Wide Angle Macro Photography - a complete guide

[@BuildingCenter]

Great, realistic, encouraging video. Finally ordered my Laowa 15mm f4 for Sony after experimenting with extension tubes on my Tamron 17-28 & Sigma 14-24.

[@thomasrenshaw2992]

Thank you for another great video. I love the idea of pulling out the gear that you have on the shelf and using it in a new application. Now I have to go and dig through some boxes.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks Thomas, and I agree - it is great fun finding new ways to enjoy photography!

[@RedmiNotepro-sm9si]

This is the best music channel I know

[@michaelmckeag960]

I was out in our forest this afternoon scouting for fungi to photograph. A couple discoveries struck me as candidates for wide angle macro and I vaguely recalled you had posted a video on the subject. I found the video and not only reviewed your instruction on the topic but rediscovered my own preparations for pursuing the technique. I spent this evening at the dining table experimenting with a 5mm diameter piece of broccoli on a toothpick as a test subject, lit by a pair of Lumcubes. Eventually I succeeded in shooting and processing a 6-step focus stack. I think I’m ready to menace some mushrooms tomorrow morning. I’d forgotten why I’d kept that old wide angle zoom lens. Now it all comes back.

[@9451shan]

Always joyful to view your tutorial, Allan.🙂👌

[@juancarlosplaza8301]

Congratulations for your 10.000 subscribers Allan!!. You deserve that and much more.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks Juan Carlos! Very exciting!

[@StevePilgrim2013]

Incredible explanation. Even those of us who are rookies can understand your discussion. Thanks!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks Steve!

[@mooser53]

Your video prompted me to look at my existing equipment. I already have the 10mm electronic extension tube and both a fixed and zoom lens which work on my Sony full frame. Thank you for the incentive and expanding my macro world. Happy to be a Patreon supporter for these reasons. 😀

[@flaviomendonca5533]

I've been shooting macro for a few months now and I gave this a try today, instead of my Samyang 100mm F2.8 macro I used my 18-55mm with a 10mm extension tube and off camera flash. You are absolutely right when you say that this is harder! I found challenging working with the background at f16, it gets to distracting. But it was a great experience, it got me thinking and experimenting a lot! Thank you for the great videos you share, I find them very helpful and motivating. All the best from Portugal!

[@xanthus798]

This video answered some questions I had about wide-angle macro photography. I own a Canon 16-35mm lens that I use with my 5D MKII. So, using my smallest Kenko extension tube , I was able to achieve a wide-angled macro shot! Now, I am anxious for the morning to arrive and try out my new set-up! Thanks!

[@jsr8884]

Lovely video Dr. Background score matches your great presentation. Enjoy the weekend.

[@GlennMartinez]

I really appreciate the videos that explore Macro photography with commonly owned or cheaply purchased as used manual lens. It was interesting to see the "low angle" aspect to the gimbaled "walk around shots" I keep expecting you to discover a frog or other "up close" critters. Beautiful scenery. Lucky to live where is is warm.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I tried, Glenn. I really tried. But the wildlife around here knows when I'm recording a video. Happens every time!

[@cardiacade]

I quite often put extension tubes on my Canon 500mm, it's surprisingly good for close-up wildlife flower photography.

[@phila8226]

Perfect timing as the Laowa lens arrived at my house mid week and it is time to give it a go. Excellent video.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Really! Please let me know how you like it - it does make it a lot less difficult, just having a few extra millimeters. Enjoy it!

[@honeysucklecat]

I’ve had that Laowa lens for several years and love it. Was hoping this vid would talk about shift feature. Mine doesn’t have tilt though.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Yes, I wanted to but wasn't able to get my hands on the Laowa lens until after the video was made. I will be doing a followup with a couple of different lenses.

[@phila8226]

Congrats on 10k subscribers!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks! Never would have believed it!

[@gerardoelizondo6845]

Nice video !!! Where can we see photos you took with this lens ?

[@ricardozettl6713]

Thanks Allan, great information. I had already heard of that and compared some lenses, the Laowa you mentioned included. Now it's much clearer, but the best, of course I will try it first with the extension tube. Thank you very much. I wonder if I can do it with my 12mm full frame Rokinon or if the focus point will be within the lens.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Ricardo, a 12mm full frame wide angle lens might work, but only if you can come up with a way to add only about 5-6mm of extension. I found this item and would love to give it a try on a wider lens - 6MM-MACRO-EXTENSION-TUBE__p-65496.aspx

[@impastorscott]

Hey Allan. Do you think the Nikon 20mm 1.8 lens (along with 12mm extension ring) would be viable for wide angle macro?

[@kevinseddon6860]

Thanks Alan, great content as always.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks, Kevin.

[@MacM545]

My first time knowing that a tilt shift adapter can work like this!

[@nidheesh.k.b6105]

I have a 13mm extension tube and tokina 11-16mm, is this setup work?

[@thomasw.bassett9550]

I just got my D850 (used) and i'm using some old Nikkor lenses with it and just also purchased some Kenko extension tubes. After watching this, i'm going to take my AF 28-85 3.5-4.5 out and see what I can do.

[@robertllawrencejr5503]

Great video. Thanks. I had never heard of the tilt shift adaptors. I personally have not found my extension number unes to be as sharp as my macro lens but I have never used it with my ultra wide zoom

[@Ahmadrahimify]

Can I use Nikon fisheye 10.5mm for macro wide angle

[@EddyHerreraCC]

Great explanation! Definitely need to get more macro projects in for my classes!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Cheers, Eddy!

[@StefanFerber]

Thx Allan for another very nice video. At 15:54 you describe how you put foam or a piece of plastic to control the aperture. I want to do the same with my Nikkor 105mm 2.8G micro on my Nikon PB-6 bellows. But as the G-lenses do not have "f-stops", do you have a nice trick to measure the right size of the little piece. I took pictures while the G-lens is mounted during "bulb" exposes to estimate what f5.6 or f11 might be. But this is very fuzzy...

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi Stefan, if you have the PB-6 bellows all you need is an old shutter release cable - the silvery metal mechanical one. Screw it into the little silver hole on the top of the front bellows support, depress the release until you have the aperture where you want it and tighten the screw lock on the shutter cable. The aperture will remain exactly where you want it until you remove the cable. This works with all G lenses.

[@StefanFerber]

@@AllanWallsPhotography even better: of course I have the release cable ;-)

[@linaionta7590]

I have the Tokina 11-16mm wide angle lens and just recently tried it out with a 12mm extension tube. The subject was literally touching the front of the lens and I found it impossible to focus. I used it at 16mm on a crop sensor camera and set it to the closest focusing distance. What am I doing wrong? Should I use a smaller extension tube?

[@davosteve]

yes

[@walkingtalkies3566]

Wonderfully explained.. Thanks a lot..

[@loukashareangas4420]

You can do the following to have some control over the aperture of your Nikkor lenses. There exist on eBay adapters for Nikkor lenses to Canon cameras, that have a small lever on the side to actuate the aperture (you can crudely control how open the aperture will be, it doesn't have to be fully open). There also exist adapters for Canon lenses to M42 cameras. I stop there in order to mount my Nikkor lenses on my M42 bellows but you can add a M42 to Nikon adapter and mount the whole contraption on your camera! You might even get less than 12mm that you wanted this way.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

For sure. I used to have one of those adapters and it did make life easier. Of course, an auto-focus capable tilt adapter would do the same thing. Thanks for the tip!

[@Just-a-bystander]

I collect interesting M42 and M39 lenses from (roughly) 50s - 70s mostly because of rendering and bokeh properties of historic lens construction types. These lenses have limited coatings or in some cases no coatings which add to blur effects but come with more reflections. Generally, I have stayed away from wide angle from this period because focal distances become critical when mixing mounts and adapters. I have to try using thin extension tubes 6-12mm to see what results are possible.

[@eagleeyephoto8715]

I tried Fujifilm 16 f1.4 it get really close at ratio 1:4.8 and focusing distance is about 15cm.With MCEX -11 extension tube the working distance is almost none, so not really something usable.This video gave me idea to try out my 12mm Zeiss Touit with Mcex.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I think you will be frustrated with the Touit. Even with only 5mm of extension, the working distance was unworkable for me. Good luck, and if it works for you, let me know!

[@eagleeyephoto8715]

@@AllanWallsPhotography Mcex-11 does not work I know that and as you mentioned only few mm ring might help.Think that 16mm f1.4 is the best option for going close wide on X mount.

[@Zapafaz]

I think this is a new lens (relative to this video's date): you may be interested in the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro - seems to be quite good, with an advertised 40mm working distance at 5:1. They also have a super weird probe macro, 2:1 24mm f/14 - not a typo, that is f/fourteen wide open.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Hi - thanks for the comment - this lens was out when I did this video, but it is too long to be useful as a wide-angle macro lens, and even at 2.5X it isa little too much magnification to be useful as a wide-angle macro lens. You either need a dedicated WA macro lens like the one discussed or you need to make one, with a wide angle lens on a tiny amount of extension - there is only a very narrow range of focal lengths and extensions that work for this ultra specialized kind of shot. But if you have had luck using this lens for WA macro - please let me know - I don't have the lens myself, but would be interested in trying it out, if you have.

[@michaelmckeag960]

I concur with your sentiment regarding ball heads vs geared head for applications requiring precise framing. Inspired by one of the landscape photographers I follow I replaced the very fine RRS ball head on my primary tripod with a SUNWAYFOTO Geared Head GH-Pro II Tripod Head a couple months ago. The ball head may never return to that tripod unless I turn to photographing wildlife or other very mobile subject (grandchildren are all grown up now so even they can be framed with a geared head).

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

If I didn't already have the Benro, the GH-Pro-II would be on my tripod today. It is a very slick piece of kit. When I'm shooting wildlife I switch to my gimbal head. Been a long time since I used a ball head - but if I did, it would be the RRS BH55 - a tremendous ball head.

[@bikerdash27]

Thank you. Great video.

[@luciegagnon1238]

I am very happy to see you go outside Allan and explore your surroundings, rather than bring Nature inside! 😃 🌸 🍄 🐸🐝🐞Excellent video!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

And I was happy to get out. Winter came back the next day, so the timing was perfect!

[@Patto2276]

I wish the Laowa had tilt, but, alas, only shift, and that only for APS-C cameras.

[@phila8226]

Hi Allan, Is there a technique to stack the foreground (macro part of the image) and preserve the wide angle part? Scenario: flower where you would like more focus depth but want to keep the wide angle background; other than stacking the flower and Photoshopping it back into the wide angle field. Any magic?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Great question! I hinted at the technique but didn't get into it. You can simply stack the foreground and leave the background alone - it should not change and the focus stacking program won't attempt to stack the OOF background. It does soften the background quite a bit, depending on the number of frames in your stack, so if you don't care for the output, take the final stacked image and one frame with the background just the way you want it over into Photoshop and use a simple mask to blend the sharp foreground and the single frame background together. It doesn't need to be that precise and I don't even select the foreground, I just paint out the stacked background, with plenty of feather on the brush, by hand.

[@andrewh2341]

I usually shoot on my 90mm 1:1 or my 25mm 2.5-5x. I’m going to have to try throwing an extension tube on my 16-35 thanks for the inspiration 😀

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Me too, Andrew. This is an unusual way to macro, but every once in a while I'll capture a shot that makes it all worthwhile. Let me know how the 16-35 works out.

[@ImpulseHobby]

Thank you for a such interesting video!

[@waltertanner7982]

who was the guitar player?

[@maoraharon21]

what would be the best wide macro for m4/3?

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

There isn't much to choose from, I'm afraid. To really get the right look you should try to get down to 10-12mm. Anything longer just won't look wide at all. I think Samyang makes a 7.5mm for MFT, but that is more of a fisheye lens. To get that to magnify you would need millimeters (yes MILLImeters)of extension, and even that might put you inside the lens. This really is technique that begs for a FF sensor - plenty of very short macro lenses for full frame. Check out the new Chinese lens-makers, like 7Artisans and TTArtisan, they might have something in the works.

[@maoraharon21]

@@AllanWallsPhotography can I use a fisheye and then defish it?. also there's the laowa 7.5mm that is rectilinear maybe I could modify the mount and get it to focus closer?. I don't plan on moving to ff but it's tempting so who knows.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

@@maoraharon21 The problem is the macro part. You will have no trouble getting the kind of wide view you need, but pulling the focus back to a few cm is the hard part. As you know, with shorter and shorter focal lengths the object distance becomes so tiny is is to all practical purposes inside the lens. So you really need a dedicated macro lens that is also a very wide angle. The Laowa 15mm fits the bill on a FF, but on MFT it becomes a not-so-wide-angle 30mm. The 7.5mm might work, it will give you a pretty wide view, but the amount of extension you will need to add will be shorter than any extension tube I have ever heard of. Modifying the mount to add a few mm might work, but I don't know enough about your camera to have any suggestions on how to go about that. Wish I could be more helpful!

[@maoraharon21]

@@AllanWallsPhotography you've been already very helpful. my camera is Panasonic g9. maybe I can unscrew the mount on a manual lens. and add a spacer that is few mm thick with holes than screw the mount on again.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

@@maoraharon21 I thought you might be thinking about something like that - I would be very interested to hear what you come up with!

[@paulus0109]

Interesting Allan. Thnx.

[@RedmiNotepro-sm9si]

I have oshiri 60 mm and my hand is banded bad way. I can't do macrophotografy.

[@paddyola1]

on the subject of flash, I do think you missed out on twin macro arm flashes, i have two tiny wireless flashes on flexible/rigid arms, I'm using them with my 15mm loawa (though they came as a sort of ring flash setup the flash was too harsh on the subjects, hence the macro arms). I dont think any ring flashes are good, even the expensive ones.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Good point, Paddy. They can be helpful, particularly at tight working distances. I don't like ring flashes as they come, but I have greatly modified all of mine to great effect by redirecting, reflecting and diffusing the output - it just doesn't work at these working distances. But the bendy arm flashes definitely have a place here.

[@paddyola1]

@@AllanWallsPhotography cheers for the reply, I watch many lens reviews it amazes me people dont shorten there lenses by ext tubes. my viltrox 85 1.8 on a couple of ext tubes isnt that far off my old/sold sigma 105 2.8

[@peterv.d.wijngaard2015]

I believe the Laowa 15 mm lens is a shift lens not a tilt lens.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

You are absolutely correct and I was categorically mistaken to say as much - thanks for picking up on that rather important distinction!

[@michaelmckeag960]

Well, I did not expect this video to introduce me to another approach to wildflower photography, and perhaps rescue my Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8D from the to be sold list. In fact, I had already packed the lens into its original box in preparation for that fate. The lens was superseded by a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, which along with a Sigma 24-70 and Nikon 70-200 is the default landscape kit, always in the camera pack. But the 14-24 with its bulbous front element and fixed lens shade is obviously unsuitable for this application. I just retrieved the 20-35mm from its box, mounted it to the D850 with a PK12 and measured image scale and working distance at 20, 24, 28 and 35mm. Looks promising. The 20-35mm has just found a new job and has been rescued from the auction block. The Vello Auto Extension Tube Set for Nikon just went on my B&H shopping list. The wildflowers are starting to bloom all around us. I now have one more gambit to try. Thanks!

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I would sure love to your lens collection!

[@michaelmckeag960]

@@AllanWallsPhotography I finally made measurements of image scale and working distance for the D850 + Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8 (the lens rescued from the to-be-sold queue), again shooting a transparent scale taped to an LED light panel mounted vertically, with the camera on a focusing rail, panel parallel to the sensor plane; measurements entered in an Excel sheet that calculated image scale, magnification, effective aperture, and field of view in x and y. It was a tedious, but educational exercise. A summary of the results was entered into an Apple Numbers sheet exported to my iPhone, now available with other photography field notes, always in my pocket. With 12mm extension, magnification range is 0.39 - 0.67. With 20mm, 0.57 - 0.94. At 20mm extension, 20mm focal length, the working distance (measured from the front rim of the lens body) goes to zero (the lens was pressed against the face of the light panel). One behavior that becomes obvious shooting a flat subject at short working distances is the curvature of the plane of focus and astigmatism. It is most obvious at wide apertures. The primary subject has to be centered in the field of view. Next, try this lens out on a real subject (if the wind ever stops).

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

@@michaelmckeag960 You are one thorough photographer, sir! That is very valuable information to have on hand. I do the same thing, but I'm old fashioned and use note cards that I file using an incomprehensible system to ensure that I never find them again. I need to follow your lead and get digital with my note keeping.

[@loukashareangas4420]

I haven't watched the whole vid yet but I came to comment that with even the shortest extension tube on my 8mm fisheye, my focus range is from the back of the front element to its front (inside the lens). It's funny to see, if probably useless

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

You nailed it! Even one millimeter of extension will pull the focus plane back into the front element at 8mm. I think the sweet spot is 10mm extension with a 20mm lens. Almost 1:1 and just enough room to work.

[@michaelmckeag960]

The Venus Laowa 15mm f/4 has a +/-6mm shift mechanism (not tilt), useful for some landscape and certainly architectural applications, not obvious how shift would be useful for macro applications. I have a Nikon 24mm tilt/shift to experiment with, perhaps learn something from experimentation.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I have been thinking that this lens had tilt. I even have "tilt" in my notes. That really does change things. I am not sure why they would spend money on a distortion control element on a macro lens, unless the macro is just an afterthought mod of their 15mm WA lens, which already had shift. Tilt, on the other hand, is a fantastic feature to have. One of these days I want to get my hands on that 24mm PC glass. It looks incredible on paper

[@michaelmckeag960]

@@AllanWallsPhotography I ordered the Vello auto focus extension tube set. My existing extension tubes dated back to manual focus days. I first tested the Nikon 14-24mm with 12mm extension using a transparent microscopy scale taped to the surface of an LED light panel as my test object. I verified that AF works. At a focal length of 24mm the fixed lens hood was pressed against the light panel to achieve focus. At 20mm focal length the object would be inside the lens hood. My "object" was not going to fit in there :-). The real test was with the Nikon 24mm f/3.5 PC-E tilt-shift. Focus positions are very clearly marked on this manual focus lens, at infinity, 1 m, 0.5 m, 0.25 m and 0.21 m. With 12 mm extension, with focus set at listed, from infinity to 0.21m, WD (measured from the front rim of the lens) ranged from 34 - 16 mm, and magnification ranged from 0.50 - 0.89. With 20mm extension WD 21 - 8 mm, magnification 0.74 - 1.13. I tried out the 24mm PC-E on some glacier lilies this morning, with 12mm extension. To include the landscape as background the camera needed to be essentially on the ground. I found a way to do this and still maintain the precise framing control of a geared head, and lens to subject distance control of a focusing rail. Tomorrow morning I will substitute the StackShot for the focusing rail.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

@@michaelmckeag960 Excellent! It seems like an awful lot of work to set up these shots, but it is well worth it when a composition pays off. It is a delicate balancing act with very little wiggle room. I'd love to see what you come up with, using that system.

[@bt_photo]

There's also the "Opteka" 15mm 1 to1. Half the price of the Laowa (and possibly the same optics) but no tilt shift.

[@loukashareangas4420]

Yep, seen those as well on eBay, though I thought they were no name copies. If they are "original" opteka that would mean that they are of Samyang construction, right?

[@bt_photo]

@@loukashareangas4420 Think I read somewhere they were from the same factory as the Laowa. Not sure, I've got a copy and it works though :-)

[@bt_photo]

...for some mess about macro. Irix 15mm for other wide angle stuff (great lens)

[@loukashareangas4420]

@@bt_photo the f2.4 right? You are talking about two lenses I want to save up for...😥

[@bt_photo]

@@loukashareangas4420 Yeah, the Irix is great. Keep saving and get one! :-) (keep an eye on ebay)

[@roybixby6135]

Older manual Nikkor lenses with an aperture ring are great value. Wouldn't they be easier than sticking a piece of rubber in the the lens? Best flash is the Nikon R1C1 type flash - there are many cheaper clones available now. I hate ring flash - ring light is flat and boring...

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

I have a bunch of old Nikkor and I love having a manual aperture ring. I just don't have a single wide angle in the collection. I agree that the R1C1 is an incredible macro lighting system. Mine was badly damaged in a fall and I have never been in a position to replace it. Instead, I have made a lot of modifications to a couple of ring flashes, including a DIY variable diffusion device and several sliding panels that act like flags and allow me to get some very specific directional effects. Still not an R1 though!

[@jliparis2989]

You have a lot of great videos but really missed several marks with this particular guide to wide angle macro photography. First the assertion that wide angle macro photography means you must be at least at 1:1 is a very narrow definition. Especially since the greatest practitioners of wide angle macro photography ie: Piotr Naskrecki, Clay Bolt, Gil Wizen, John Hallmen to name but a few have extensive portfolios of wide angle macro photography that feature many great images shot closer to 1:2 to 1:4. The problem with limiting it to 1:1 or higher is that means you end up with a bunch of photos of 1 inch subjects that fill the frame obscuring the background. Almost anyone involved in teacher or publishing macro work regular shoot images of subjects that are not quite 1:1. Furthermore you have missed out on many great lenses for wide angle macro. 15mm Opteka which is a copy of the 15mm Laowa macro without the shift. FYI you mention the 15mm laowa being a tilt lens. Nope. No tilt. Only shift. Tamron has a new series of 3 wides for Sony e-mount that all go down to 1:2. The nikon 24mm F3.5 TS lens in addition to the 25mm F2.8 classic zeiss all go down to or close to 1:2. Do not forget the Laowa 24mm probe lens that goes to 2:1. The whole idea between macro wide photography is to have the subject large (not overpowering) in the frame while showing a dramatic yet natural appearing context. Ideally these photos work best if you can visualize it as 2 separate photos and that if you just shot the subject without background and the background without the subject that both would be interesting, well composed, dramatic photos. . After a decade of viewing this type of work I much prefer the context provided by 24mm wides when used in this manner. It looks more natural and lighting is easier since the 15mm laowa is almost touching the subject. I am tired of seeing shots from the 15mm Laowa where the subject fills the frame and thus obscures the background. This happens because if you back off the subject with the Laowa even a few mm it often then appears too small. 24mm seems to be a perfect balance. And yes you can use a thin extension tube (at least on Nikon) to take any of the mentioned lenses a bit close to 1:1 or beyond.

[@AllanWallsPhotography]

Thanks for the comment. In the video, I mentioned that "some photographers" define wide angle macro as a 90+ degrees field of view and 1:1 magnification ratio. I then spent the rest of the video explaining why this was not a useful definition, or one that I recommend following. Occasionally one can pull it off, but usually there are better compositions with less limiting parameters. I misspoke about the Laowa's tilt, and will correct the mistake in the notes. I also failed to mention a great many of the lenses that I like for this effect as the point of the video was to show viewers how they can try out this technique with whatever wide lenses they may have at their disposal. The other points in your comment are covered in the video. I appreciate your thoughtful feedback.