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.

Sumo Citrus still life

Have you seen/eaten Sumo Citrus? They’re easy to peel, seedless, and billed as “the sweetest orange.” Delicious, I say!

How I got the shots

I set up a tripod at a good distance from the subject for a 50mm lens. Then I switched cameras without moving the tripod. Each camera/lens combo was set for an aperture of f/8; other camera and flash settings varied as necessary. (See EXIF info for details regarding camera settings for each photo.)

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens (“Nifty 50”), Godox X2TC, Godox TT685C plus Lastolite flash modifier.

18 March 2021 | BoG Photo Studio | Sumo Citrus

Fujifilm X-T1

Fujinon 18-55mm zoom kit lens set for 34mm (51mm, 35mm equivalent), Godox XProF, Godox TT685C plus Lastolite flash modifier.

18 March 2021 | BoG Photo Studio | Sumo Citrus

Fujifilm X-T3

Fujifilm 11mm extension tube, Fujinon XF80mm macro lens, Vello Off-Camera TTL Flash Cord, Godox X2TF, Godox TT685C plus Lastolite flash modifier.

18 March 2021 | BoG Photo Studio | Sumo Citrus

Sumo Citrus from Giant Food

Bernard Nimmons is the produce manager at the Giant Food located in Beacon Center. I sent a Facebook Messenger message to Bernard recently…

I need Sumo Oranges STAT! Are they back in stock?

The following selfie photo is Bernard’s reply to my message. Now you can see why I always say “Bernard puts the ‘Pro’ in Produce.”

Selfie photo used with permission from Bernard Nimmons.

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Tethered shooting using Canon EOS Utility

Canon EOS Utility (EOS-U) can be used to tether many models of Canon digital cameras with computers (running either macOS or Windows). For example, my Canon EOS 5D Mark II appears on the list of cameras supported by EOS-U.

Canon EOS-U is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get! The way that tethering looks and functions seems to depend upon a combination of your camera model and your computer operating system.

My new 13″ Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) features the “Big Sur” macOS. The drop-down menu for “Operating System” (shown below) doesn’t list either “Big Sur” or “Catalina” — the last two versions of macOS. So I selected “macOS Mohave v10.14” …

and downloaded/installed “EOS Utility 2.14.31b for Mac OS X.”

Canon EOS Utility 2

Here’s how to get started. Tether your camera to a computer using an appropriate cable for your camera and computer.

Trouble-shooting tip: Set the camera Drive Mode for “One Shot” before tethering your camera to a computer. EOS Utility 2 doesn’t work when the Drive Mode of my Canon EOS 5D Mark II is set for Timer (either 2 s or 10 s).

Launch Canon EOS Utility 2, or EOS-U 3 if you are using a newer camera than me. The “Main Window” (shown below) should appear on screen. Click on “Camera settings/Remote shooting.”

The “Capture Window” (camera control panel) should appear on screen, as shown below.

Click on the button labeled “Preferences…” that is located in the lower-left corner of the “Capture Window” (camera control panel). The following screenshot shows all of the categories of preferences.

Select Preferences → Basic Settings in order to set the “Main Window” to show on startup. I recommend ticking the checkbox to automatically display the “Quick Preview” window whenever a photo is taken.

Select Preferences → Remote Shooting in order to set where photo files are saved. My camera is set to shoot RAW files only; CR2 files are saved to both my camera and computer, as indicated by the icon in the camera control panel that looks like a computer + camera.

Select Preferences → Destination Folder to specify the location where photo files will be saved on your computer. My preferences are as follows.

Help requested: A little help from my readers, please. What is the purpose of the “Monitor Folder,” shown in the preceding “Preferences” panel? I speculate it might be a folder that is watched by “Digital Photo Professional 4,” free photo editing software available from CanonUSA.

Subfolders within the “Destination Folder” are created automatically as per my preferences.

Select Preferences → Linked Software in order to set an application that will be used to open photo files automatically. In my case, I registered “Preview,” an Apple graphics utility.

When you click on the “Register…” button the first time, what you see varies depending upon whether you are using EOS Utility 2…

or EOS Utility 3. In either case, all of the default options are Canon applications. If you would prefer to link to a non-Canon application, then select “None” and press the “Register…” button again in order to browse the applications available on your computer.

The “Capture Window” (camera control panel, shown below) can be used to change some but not all settings for my Canon EOS 5D Mark II. The initial settings shown by EOS-U should be the same as your camera before it was tethered to your computer.

The grayed-out “M” indicates my camera is set for Manual shooting mode. The shooting mode (M, Av, Tv, P, etc.) cannot be changed in software — you must make that setting by turning the dial on your camera. Also, adjusting the focal length of a zoom lens cannot be done remotely by the software.

The camera settings shown in black can be adjusted remotely. For example, I set the White Balance for “Flash,” as indicated by the lightning flash icon. Press the virtual shutter button when you’re ready to take a photo.

EOS-U 2 seems to have no idea what type of lens is mounted on the camera. In this case, I used my Canon “Nifty 50” lens (EF 50mm f/1.8 II) to take some test shots. The “Quick Preview” panel appears after you take a photo. (The panel is resizable.)

Each photo also opens automatically in “Preview” based upon my settings in Preferences → Linked Software. To some extent, it’s redundant to open photos in both EOS-U “Quick Preview” and Apple “Preview.” My goal is simply to demonstrate for Fujifilm that Canon has shown it is possible to make “Linked Software” work on a computer running the Big Sur macOS.

Click the “Live View shoot…” button, located near the bottom of the “Capture Window” (camera control panel), in order to display the “Remote Live View window” (shown below). There you can set the focus point, and zoom in/out. Other options might be available depending upon your camera model.

Canon EOS Utility 3

Mike Powell, my good friend and photowalking buddy, experimented with his Canon EOS Rebel SL2 tethered to Canon EOS Utility 3. Sincere thanks to Mike for patiently helping me begin to figure out things that are software-dependent and things that are camera-dependent.

Your mileage might vary, but it’s worth noting that the “Capture Window” (camera control panel) for Mike’s Canon EOS Rebel SL2 shows several options that aren’t available for my older Canon EOS 5D Mark II. This is the box of chocolates thing that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post.

For example, the Drive Mode [Single Shot, Continuous, Timers (2, 10 s)] can be set in EOS-U 3 (on Mike’s camera) but can’t be set in EOS-U 2 (on my camera).

Look closely at the “Capture Window” (camera control panel, shown above). Notice the icon for a movie camera located to the right of the “Live View shoot…” button. That button is supposed to enable remote video shooting; neither Mike nor I have tested the process.

Here’s a screenshot of the “Remote Live View window” on Mike’s computer. Notice the EOS-U 3 window features more buttons than EOS-U 2. Also notice the histogram shown in the lower-right corner, a useful tool that isn’t featured in EOS-U 2 using either Mike’s Canon EOS 50D or my Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

What are the take-aways?

Canon EOS Utility can do so much more than tethered shooting using Adobe Lightroom Classic that EOS-U is the tool of choice for tethered shooting with my Canon camera. I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface of what EOS-U can do, and I’m looking forward to further exploration and experimentation.

Who knows? The joy of tethered shooting with EOS-U — and the frustration of the limitations of the software when used with my older camera — might motivate me to buy a new Canon mirrorless digital camera. That is, assuming Canon introduces a pro-grade camera with an APS-C sensor at a sub-$4K price point. If I’m going to spend $4,000 or more for a camera — the current price range for higher end Canon mirrorless digital cameras — then I think my money would be better spent on one of the Fujifilm GFX medium format digital cameras.

Related Resources

Video

• EOS Utility 3: Tethered Shooting, by CanonUSA/Larry Becker (13:59)
• Shooting Tethered for Food Photography, by The Bite Shot/Joanie Simon (14:34). Joanie demonstrates how she uses Canon EOS Utility and a watched folder in Adobe Lightroom, similar to the process I described in a recent blog post entitled “Work-around for tethering Fujifilm cameras and Adobe Lightroom Classic.”

Print

• Communication Software for the Camera – EOS Utility Ver. 3.5 (Macintosh) [Reference pages 89-94 are especially helpful.]
• Communication Software for the Camera – EOS Utility Ver. 3.12 (Windows) [Reference pages 113-119 are especially helpful.]

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Tethered shooting using my Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Adobe Lightroom Classic can be used to tether many models of Canon and Nikon digital cameras with computers (running either macOS or Windows) that meet the system requirements. For example, my Canon EOS 5D Mark II appears on the list of tethered cameras supported by Lightroom Classic.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II works as expected when tethered with Lightroom Classic. “Live View”¹ on the computer screen plus the ability to change camera settings and trigger the camera using Lightroom are among many features I like. And it’s FREE. Well, free as long as you have Lightroom Classic and that isn’t free.

Getting started

Here’s how to get started. Tether your camera to a computer using an appropriate cable for your camera and computer. Launch Lightroom. Select File → Tethered Capture → Start Tethered Capture…

The “Tethered Capture Settings” window appears on screen; carefully consider the settings you make (especially the “Destination”) since Lightroom doesn’t like it when you change the location of photo files on your computer!

After your camera is connected to the computer successfully, select File → Show Tethered Capture Window. “Command-T” is the keyboard shortcut to toggle on/off the “Tethered Capture Window,” shown below.

The window indicates the name of the camera connected to your computer and the “Session Name” that you used when you set the “Tethered Capture Settings”; in this case I used the name “Studio Session.”

Click the button labeled ¹”Live” in order to see a “Live View” of your camera. With my camera tethered to an Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) — by far the fastest computer I own and one of the faster computers currently on the market — there is so much video lag that I found “Live” to be unusable!

You can adjust a limited number of camera settings, including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and white balance (shown from left-to-right in the “Tethered Capture Window”).

“Develop Settings” can be applied on-the-fly to photos as you shoot them. I’m not sure how useful this feature is, given the fact that it seems like every photo requires a unique set of adjustments/edits.

Lastly, there is a shutter button that triggers the camera remotely.

To end the session, select File → Tethered Capture → Stop Tethered Capture.

What are the take-aways?

Essentially that’s all you can do using Adobe Lightroom Tethered Capture. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to autofocus the camera lens remotely. (Please correct me if I’m wrong.) That would be a nice feature to add. (Hint-hint, Adobe.)

In contrast, the Canon EOS Utility can do so much more I think it’s the tool of choice for tethered shooting with my Canon camera. Please stay tuned for my next blog post in which I will do a complete review of Canon EOS Utility 2, plus a few comments about Ver. 3.

Related Resource: Tethering just got better in Lightroom Classic CC, by Terry White (20:59). “Adobe Evangelist Terry White shows how to shoot tethered into Lightroom Classic CC with the enhancements released in the February 2019 update.” Source Credit: Show notes. Note: Mr. White refers to the refers to the “Tethered Capture Window” as “Tether/ing Bar.”

Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Swift River Cruiser exuvia (face-head)

The following image is a focus-stacked composite of three photos, focused on the left eye, right eye, and both eyes respectively.

27 May 2017 | Riverbend Park | Swift River Cruiser (exuvia, face-head)

Tech Tips

The dragonfly exuvia was photographed against a pure white background (255, 255, 255) using the “Meet Your Neighbours” (MYN) technique.

Several photos were taken using my Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera, a Kenko 12mm extension tube, and Laowa 25mm Ultra Macro Lens, set for f/4.0 (the sweet spot for this lens) at ~3.0x magnification.

A Godox TT685C external flash was used to backlight the background (a piece of translucent white plastic) and a Godox TT685F external flash was used as a key light on the right side of the subject. The flash was triggered wirelessly by a Godox X2TC.

Check the EXIF/IPTC info for the photograph for complete details regarding photo gear and camera settings.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to create a focus-stacked composite image that was edited using Apple Aperture.

The Backstory

A Swift River Cruiser dragonfly (Macromia illinoiensis) exuvia was collected on 27 May 2017 along the Potomac River at Riverbend Park in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is a female.

Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.