B
B. Self Reliant
Glad you enjoyed it. What kind of info do you need? It's a great range of focal lengths for wide to normal shots. There's not much you couldn't do with it.
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ICMag with help from Phlizon, Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest for Christmas! You can check it here. Prizes are: full spectrum led light, seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Glad you enjoyed it. What kind of info do you need? It's a great range of focal lengths for wide to normal shots. There's not much you couldn't do with it.
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Member
Nikon F-mount
Nikon F-mount
The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35 mm SLR cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three lug bayonet mount with a 44 mm throat and a flange to focal plane distance of 46.5 mm. The company continues to use variations of the same lens mount specification for its film and digital SLR cameras.
The Nikon F-mount is one of only two DSLR lens mounts (the other being the Pentax K-mount)that still use the same mount to this day...
Nikon F-mount
The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35 mm SLR cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three lug bayonet mount with a 44 mm throat and a flange to focal plane distance of 46.5 mm. The company continues to use variations of the same lens mount specification for its film and digital SLR cameras.
The Nikon F-mount is one of only two DSLR lens mounts (the other being the Pentax K-mount)that still use the same mount to this day...
G
guest456mpy
Hi Hammerhead.
Great post!
I wold like to add that the mount was changed back in the 70's with some important differences. Lenses prior to AI ( known as non-AI lenses now) coupled with the camera with two tabs on the lens and a coupling pin on the body/meter prism.
Body
Lens (note that the lens is machined level all around the body circumference on the mount end.)
When AI type was introduced the coupling and indexing mechanism was changed so that the machining on the lens mount encoded the indexing and max aperture data and the circumference is now stepped.
Lens
The body gained two added levers around the mount to get the data.
Body maximum aperture sensing lever.
If your DSLR has this lever (D80, D90, D200, D300 and all pro level D series (D1, D2,D3 etc.) and you try to mount a non-AI lens you will damage the body and it will have to be sent in for repair.
These lenses can be modified to mount on modern cameras, Nikon even modified them free when the AI type was first released. I still use a couple (eg a 28mm f/2.0) that are AI-modified lenses and the optics are still great, I just wouldn't be able to use them otherwise.
I sure wouldn't want anyone damaging their camera trying to mount a non AI lens because they physically will mount, but with consequences (LOL)!.
Later!
Great post!
I wold like to add that the mount was changed back in the 70's with some important differences. Lenses prior to AI ( known as non-AI lenses now) coupled with the camera with two tabs on the lens and a coupling pin on the body/meter prism.
Body
Lens (note that the lens is machined level all around the body circumference on the mount end.)
When AI type was introduced the coupling and indexing mechanism was changed so that the machining on the lens mount encoded the indexing and max aperture data and the circumference is now stepped.
Lens
The body gained two added levers around the mount to get the data.
Body maximum aperture sensing lever.
If your DSLR has this lever (D80, D90, D200, D300 and all pro level D series (D1, D2,D3 etc.) and you try to mount a non-AI lens you will damage the body and it will have to be sent in for repair.
These lenses can be modified to mount on modern cameras, Nikon even modified them free when the AI type was first released. I still use a couple (eg a 28mm f/2.0) that are AI-modified lenses and the optics are still great, I just wouldn't be able to use them otherwise.
I sure wouldn't want anyone damaging their camera trying to mount a non AI lens because they physically will mount, but with consequences (LOL)!.
Later!
I read that. not many of us Nikon users have those lenes.. Here is some more info ...
According to other Nikon Ai modification sheets, only Nikkor-O 35/2 lenses from 717011 and higher can be modified. I have seen earlier lenses with Ai rings installed so the number given here is correct, meaning all pre-AI 35/2 lenses can be modified.
Pre-Ai models of the 35/1.4 lenses stop down to f22, and have the largest aperture range of any Nikkor. After modification the lens only stops down to f16 like the Ai version, possibly because the range was too large for early Ai cameras.
The later gauss models of the 105mm f2.5 (black barrel) stop down to f32, while the Ai version only goes to f22. Ai conversion rings retain this extra stop, even though the converted K lens is otherwise identical to the Ai lens.
After modification, new Ai extension rings (PK-13 for 55mm micro and PN-11 for 105mm micro) must be used for full aperture meter operation in 1:2 - 1:1 range. Original rings (PK-3 for 55 micro, PN-1 for 105mm micro) may be used with stop down metering. Modificiation of previous extension rings is not possible.
The Nikkor*ED 400/3.5 IF and Nikkor*ED 600/5.6 IF were both introduced as pre-Ai lenses and produced in small numbers before being upgraded to Ai. Nikon Ai conversion lists do not mention these lenses, it is likely they could be converted using spare parts from an Ai lens.
Nikon did not make Ai conversion kits for most lenses made before 1967, and kits for most later lenses are no longer available. These lenses can still be Ai converted by modifying the existing aperture ring. you could try it yourself (at your own risk):
According to other Nikon Ai modification sheets, only Nikkor-O 35/2 lenses from 717011 and higher can be modified. I have seen earlier lenses with Ai rings installed so the number given here is correct, meaning all pre-AI 35/2 lenses can be modified.
Pre-Ai models of the 35/1.4 lenses stop down to f22, and have the largest aperture range of any Nikkor. After modification the lens only stops down to f16 like the Ai version, possibly because the range was too large for early Ai cameras.
The later gauss models of the 105mm f2.5 (black barrel) stop down to f32, while the Ai version only goes to f22. Ai conversion rings retain this extra stop, even though the converted K lens is otherwise identical to the Ai lens.
After modification, new Ai extension rings (PK-13 for 55mm micro and PN-11 for 105mm micro) must be used for full aperture meter operation in 1:2 - 1:1 range. Original rings (PK-3 for 55 micro, PN-1 for 105mm micro) may be used with stop down metering. Modificiation of previous extension rings is not possible.
The Nikkor*ED 400/3.5 IF and Nikkor*ED 600/5.6 IF were both introduced as pre-Ai lenses and produced in small numbers before being upgraded to Ai. Nikon Ai conversion lists do not mention these lenses, it is likely they could be converted using spare parts from an Ai lens.
Nikon did not make Ai conversion kits for most lenses made before 1967, and kits for most later lenses are no longer available. These lenses can still be Ai converted by modifying the existing aperture ring. you could try it yourself (at your own risk):
G
guest456mpy
Hey Hammer,
Glad you can make that distinction, but a newbie may not. A non-AI lens might seem tempting in terms of cost to the non-initiated, perhaps looking at eBay used lenses to cut costs. That was the intention of my post.
BTW my first Nikon was purchased new in 1965 and have stayed with the system ever since. Lots of my friends still have their AI adapted lenses and still use them, particularly in Micro/macro work where manual focus is still very viable, if not preferred.
Glad you can make that distinction, but a newbie may not. A non-AI lens might seem tempting in terms of cost to the non-initiated, perhaps looking at eBay used lenses to cut costs. That was the intention of my post.
BTW my first Nikon was purchased new in 1965 and have stayed with the system ever since. Lots of my friends still have their AI adapted lenses and still use them, particularly in Micro/macro work where manual focus is still very viable, if not preferred.
B
B. Self Reliant
Macro Lighting: Practical Application
Macro Lighting: Practical Application
I wanted to write up a smoke report for LA Confidential, but I needed a nug shot to go along with it. I figured I'd share with you all how I went about making it. . .
Edit: Here's the smoke report: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=4838937#post4838937
Step 1
Determine your manual exposure settings. Whenever I'm shooting exclusively with artificial light, my shutter speed gets set to 1/200. If I drag the shutter any longer, the ambient exposure might start to show up & I don't want that. Next, I set my ISO to 100. I have control over my flash units, so I may as well go as low as possible in order to preserve image quality. We're 2/3 of the way done & we haven't even made a creative decision yet!
I want quite a bit of depth of field, so I set my aperture to f/16. Remember, longer focal lengths, closer subjects and wider apertures take away your depth of field. With a 100mm macro lens at that distance, that aperture should give me a subject that's in focus from front to back, yet leave the background blurry. That's it on the camera end, but now we need to make sure the lights are set up. Once you get your camera set up, the rest could be done by trial and error if need be, but we'll be more speedy than that. . .
Step 2
Set your fill light. Remember, your fill is the light that falls evenly over your frame to fill in any shadows. It's not the brightest light we'll be using for our shot, but it will fill in any shadows so they don't go totally black. I set my light up to properly expose the frame @ f/13. If you remember, the camera is set to f/16, so we're underexposing by 2/3 stop (f/16 → f/14 → f/13). That's why the above image looks slightly dark.
Step 3
Set your key light. Remember, your key light is the brightest light that largely determines the look & feel of your image, but it doesn't necessarily fall evenly over the whole frame. In this case, my key is side lighting. I've turned off the fill light so you can see the key light only. See how it doesn't spill onto the basket or the background? That's intentional, and molding your key light will be one of the most time consuming things you do when lighting any given subject.
Step 4
Turn both flashes on and make a frame with both units. That's what it's all about!
_____________________________________________
Behind the Scenes
Here's the source of my fill light. It's a flash unit bounced off the white ceiling. Remember back in my lighting post I wrote about the importance of the relative size of the light source in comparison to the relative size of the subject? Well, that little bulb would have given me nasty fill light, but by bouncing it off the ceiling, I multiply the size of the light source illuminating the subject. A 6" reflector creates a 48" circle of light on the white ceiling, which bounces back down and illuminates the subject softly & evenly. . . an easy & effective way to get a large light source!
Here's the rest of my setup. The tripod is so I can place the edges of my frame where I want them, set up the subject, then only have to worry about the lights from there on out. The small speedlight on the left is my key light. The speedlight is on a small floor stand with a piece of foil around the bright end to create a snoot. A snoot is used to prevent light from spilling all around. We want to control & shape the light, not slop it around aimlessly! The basket is simply for a unique & organic-feeling texture for aesthetic reasons.
I hope that made sense to those of you who have read the other posts!
Macro Lighting: Practical Application
I wanted to write up a smoke report for LA Confidential, but I needed a nug shot to go along with it. I figured I'd share with you all how I went about making it. . .
Edit: Here's the smoke report: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=4838937#post4838937
Step 1
Determine your manual exposure settings. Whenever I'm shooting exclusively with artificial light, my shutter speed gets set to 1/200. If I drag the shutter any longer, the ambient exposure might start to show up & I don't want that. Next, I set my ISO to 100. I have control over my flash units, so I may as well go as low as possible in order to preserve image quality. We're 2/3 of the way done & we haven't even made a creative decision yet!
I want quite a bit of depth of field, so I set my aperture to f/16. Remember, longer focal lengths, closer subjects and wider apertures take away your depth of field. With a 100mm macro lens at that distance, that aperture should give me a subject that's in focus from front to back, yet leave the background blurry. That's it on the camera end, but now we need to make sure the lights are set up. Once you get your camera set up, the rest could be done by trial and error if need be, but we'll be more speedy than that. . .
Step 2
Set your fill light. Remember, your fill is the light that falls evenly over your frame to fill in any shadows. It's not the brightest light we'll be using for our shot, but it will fill in any shadows so they don't go totally black. I set my light up to properly expose the frame @ f/13. If you remember, the camera is set to f/16, so we're underexposing by 2/3 stop (f/16 → f/14 → f/13). That's why the above image looks slightly dark.
Step 3
Set your key light. Remember, your key light is the brightest light that largely determines the look & feel of your image, but it doesn't necessarily fall evenly over the whole frame. In this case, my key is side lighting. I've turned off the fill light so you can see the key light only. See how it doesn't spill onto the basket or the background? That's intentional, and molding your key light will be one of the most time consuming things you do when lighting any given subject.
Step 4
Turn both flashes on and make a frame with both units. That's what it's all about!
_____________________________________________
Behind the Scenes
Here's the source of my fill light. It's a flash unit bounced off the white ceiling. Remember back in my lighting post I wrote about the importance of the relative size of the light source in comparison to the relative size of the subject? Well, that little bulb would have given me nasty fill light, but by bouncing it off the ceiling, I multiply the size of the light source illuminating the subject. A 6" reflector creates a 48" circle of light on the white ceiling, which bounces back down and illuminates the subject softly & evenly. . . an easy & effective way to get a large light source!
Here's the rest of my setup. The tripod is so I can place the edges of my frame where I want them, set up the subject, then only have to worry about the lights from there on out. The small speedlight on the left is my key light. The speedlight is on a small floor stand with a piece of foil around the bright end to create a snoot. A snoot is used to prevent light from spilling all around. We want to control & shape the light, not slop it around aimlessly! The basket is simply for a unique & organic-feeling texture for aesthetic reasons.
I hope that made sense to those of you who have read the other posts!
very nice right up.. You should do one on setting up proper macro pics.. I love reading posts about camera's and picture taking....
B
B. Self Reliant
Tips for Macro Images
Tips for Macro Images
Truth be told, lighting is the hardest part of macro photography, but here are some things I didn't initially include when explaining my process. . .
I hope that fills in some of the gaps for ya!
Tips for Macro Images
Truth be told, lighting is the hardest part of macro photography, but here are some things I didn't initially include when explaining my process. . .
- Macro photography is completely different than other types of photography when it comes to gear, how you set up for a shot, etc. The good news is that the fundamental rules of lighting don't change. If you can light a person you can light a macro shot of your prized top cola. If anything, the process of lighting becomes easier due to the fact that most photographers pursue large (and therefore soft) light sources. Well, a the definition of a large light source is all relative to the size of the subject, so finding an appropriate source of light becomes much easier.
- With macro photography depth of field becomes very important. This is because of the three things that affect DOF (focal length, distance to subject & aperture), situation and the facts of life dictate that two of them will rob you of DOF when shooting macro. Macro lenses typically only come in 50mm focal lengths and longer. I use a 100mm macro lens. By nature these kinds of lenses offer less DOF than standard lenses of wider focal lengths. Second is that the distance to the subject is going to be very small when shooting macro. A closer subject means less DOF than a farther subject, and when shooting macro you'll be very close! This means that any DOF you get will be solely due to the aperture that you select.
- Now that you know aperture is important with macro photography, you just need to choose the right one. Well, it all depends on the amount of DOF you want in your final image, what focal length your lens is, how far away your subject is, etc, but the main thing to remember here is that small apertures (f/22 for example) will give you more depth of field than a wider aperture setting (f/4 for example). As your close down your aperture, your subject will be more & more in focus, but you'll also get more background detail. This can be good or bad, but regardless it's a creative decision on the photographer's part.
- Lighting macro photography is easy. As growers we know that light becomes less intense as the distance to the subject (or plant) increases. It's true with HPS's and it's true with flash units. Since macro photography subjects are small and the camera isn't including much background info, you can use small light sources that are placed very close to the subjects. This makes things very easy in you! One thing to remember is that as you close down your camera's aperture to get more depth of field, you'll need more & more light to compensate for the smaller aperture. This shouldn't be a problem like it can be with larger subjects because your flash units are so close to the subjects that they seems very powerful, but be aware of it as you play around.
- The position of the subject is very important. If at all possible, position the portion of the subject you want in focus as parallel to your lens's glass as possible. The bud I chose for the last post was longer than it was round. This was because I want to have the long axis of it as parallel to the lens as possible. It it were to be positioned perpendicular to the lens, we'd need a much smaller aperture and much more light to get it all in focus. Assuming you want as much DOF as possible, you want the subject to be on one focal plane.
- I used a bounced flash unit as my fill, but a better way of doing it would be to have it come from as close to behind the camera as possible. That way it cover all of the subject evenly. The key light leaves a lot of shadows, and when the fill comes from above, the undersides of the nooks & crannies don't get fill. The result is areas that go totally black. That's bad. Generally speaking, get your fill as close to behind camera as you can and make sure it's a soft light source.
- Put your camera on a tripod. It just makes things easier when the edges of the frame are placed appropriately and then left alone.
- I have yet to see a truly good macro image that used a grow lamp as the key light. Even as fill light your grow lights suck for photography, but they serve better as fill than key light. One of the best things a photographer can do to improve their bud images is to use good light sources. For macro that can even be a couple of house lamps with matching bulbs. . .
I hope that fills in some of the gaps for ya!
B thanks so much for offering and sharing your expertise in the forum. I'm sure many, as I do, will benefit from it..peace..DD
much appreciated 
B
B. Self Reliant
Thanks fellas! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
B
B. Self Reliant
Portrait of a Bud
Portrait of a Bud
The key light is coming from the back right this time. I did this to make sure the bottle was bright (almost backlit) & put a highlight on the bud. I used the same speedlight with the same piece of black-out foil over it as I did in the last image demo.
This is the fill light for the shadows created by the fill light. Again, I used the same monolight as last time, only this time I wasn't lazy & instead of bouncing it off the ceiling I bounced it horizontally with a white bounce umbrella.
Here they are together. The key light is more subtle in this image, and sometime it will be that way. The key light really just highlights the edges, but that can make all the difference! This image is for another smoke report, so I need an image that's more informative than emotional or artistic. Flat lighting with a minimal difference between the shadows & highlights will probably be more informative than a contrasty image with dark, moody shadows.
Here's the smoke report: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=4858231#post4858231
Portrait of a Bud
The key light is coming from the back right this time. I did this to make sure the bottle was bright (almost backlit) & put a highlight on the bud. I used the same speedlight with the same piece of black-out foil over it as I did in the last image demo.
This is the fill light for the shadows created by the fill light. Again, I used the same monolight as last time, only this time I wasn't lazy & instead of bouncing it off the ceiling I bounced it horizontally with a white bounce umbrella.
Here they are together. The key light is more subtle in this image, and sometime it will be that way. The key light really just highlights the edges, but that can make all the difference! This image is for another smoke report, so I need an image that's more informative than emotional or artistic. Flat lighting with a minimal difference between the shadows & highlights will probably be more informative than a contrasty image with dark, moody shadows.
Here's the smoke report: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=4858231#post4858231
B
B. Self Reliant
Practical Application with Fill Flash
Practical Application with Fill Flash
Remember this?
I just used this basic & staple principle. . .
Without any flash. I set my camera exposure to leave some detail in the blinds, but I wanted most of the scene in the window to be overexposed. This also gave me a dynamic foreground via a nice tabletop with streaks of blown out glare running across it. If I didn't have any flash available, I could have bumped up the exposure another couple of stops at the expense of losing my nice background/foreground, or I could leave it as it is and lose some detail in the subject itself. See the first two images in my quote above for reference.
This is with a just enough fill flash to bring detail back into the buds, but it doesn't change the look & feel of the background. This is fill flash at work! It's a two step process that involves determining your ambient exposure, and then adding enough flash to fill in your main subject. That's it!
Good photography is all about the art of exclusion & selective lighting. If you have a camera with a flash this is good stuff to know. . .
Practical Application with Fill Flash
Remember this?
Artificial Light - Practical Application
In this image, the exposure has been set to properly expose the subject. Because the background is brighter than the subject, it becomes overexposed and we lose the ability to see any detail in the background.
In this image, the exposure has been set to properly expose for the background. Because the subject is darker than the background, it becomes underexposed and we lose the ability to see detail in the subject.
In this image, the exposure has been set to properly expose for the background, and fill flash has been used to fill in the subject. By adjusting the power of the flash, the photographer could have filled in the subject to a greater or lesser extent. When using flash, you no longer need to choose between properly exposing your subject or the background. You can have it all! The challenge becomes using flash in a way that mimics pleasing ambient light.
I just used this basic & staple principle. . .
Without any flash. I set my camera exposure to leave some detail in the blinds, but I wanted most of the scene in the window to be overexposed. This also gave me a dynamic foreground via a nice tabletop with streaks of blown out glare running across it. If I didn't have any flash available, I could have bumped up the exposure another couple of stops at the expense of losing my nice background/foreground, or I could leave it as it is and lose some detail in the subject itself. See the first two images in my quote above for reference.
This is with a just enough fill flash to bring detail back into the buds, but it doesn't change the look & feel of the background. This is fill flash at work! It's a two step process that involves determining your ambient exposure, and then adding enough flash to fill in your main subject. That's it!
Good photography is all about the art of exclusion & selective lighting. If you have a camera with a flash this is good stuff to know. . .
Mantas
Member
