3:1 macro photography

[rikkersc]

I have seen some great macro shots where the info says is was shot at 3:1.
How do you achieve this? I have a lens that says macro 1:2. How would you reverse the numbers?
I am pretty new at this, so I don't know too much about it. I have gotten decent shots with my macro, but nothing like the ones that say 3:1 !!!

[Saralonde]

1:1 is lifesize and 3:1 is 3 times greater than lifesize. You might be able to do this by putting extension rings on a lens that is 1:1, such as a 100mm macro.

[hpebley3]

Here's an article which explains how that can be calculated:
http://www.macrophotography.org/modu...article&sid=12

Hope that helps,
Harley Pebley

[inkista]

That's a good article, but the "a 50mm will give you 1:1 and a 24mm will give you 2:1" bit forgets to mention that that's only if you reverse on another 50mm lens. The actual formula is that if the reversed lens has a focal length of X, and the mounted lens has a focal length of Y, then your magnification is Y/X.

So, reversing a 50mm on a 100mm gives you 2:1; reversing a 50mm on a 200mm gives you 4:1, etc. etc.

[mikem12188]

Yeah, what he said

[rikkersc]

How would I go about reversing a lens? Is there special epuipment I need to buy? What do I do?
(Like I said, I'm really new to this.)

[Saralonde]

Here are some sites I found with equipment:
http://www.kirkphoto.com/polarizers.html
http://www.camerafilters.com/pages/macrorings.aspx
I'm sure there are many others.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by rikkersc

How would I go about reversing a lens? Is there special epuipment I need to buy? What do I do?
(Like I said, I'm really new to this.)

All you need is a reversing ring (it's ~$10). It's a metal ring that has filter screws on both sides, essentially, a male-to-male coupler, so that you can have two lenses attached to each other, face-to-face. So, you need to know the filter sizes of the lenses you want to attach.

So, if you have the 18-55 kit lens (Φ58mm), and the 50mm f/1.8 II (Φ52mm), then you need a 58mm-52mm "macro coupling" ring. Or either a 52-52, or 58-58 and a step-up or step-down ring.