magnification microscope objective on a Fujifilm X-T3 digital camera.

My customized 4x magnification macro rig.

Remember, my goal was to move the microscope objective 132.3 mm from the face of the camera body. I combined two 16mm extension tubes and one 10mm extension tube (42 mm total) with the “crop” configuration of the plastic lens adapter (~90 mm from back to front). 42 mm + 90 mm = 132 mm. That’s “good enough for government work” as we say in Washington, D.C.

In contrast, the full size 3-D printed plastic lens adapter moves the microscope objective 142 mm from the face of the camera body — in the neighborhood but a little farther than it should be.

Gear I used

The following equipment list includes all items mounted on the Fujifilm X-T3 camera body shown in the preceding photo.

• Fujifilm MCEX-16 [16mm extension tube]
• Fotasy Extension Tube DG 16mm FX
• Fotasy Extension Tube DG 16mm FX
• 3-D printed plastic lens adapter (“crop” configuration)
• Reakway 4x microscope objective

Finally, a few words about extension tubes designed for Fujifilm X Mount cameras.

Fujifilm makes two extension tubes, as of this writing: the MCEX-11; and MCEX-16. I bought both the 11mm and 16mm extension tubes, although in retrospect, the 11mm is the only one I recommend buying (based upon my usage). It’s good to have found a purpose for the MCEX-16.

When I bought my Fujifilm X-T1 camera more than 10 years ago, Fujifilm didn’t offer extension tubes for sale. “Fotasy” was the first third-party company to sell extension tubes with electronic contacts for Fujifilm X Mount cameras. I bought both sizes that were available (10mm and 16mm) and they worked well, that is until Fujifilm released their proprietary extension tubes — at that point the Fotasy extension tubes were incompatible with newer lenses sold by Fujifilm. Although my older Fotasy extension tubes don’t work with newer Fujifilm lenses, they are perfect in this case because my customized 4x magnification macro rig is all manual all the time.

Gear that could be used (instead of my rig)

What if you don’t have a “junk drawer” of old, unused camera gear like me? Rik Littlefield recommended the following items that could be used for mounting a 4x microscope objective on a Fujifilm X Series camera.

• Get a basic X Mount to M42 adapter like … Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter Compatible with M42 Screw Mount SLR Lens on Fuji X-Mount Cameras $14.95
• then use M42 tubes to get the required total length, …
• and finally an M42-to-RMS adapter like either … Pixco Lens Adapter Replacement Suit For RMS Royal Microscopy Society Lens to M42 Mount, Caliber:25mm $9.70 [flat] or … RMS Thread for Microscope Objective to M42 x 1 mm Converter Cone Only Adapter $39.99 [cone].

Theory into practice

My customized 4x magnification macro rig was used to photograph a small part of a dime, that is, a 10-cent coin in U.S. currency.

All three photos …

• were shot handheld (not recommended for this camera rig). A single external flash unit was used to light each photo.
• are “one-offs,” meaning they aren’t focus-stacked. At a magnification of 4x the depth of field is extremely shallow. The net result is relatively little of each photo appears to be acceptably in focus.
• are “full frame” (6240 × 4160 pixels), meaning they are uncropped.

For scale, the letters “DIM” are approximately 5 mm wide on the actual coin.

A small part of a dime (10-cent coin in U.S. currency).

A small part of a dime (10-cent coin in U.S. currency).

A small part of a dime (10-cent coin in U.S. currency).

Are these photos better than the test shots I took when I first got the 3-D printed plastic lens adapter? You be the judge, but I think they are qualitatively better.

Related Resources

• FAQ: How can I hook a microscope objective to my camera? Post by rjlittlefield.
• Rube Goldberg 4-5x macro photography rig, a blog post by Walter Sanford.
• 5x magnification, another blog post by Walter Sanford.
• Have you ever wondered…? A blog post by Walter Sanford, related to focal plane mark.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Rube Goldberg 2.75x macro photography rig

My Rube Goldberg 4-5x macro photography rig can be configured as both a 2.75x and 4-5x magnification macro photography rig. This blog post will focus on the 2.75x configuration.

The first two photos show the 3-D printed plastic lens adapter with the middle segment removed. A Reakway 4-5x microscope objective is screwed into the front of the adapter and the adapter/”lens” combo is mounted on my Fujifilm X-T3 mirrorless camera.

Photo focused on body of Fujifilm X-T3 mirrorless camera.

Photo focused on Reakway 4-5x microscope objective.

A recent blog post featured handheld test shots using the macro rig configured for 4-5x magnification. One of those shots shows the word “Liberty” on a penny, that is, a 1-cent coin in U.S. currency. Remember, the actual size of the word on the coin is approximately 5 mm in length.

A copper penny photographed at 4-5x magnification.

The same penny was photographed at 2.75x using the “crop” configuration of the lens adapter. The camera was handheld, like the 4-5x test shot shown above. Notice how much more of the coin is visible at 2.75x versus 4-5x magnification.

A copper penny photographed at 2.75x magnification.

The last image is a focus-stacked composite of four photos that were shot with the camera mounted on a tripod.

Focus-stacked composite image of four photos at 2.75 magnification.

What are the take-aways?

I own two macro lenses capable of 1-5x magnification: a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens; and a Laowa 25mm Ultra Macro lens.

The current retail price of the Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens is $1,049.00. It weighs 1.56 pounds (710 g).

The current retail price of the Laowa 25mm Ultra Macro lens is $399.00. The Laowa macro lens is noticeably smaller and lighter than the Canon MP-E 65mm. It weighs 14.11 ounces (400 g).

The 4x microscope objectives from AmScope and Reakway cost ~$25.00 each. (Remember, you need to buy only one objective.) The weight of the “lenses” isn’t listed in their specifications, but they are relatively lightweight. The 3-D printed plastic lens adapter cost $50.00 including $35.00 for the adapter itself and $15.00 handling and shipping from New Zealand. The plastic adapter feels nearly weightless.

For me, the single biggest take-away is for ~$75 I was able to buy an extreme macro photo rig that takes photos that are as good or better quality than comparable macro lenses that cost hundreds of dollars more!

And as a big fan of lightweight camera gear for use in the field, I’m far more likely to carry one of the Rube Goldberg rigs with me than either of its bigger and heavier counterparts.

Related Resources

• Rube Goldberg 4-5x macro photography rig, a blog post by Walter Sanford.
• 5x magnification, another blog post by Walter Sanford.
• Macro Photography with a $20 Microscope Lens, by Micael Widell (9:37). Micael’s video (and related resources in the show notes) piqued my interest in macro photography using microscope objectives.
• Microscope adapter for 4x macro photography with Sony E/FE, Canon EF/EF-S, Nikon F, Nikon Z, Fuji X, M4/3, M42 cameras, by thenickdude.
• Microscope adapter for 4x macro photography, by Sherlock Photography.
• 4X Plan Achromatic Objective Lens with Knurled Ring [AmScope]
• CE, Top quality 4x Plan Microscope achromatic Objective lens, Biological Microscope Lens parts (DIN160/0.1mm) [AliExpress]

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Rube Goldberg 4-5x macro photography rig

By now you might be wondering “What does your Rube Goldberg 4-5x macro photography rig look like?”

The first photo shows an AmScope 4x microscope objective mounted on a plastic lens adapter designed and 3-D printed by Nicholas Sherlock.

AmScope 4x microscope objective mounted on “lens” adapter.

The next photo shows a close-up view of the AmScope 4x microscope objective.

AmScope 4x microscope objective mounted on “lens” adapter.

The next two photos show the plastic lens adapter and microscope objective mounted on my Fujifilm X-T3 mirrorless camera. A Fujifilm 11mm extension tube is mounted between the camera body and lens adapter. More about that in a follow-up blog post.

3-D printed plastic “lens” adapter mounted on Fujifilm X-T3 camera.

A close-up view of the Reakway 4x microscope objective is shown below.

Reakway 4x microscope objective mounted on the “lens” adapter.

Similar microscope objectives

Did you notice two similar microscope objectives are shown in the preceding photos? I decided to buy both of the “lenses” recommended by Nick Sherman — since they are priced so affordably I was curious to see whether one works better than the other. As far as I can tell during limited testing, both microscope objectives perform equally well.

One objective has a smooth barrel …

Photo Credit: AmScope.

The other one has a knurled barrel.

Photo Credit: AliExpress / Reakway.

The lenses are recessed from both ends of the barrel, providing protection against scratching the glass. [Photo Credits: AliExpress / Reakway.]

Both objectives have similar information printed on the barrel.

What does “Plan” mean?

A plan (or planar) objective corrects better for color and spherical aberration than either the semi-plan or the achromatic objective. Plan objectives have a flat field about the center 95% of the image. They also often have larger working distances. Source Credit: What is the difference among achromatic, semi-plan, and plan objectives? Celestron, LLC.

What do the numbers mean?

Microscope objective lenses will often have four numbers engraved on the barrel in a 2×2 array. The upper left number is the magnification factor of the objective. For example, 4x, … The upper right number is the numerical aperture of the objective. For example 0.10, … The lower right number (if given) refers to the thickness of the glass cover slip (in millimeters) assumed by the lens designer for best performance of the objective. Example: 0.17. The lower left number is the tube length in millimeters.

Sometimes objectives have a color ring to aid in identifying the magnification: black (1x), brown (2x), red (4x), …

Source Credit: What do the numbers on the barrel of the microscope objective mean? What about the letters DIN and JIS? Celestron, LLC.

I love the little plastic bottles that are used for storing microscope objectives safely.

Photo Credit: AliExpress / Reakway.

“Crop” configuration

The 3-D printed plastic lens adapter that I bought for my Fujifilm X-Series cameras is comprised of three parts that screw together. Nick Sherlock calls this version the “crop design.”

Photo credit: Nicholas Sherlock Photography.

The crop design is for Sony E, Canon EF-S, Micro Four Thirds, Fujifilm X, or Nikon F crop cameras (or full-frame cameras which have been switched to crop mode) which has a segment of tube you can remove to shorten the tube.

For objectives which cast a big enough image circle, removing this middle tube allows you to reduce the magnification and focus at a greater distance (for the 4x objective I tested this reduced magnification from 4x to 2.75x, and increased working distance from about 28 to 31mm).

Source Credit: Microscope adapter for 4x macro photography with Sony E/FE, Canon EF/EF-S, Nikon F, Nikon Z, Fuji X, M4/3, M42 cameras, by thenickdude.

My Rube Goldberg 4-5x macro photography rig is even more Rube Goldergier than I realized when I bought it. As it turns out, the rig can be configured as both a 2.75x and 4-5x magnification macro photography rig. Very clever design, Nick Sherlock!

I tested the “crop” configuration and am pleased to report it works as advertised. My first impression is 2.75x magnification should prove to be more practical for use in the field than 4-5x. More later in a follow-up blog post.

Related Resources

• Macro Photography with a $20 Microscope Lens, by Micael Widell (9:37). Micael’s video (and related resources in the show notes) piqued my interest in macro photography using microscope objectives.
• Microscope adapter for 4x macro photography with Sony E/FE, Canon EF/EF-S, Nikon F, Nikon Z, Fuji X, M4/3, M42 cameras, by thenickdude.
• Microscope adapter for 4x macro photography, by Sherlock Photography.
• 4X Plan Achromatic Objective Lens with Knurled Ring [AmScope]
• CE, Top quality 4x Plan Microscope achromatic Objective lens, Biological Microscope Lens parts (DIN160/0.1mm) [AliExpress]
• What is the difference among achromatic, semi-plan, and plan objectives? Celestron, LLC.
• What do the numbers on the barrel of the microscope objective mean? What about the letters DIN and JIS? Celestron, LLC.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Connections

I’m not as dumb as I look, you know. (I have a face for blogging, not vlogging.) But I am a little slow sometimes. For example, I was slow to make the connection between the size and shape of two lens adapters I own.

When I bought the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens for Canon EOS cameras, I also bought a Laowa Lens Mount Adapter for Canon EF lenses to Fuji X Series cameras. I remember thinking the adapter is oddly shaped and wondered why it wasn’t designed to be shorter/thinner.

That was before I purchased the Fringer EF-FX Pro II lens mount adapter (Canon EF lenses – Fuji X Series cameras).

The following photo shows two Canon EF to Fujifilm X Series lens adapters: the Laowa EOS-FX (shown left); and the Fringer EF-FX Pro II (shown right).

Canon EF to Fujifilm X-Series lens adapters.

Notice the two lens adapters are the same diameter and thickness (26.3 mm): the former is due to the Canon EF mount (top) and Fujifilm X Mount (bottom); the latter is due to something called flange focal distance (FFD).

The 17.7 mm FFD of my Fujifilm X Series digital cameras combines with the 26.3 mm thickness of the lens adapters (shown above), resulting in an FFD of 44 mm — exactly the right FFD for Canon lenses to work properly on a Fujiflm X Series camera body!

The Backstory

The Laowa lens adapter is manual; the Fringer lens adapter is automatic. The former doesn’t feature electronic contacts that enable auto focus, etc.; the latter does.

Soon after I bought the Laowa lens adapter I used it to mount a Canon EF 100mm macro lens on my Fujifilm X-T3 camera. Although the adapter worked to connect the lens and camera, the experiment was a failure because the Canon macro lens doesn’t have a ring for setting aperture manually, and the Laowa lens adapter doesn’t have electronic contacts that enable a camera to set the aperture of the lens. Same problem with my Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens.

Enter the Fringer lens adapter.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fujifilm X-T3: Focus Peak Highlight

I like to use manual focus to shoot photographs with my Fujifilm X-T3 digital camera. Set the small dial on the front of the camera to “M.” The beauty of manual focus on Fujifilm X-series cameras is back-button auto-focus still works!

When the small dial is set for “M” both manual focusing and back-button auto-focusing can be used in combination with what Fujifilm calls “Focus Peak Highlight,” or more simply, “focus peaking.”

The following YouTube video by pal2tech explains a technique that makes it much easier to see the focus peaking.

BEST Fujifilm Manual Focus Setting, by pal2tech (6:01).

The process is simple. Set the camera to record JPG + RAF [Fujifilm’s proprietary raw format]. Select one of the black-and-white Fujifilm film simulations, e.g., ACROS. [More about Fujifilm film simulations in an upcoming blog post.]

The camera display will be black-and-white. As Chris Lee (pal2tech) explains in the preceding video, it’s much easier to see focus peaking on a black-and-white background.

JPG files saved to a memory card are black-and-white too, as shown below.

Buzz Lightyear plastic toy. [Focus Peak Highlight not shown.]

RAF files are saved in full color, as shown below.

Buzz Lightyear plastic toy.

Tech Tips

“Focus Peak Highlight” can be activated when the camera is set for manual focus mode. Using back-button focus (AF-L button) in manual mode enables one to retain full control of the exposure triangle, focus quickly, and see what’s in focus before shooting a photograph.

Fuji Back Button Focus (4:06), a YouTube video by Ashraf Jandali, provides a clear demonstration of how to use back-button focus on the Fujifilm X-T1. The same technique works with the Fujifilm X-T3.

Related Resources

• BEST Fujifilm Manual Focus Setting, by pal2tech (6:01).
• Fuji Back Button Focus, by Ashraf Jandali (4:06).
• The ultimate guide to Fuji’s Film Simulations; A DEEP dive to de-mystify one of Fuji’s best features, by Dave Etchells, Imaging Resource.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.