Category Archives: Macro

Getting up close.

Leica SL2-S and macro photography using Leica M lenses – Part II

Leica, Macro, Photographs

Proof of concept.

For an index of all Leica-related articles click here.

In Part I I detailed the hardware requirements to use an ancient Leica Bellows II for the M mount with a 135mm Elmar lens head and a variety of extension tubes, all used with an LED ring light.

I just ran a first test, using a pine cone as the subject.

Here’s the setting:



The LED light is some 24″ from the pine cone.

The Leica SL2-S’s exposure mode was set to Manual so that the same exposure would be used for the multiple images required for focus stacking in Helicon Focus. I set the LED ring light to maximum brightness and, after establishing critical focus at f/4 on the base of the pine cone using the handy magnification feature of the camera’s EVF, I proceeded to take 17 images of the pine cone. The focus for each was varied a small amount using the secondary rack and pinion rail of the Focusing Bellows II. This has a handy tightening lever which was set part way to prevent the lens assembly from drifting on the lower rack. While the sweet spot for the 135mm Elmar if f/8 to f/11 I used the maximum aperture of f/4. This would constitute a critical test of the focus stacking software. The shutter speed was 1/250th and IBIS was turned on. ISO was 2200. Though I used Auto ISO it is better practice to use manual ISO to ensure constant exposure across the range of constituent images.

The images were imported to Helicon Focus (v 9.0.2) and combined into one image, sharp overall.

Here is the result in LR Classic, top left, followed by the 17 constituent images:



The images and result in LRc.

Here is the final result.




Click the image for a larger version.

Check the large version and you can see that my focus on the base of the cone was incorrect, denying optimum results from Helicon Focus, but as a proof of concept for the rig and the application this is a promising start.

How to change focus when taking multiple images for focus stacking:

Changing focus using the extension of the focusing bellows is decidedly sub-par. A minuscule change in the bellows extension results in a large change in the plane of focus. By contrast using the lower rack of the Focusing Bellows II to move the camera/bellows/lens assembly nearer to – or further from – the subject is relatively insensitive to the change in the plane of focus. As an example, a subject depth of one inch at life size may require three to four dozen changes in the position of the camera, meaning three to four dozen exposures, easily done with the lower rack, where changes of as little as one millimeter are easy to accomplish. This is virtually impossible to achieve using the variable extension of the bellows itself.

If you are using a bellows without a lower focus rack, Novoflex makes one but as with most of their products the pricing is plain silly. The sole advantage I can see is that the rack range is 14.8″, which is large. Instead, check eBay searching for ‘Macro Focusing Rack’ and you will find many choices for under $50. But better yet spring for a Leitz Focusing Bellows II and experience the ne plus ultra of German mechanical engineering for a modest outlay.

Leica SL2-S and macro photography using Leica M lenses – Part I

Leica, Macro

The ancient and the new.

For an index of all Leica-related articles click here.

The goal:

Having resolved to do some serious macro work in the studio, I ruminated on how to effectively use my hardware resources. The idea of going with an AF L mount macro lens was discarded as being too costly for a few snaps. An alternative approach using either a Leica 100mm f/4 Macro-R lens, either in a focusing mount or in the lens head version + bellows was also too costly, with a likely investment of $500 and up, including a R-to-L adapter.

The hardware:

Then it struck me that my Leitz 135mm f/4 Elmar from the mid-1960s has a removable lens head which can be easily installed on a focusing bellows and the bellows, with a Leica M bayonet on the rear, will fit into Leica M-to-L adapter. I don’t need AF or auto-aperture in this application as the magnification capability of the SL2-S’s EVF is very accurate for manual focusing and the EVF screen’s brightness automatically adjusts regardless of the aperture dialed in. Further, the simple 4-element design of the Elmar is known to be a sound choice for macro work, performing well in the close-up range.

Leitz made a large range of close up and reflex box tools for both the screw and bayonet mount Leica bodies, as best illustrated in this Visoflex III table of the period. The Visoflex was a simple, if rather clunky, mirror box, converting an M or Barnack body to single lens reflex use:



No shortage of options.

The 135mm Tele-Elmar lens head illustrated above has a slimmer optical unit barrel than the earlier 135mm Elmar, whereas the thicker barrel of the Elmar dictates use of an adapter, so I first procured the adapter #16472 ($25, not shown above) to fit the lens to the bellows, then added two extension tubes for really close work, numbered #16471 ($29). These can be stacked – the thread diameter is 33.8mm, smaller than the 39.0mm Leica Thread Mount. A pristine Bellows II was added, in mint condition, in its original box with instructions, no less, for $77. The bellows came with the 16558 front adapter.

The Leitz Focusing Bellows II assembly:



The Leitz Focusing Bellows II assembly.

This bellows is a standout because not only does it provide bellows focusing, with a maximum extension of 97.0mm, it has a separate rack and pinion drive to move the whole assembly back and forth. That drive travels up to 25mm. This is a feature missing from both the earlier Bellows I (though that model does extend to 135mm and a hard to find separate focusing rack was made). The separate rack means you can adjust focus without changing the reproduction ratio by moving the whole camera/bellows/lens/ring light assembly to and fro. Some Nikon bellows also had this killer feature (the PB-4 which added tilt and shift and the PB-6 are examples), making sizing and focusing a breeze. The Leica Bellows R also includes a lower rack.

With 97.0mm of bellows extension and 29.8mm more from the two 16471 extension tubes (they can be stacked and are very robust, as is the whole assembly) I have a total extension which can deliver life size images with the 135mm Elmar. The 135mm focal length is especially handy as it means a greater subject-to-lens distance making for ease of illumination. For illumination I bought this inexpensive LED ring light for all of $31 plus a 39-49mm filter thread adapter as the Leitz lens’s filter thread is 39mm in diameter and no such adapter comes with the ring light. This added $10 to the cost. The ring light is not as bright as a ring flash but much easier to work with, as it delivers continuous lighting, and the SL2-S’s IBIS will take care of any camera shake.

Adapters required:

(a) For the lens head on the Focusing Bellows:



Lens adapters for use with the Focusing Bellows II, which comes with #16558.

(b) For the Focusing Bellows on the M-to-L adapter on the SL2-S body:



Laina 16mm Leica M-to-M extension tube.

This adapter cost $75 on eBay all the way from China and is required for one simple reason – the Focusing Bellows II will not mount directly on the Leica M-to-L adapter as the focusing rail protrudes too far back, interfering with the body. This 16mm extension tube permits mounting of the Focusing Bellows on the Leica M-to-L adapter mounted on the camera body. It’s not cheap but is made up to Leica quality standards.

Reproduction ranges:

These data will convey the exceptional flexibility of the combination(s) possible with the 135mm Elmar/16mm extension tube/Focusing Bellows/16471 extension tubes. Reproduction ratios are shown, so 1.0x is life size, 0.5x is half-life size and so on:

  • 135mm Elmar in RF focusing mount + 16mm extension tube – 0.06x to 0.25x
  • 135mm Elmar lens head + 16mm extension tube + Focusing Bellows – Infinity to 0.6x
  • 135mm Elmar lens head + 16mm extension tube + one 16471 extension tube + Focusing Bellows – 0.17x to 0.8x
  • 135mm Elmar lens head + 16mm extension tube + two 16471 extension tubes + Focusing Bellows – 0.4x to 1.0x

Stated differently these various combinations span a focus range from infinity to life size.

Lighting:

The LED light is made by JJC, the same company which made the excellent film scanning device I used with the Nikon D800 to make high quality scans of my films and slides:



Attached to the 75mm Ultron using the 49mm adapter.

The ring light ($31) comes with a host of different filter thread diameter adapters (49/52/55/58/62/67mm – each slips into the rear of the unit with a tight and satisfying ‘click’) and uses four AA batteries, one in each ‘wing’. It has adjustable lighting power using the rotary On/Off switch. I note that there is also provision for a 9 volt DC power supply through the provided socket, but no transformer is included. In practice using disposable or rechargeable batteries means one fewer cable to trip on. The light is well made and with batteries inserted weighs in at just 7.95ozs/225grams, so it will not tax the lens and body. An additional 49mm to 39mm step up/down ring is attached to fit the LED light to the 39mm filter thread of the 135mm Elmar optical unit – $10.



The adapters slide in and are held very securely.

The assembled outfit:

The number of adapters notwithstanding the whole assembly is exceptionally rigid with no play or wobble to be found.



SL2-S body/M-to-L adapter/16mm M-to-M extension tube/Focusing Bellows II/16558 adapter ring/two 16471 extension tubes/16472 135mm Elmar adapter/135mm Elmar lens head/39-46mm step up ring/LED ring light.

The minimum bellows extension is 53mm, as shown below.



Showing the minimum permissible bellows extension.

Fully collapsed the bellows has a 48mm extension so only 5mm is sacrificed with this combination.

The 16mm M-to-M extension tube comes with engraved pits for 6-bit coding. I have coded it ‘001001’ for the 135mm Tele-Emarit which works well with the Elmar.



The 16mm extension tube 6-bit coded.

Cost:

My total investment is $255 and most of this hardware is easily resold at cost upon project completion. The Leitz bellows and adapter rings for the lens head are abundantly available on eBay, which offers a veritable cornucopia of choice despite the fact that the Leitz components are mostly 60 or so years old. All these parts are inexpensive and you will not find better mechanical engineering than existed in 1960s Leitz hardware.

The Bellows II in use:

It’s impossible to convey just how well engineered the Bellows II is. Both rack-and-pinion drives are beyond smooth with zero backlash and such is the rigidity of the design that nothing wobbles or shakes. German mechanical engineering at its finest.

Focus stacking:

Using the magnification feature of the SL2-S to focus the 135mm Elmar in macro mode is very simple and it’s child’s play to nail focus on a flat subject perpendicular to the camera. But most subjects are anything but flat and the very narrow depth-of-field in the macro range dictates the use of multiple exposures, differently focused, with the images combined in the excellent Helicon Focus application, which can be used as a plugin with Lightroom Classic. Since I wrote that piece in 2009 Helicon has adopted a subscription model (sigh!) but remains the breed standard and is recommended without reservations. The lower rack-and-pinion stage of the Bellows II makes changing focus/camera-to-subject distances very easy between shots. If you are using a regular macro lens then there is a large selection of focusing rails available at all price points.

Manual exposure is used to avoid density changes from image to image.

In Part II I will publish a ‘proof of concept’ result.

Note: Use on a digital Leica M body:

This kit can be fitted to a Leica M digital body and focused using Live View. However, you must use an M-to-M adapter ring between the rear of the Focusing Bellows II and the camera body. Fail to do so an the rear bellows plate will block the lens release button making removal of the bellows from the camera impossible without dismantling the bellows.

Helicon Focus – improved

Macro, Software

Even better

When I first wrote about Helicon Focus some five months ago, an improved Mac version was “….2 weeks away” – the developer’s words, not mine.

Helicon Focus (mine is the ‘Pro’ version) allows you to stitch together a collection of differentially focused images, taking the sharp zones from each to make an overall sharp composite with seemingly vast depth of field.

Well, my version (3.79) has just been updated to 4.0.1 and it does a better job on really tough images.

Here’s the rendering of the 10 images of the silk flower I originally used to show what this magic application can do:


A composite of ten images. 5D, 100mm macro at f/2.8. Helicon Focus Pro Version 3.79

The flower was both very close to the image plane in the camera and at an acute angle thereto.

And here is the composite image assembled from the same ten original images using 4.0.1:


The composite image assembled with Helicon Focus Pro 4.0.1

The differences are clear – in fact the developer used my images to test the new version after I had submitted them for review.

Congratulations to Danylo and his team – it was not for nothing that this journal named Helicon Focus the best application of 2008. And it was worth the wait!

Anyone using the best in digital gear – full frame or medium format – involved in industrial or close-up photography should have this application on his Mac or PC. That and a sturdy tripod to make sure the camera does not move between exposures. Your clients will love you.

Software of the Year

Macro, Software

A run away winner.

Until a fellow photographer pointed me to the inspired application known as Helicon Focus this award would easily have gone to Adobe’s Lightroom. Having switched from the slowness and bugginess of Aperture to the logical, modal work flow of Lightroom, I remain delighted with that application’s great user interface and with the fact that one application provides processing, digital file management, printing, web and book output, and it gets better with each new release. Best of all, except for some sluggishness in the adjustment brush in LR 2, which Adobe is working on, the application flies on just about any computer made in the past 5 years. Ever said that of Apple’s offerings? Best of all is the fact that LR has made visits to Photoshop increasingly rare and, hopefully in some future version, the horror that is Photoshop’s interface can be well and truly forgotten. Meaning that Adobe will add perspective correction to LR, the only significant feature missing for this photographer.

But my new found interest in macro and my ‘discovery’ of Helicon Focus (thanks to a fellow photographer) leave me in no doubt that is is far and away the most innovative and well engineered application I have learned in 2008. It simply opens up the world of close-focus and macro to heretofore impossible pictures. The fact that it’s been around for several years only speaks to the maker’s poor marketing – they should be telling the world about this brilliant piece of programming.

Here’s the sort of subject Helicon Focus excels at – I took several differently focused pictures and combined these into one sharp whole, using Helicon.


5D, 100mm Canon Macro, ring flash, 1/60, f/22, ISO 100, tripod. Composite of four pictures. Click the picture for the Helicon site.

The big print hanging at home is, simply stated, a show stopper. The starfish pops off the surface of what is a pretty low key print. Helicon Focus has taken close-ups out of the laboratory and made them accessible to all, whether your subject is seen through a microscope or a very long lens with limited depth of field, no matter the aperture. With the 100mm Canon Macro the whole process is a dream. Add a ring flash to provide some relief in the shadows and you have a very powerful tool set. Very well done Danylo and the whole team. I have read about like functionality in Photoshop CS4 and it’s so poorly implemented and so complex, I doubt anyone at Helicon is losing sleep, especially when you compare prices.

Helicon Focus is my pick for Software of the Year.

There’s a close runner up for the Software of the Year award and that is Bruji’s suite of database products.


Click the picture for Bruji’s web site

I use DVDpedia for movies and Bookpedia for my photography books – click in the right hand column and you will see the nice, clean web output these cataloging tools generate. These applications work well on the Mac but just sing on the iPhone; update something on the Mac and the iPhone will sync the changes when asked, if it is in wi-fi range of your Mac. It works perfectly every time and you can take your database of movies and books with you wherever you take your iPhone. Simple, superbly supported by an enthusiastic team and far better than the slow, clunky Delicious Library which I used earlier – an application that puts looks before speed. There’s something very warming about emailing for help and getting a quick, enthusiastic response from one of the Bruji developers. An experience you will never have with Adobe, Apple or Microsoft. Well done, Bruji!

The 400mm close-up lens

Macro, Technique

Helicon to the rescue.

Go to Helicon’s web site and you will, understandably, see many examples of the use of this application in insect photography. That’s a natural given the miniscule depth of field for such small subjects in extreme close-up.

But how about at the other end of the spectrum, when used with really long lenses?

Well, it turns out Helicon Focus is every bit as capable.

In the following example I was taking snaps of the maple tree, in full fall color, at a very close distance (maybe 15 feet) using the 400mm lens at maximum aperture. This renders the background as a complete blur, but also very much restricts depth of focus in the subject, as this picture discloses:


Maple leaves. 5D, 400mm ‘L’, 1/500, f/5.6, ISO 250

I took nine images with the lens on manual focus focusing through the depth of the subject. Helicon refused to combine these, so I took out the first and last (which, on closer examination, had nothing sharp anywhere) and tried again. Success.


Composite of seven images using Helicon Focus. Manual exposure setting.

Why not simply close down the aperture and take one snap? First, that would dictate a very slow shutter speed with the attendant risk of camera shake even though the camera was mounted on a solid tripod. Second, there’s no guarantee at these short distances that everything would, in fact, be sharp, as 400mm lenses have little depth of field at any aperture, and depth-of-field preview in SLRs is near useless at small apertures. The Helicon approach generates an image which simply pops from the background while in no way changing the blur. Formerly blurred twigs now no longer detract from the image and the result is dramatic and natural looking.

Snags? Well, your subject has to be stationary, you must use a tripod and on close examinaton you can see some ghosting here and there:


Detail of ‘ghosting’ in the combined image

But when you realize that this enlargement is consonant with a print size of 40″ x 30″ and the effect is not objectionable, it’s something I can easily live with when balanced against the advantages of the technique. And who knows? When Danylo Kozub and his fellow geniuses at Helicon release the much awaited updated Mac version maybe even this minor issue will be resolved?

So Helicon is not just for the macro and microscope photographers amongst us.