This channel is massively underrated.

...full display of an Artist generosity...

Sorry for missing too days Macro Talk Too. Watching it on KZbin now.

Really interesting. Thank you for posting. 👏👏👏

Love the video. And both are great lenses, for me personally I would get the 200 since Im OCD to a fault.

Starts at the 7:20 min mark.

Lighting with LED’S has gotten much brighter over the past four years.

Great conversation - Love Andy's work!

Brillliant, can't wait for the tips on preparing files for the printer 🤓🤓 Merry Christmas Alan 🎄

Is it right to substitute colours in abstract and macro photography,such as making a wasp or bee red and black instead of yellow and black.

For headlamps and EDC torches I personally use those that come with Nichia NW or WW tinted LEDs there are better makers like Lumintop, Acebeam, etc... and wont buy Surefire which are far too expensive for what they offer. Also for UV lights Convoy, and Weltool have good options available.

I learnt photography with Lester's book - that he published in the 1970s. His practical approach to close up photography suited me. I still use a giant extension tube made out of pvc pipe that he described in his book to take macro photographs with lots of working room with reversed telephoto lenses a 200mm reversed telephoto lens gives me a 5X magnification on the film/sensor (i.e. my extension tube is 1 metre long) - thanks Lester!

WOW ! The video was WOW….and both his books are WOW!

Looking at the copy stand at 15:50, I made something similar using a £2.50 IKEA ADILS table leg and a piece of 19mm ply. The only difference being, I drilled a hole in the ply so I could mount the table leg through it with the mounting plate beneath rather than on top. It's amazing what you can save if you use items without photographic in the description.

Great advice. Thank you

Excellent

Great video with tons of useful information and an amazing guest. Thanks Allan ! I think the link in the description leading to your website, is broken.

Allan, please tell me and probably a lot of other folks the name/names of the music played in the first 7 minutes or so. It's great. And so is your site. Dave

Face of Doom @10:07 is a Jumping Spider. Very docile and sociable. Many people keep them as pets.

What a truly great pair of macro photographers Lester and Yourself are together Allan. Thanks so much for these two meetings & interview videos. Informative, in depth, intelligent and humorous. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them, lots of tips tricks and even some long forgotten methods came back while watching. A brilliant interview, hope to see you two doing some more work together in the future. 💯👏👏👏

Superb!

Received these two books a few weeks ago and I can highly recommend them, topnotch quality!

Lester just told me this morning this was coming out. And Bingo! HERE IT IS! Thanks.

How do you find these insects so intact?

I've been waiting for this! Thanks!

Zamir at AK Diffusers is such a helpful guy. I know before I experiment with a specific diffuser over a complicated setup, I'll float it past him.

I have both books. Lots of reading ahead…

Allan - I just watched "The WeMacro Focus Rail - A Deep Dive Into the Popular Imported Rail - Part I (of IV)" with great interest. I have been researching other sliders for a while and was leaning toward another manufacturer. I can't find Parts II, III and IV. Can you direct me to where I can find them as I would like to watch them before I make a purchasing decision. Thank you, Curt Smith

My humble apologies for mis-typing "Allen" instead of "Allan". I must be getting "OLD"

Thank you Allen so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge on macro photography and providing detailed videos for people, such as myself, who are just getting started at the age of mid-70's. I have a lot of catching up to do and with your guidance I hope to become proficient in due coarse. I am using the OM-1 MkII with 60mm & 90mm macro lenses. In-Camera photo stacking is limited to 15 photos and photo bracketing up to 999 photos. I have found that bracketing is the more favorable method and on your recommendation I have purchased Zerene Stacker for out of camera stacking processing. I am seeking some clarification regarding photo stacking and photo bracketing. Are they essentially the same thing or are there some fundamental difference between the two operations? You referrer many times to large focus stacking stacks in your videos, which raised the question for me. Do you create large stacks manually by selecting a range of different focusing points on the subject you wish to capture? I have also recently purchased the Novoflex BAL-MFT, Godox MF- with12-K2 flash with XPROII Trigger and the NiSi 200s focus rail, which were all influenced by your product reviews. So once again Allen, thanks for all the invaluable information you provide.

I have yet to find one that actually dores better than Affinity Photo, my normal editing program. Helicon is not only the same, but slower to do the work. It would seem that you don’t actually own Affinity Photo, Allan.

I'd put number 4 among the top 3. I'm not the judge, haha.

The UV filter goes straight in the bin🤷‍♂️ completely pointless things.

I have a small invention for cleaning insects. Maybe someone has already come up with this idea, but I still like to share it. I have attached a micro brush to a Lego Technic rotating motor, so that you can have a rotating micro brush.This way I only have to hold the micro brush against the insect, and the brush does the rest. I have noticed that this gives me a lot more control, while the brush removes a lot of dirt. The small motor also functions as a useful handle for the micro brush. You can also change the direction of rotation by pressing a button. This is useful for cleaning a bee, for example, so that the brush turns in the direction of the hairs.

I bought the Novoflex Castel-M macro rails after your review. And I am completely happy. They worked for me for 6 months without any problems. I shot about 70 thousand frames. I will say that they are too precise for 5:1. You can make the step even smaller. Thank you so much

“And Bob’s Your Uncle”??? OMG, I had to look that phrase up. I may need to start using it, along with no longer calling a certain metal Alum-in-um, but rahter Al-u-min-iam. I love that I figured out how to do all this stuff you have done all by myself here at my advanced age of 75 years old!

I love my AK Diffuser.

Allan, This was delightful. Lester is scheduled to talk to my camera club about Macro in December, 2024. Hearing about his books from him in your interview will cause me to buy vol 2 now even though the titles in the contents all seem pretty familiar.

I have the NM-200s---which is the next up model. Used on a tripod, where the unit is not flat, the unit has focusing peculiarities and not in a good way.

I saw Jesus! IN the last part of the video, yes enjoyed the video>

thanks!!

awsum video, do you have somewhere i can purchase the little 3d printed feet for the flashes or a stl 3d file so i could print some please thank you in advance

awsum video just the video i been looking for very very informative ty

I experimented with crystals way back in the 80s. I used a pentax me super and slides film. Some bellows and citric acid crystals. I can't remember any more of my setup but the results were great. Unfortunately I think all the original photos are lost. It was great fun. The point is that I did great photos without a microscope. If I ever find the photos I will share them with you.

Excellent, Allan. Thank you as always. 👏👏👏

I will never part with my 200mm f4. Folks need to understand that when this lens first came out it was for film cameras in the early 1990's. If I had a Nikon F3 back then this would have been an amazing lens to go with it. I currently use this paired with my D850 and always with a monopod or a tripod, this is the only way to shoot with this lens. This lens creates art. When you nail the focus the bokeh behind your subject is otherworldly. Be patient folks - understand this lens for what it is - it's a masterpiece. It's also the oldest lens that Nikon still produces. Thanks again for a great video.

I recently bought a Nikon FM2N and an F4 from an acquaintance. They came with a large LowPro bag. This bellows was in the bag with the accessories. There's a single shutter release, step up rings, and the attachment for slides. I was hoping you were going to show how to actually use it. She kept the 2 lenses that were in the bag. She had a really long lens that I don't think was a Nikon lens. I think it was a Sears lens and it looked more like a telescope. I bought a 28mm lens for street photography as well as a 28-70mm. I think I might can reverse one of those lenses. I've gotten into developing my own film. I was wondering if there was an attachment for film negatives instead of slide film for this. I have a z8 that I could use on this using the FTZ adapter. I could use an LED light panel behind the negatives to illuminate them from the back side. I was thinking of getting a copy stand but if I could rig something up with this I might give it a go. It also has the double bellows. I forgot to mention that.

Fantastic session thanks to you both!

I enjoyed that :)

Crystals in high relief.❤❤❤