Nikon Rumors Forum » Topic: DIY Macro from kit lens, via Petapixel

NSXType-R on "DIY Macro from kit lens, via Petapixel"

NSXType-R — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:28:13 +0000

Wow, those are great results for just removing a front element. I wonder if it still autofocuses "properly". With the 18-55, the front element is the element you're partly moving when you try to focus, so there may be some problems there.

But for those of you guys with extra 18-55 lenses lying around, I don't see why not.

msmoto on "DIY Macro from kit lens, via Petapixel"

msmoto — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:22:13 +0000

@ shawnino

Here is the thread where I "hack" a 10.5mm fisheye...

http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=5507

I think it is fun to play with things like the removal of the front element of the Canon lens. But, for a real macro, I saw one on eBay, a 60mm Nikkor for less than USD $200. And, i use a 50mm f/1.4 reversed or the 85mm f/1.8 seems to work good as a macro. Lots of options....

spraynpray on "DIY Macro from kit lens, via Petapixel"

spraynpray — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 09:30:10 +0000

If you take a look at the blog there, you can see how it is done for yourself - it is truly horrible!

Gabbb on "DIY Macro from kit lens, via Petapixel"

Gabbb — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 09:05:32 +0000

In terms of hacking a kit lens I cannot help you.
If you have the funds, why not just buy a micro 40 DX? That's a pretty lightweight lens and I'm fairly sure it would be much better than anything DIY possible with the kit lens. Knowing the 18-55 I think you would need a lot of modifications, in it's default setting it's optimized for mid distance focusing, when you focus to the defaultly available maximum magnification the quality is already sub par. Also how do you modify something that's made of "cheap" plastic.

shawnino on "DIY Macro from kit lens, via Petapixel"

shawnino — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:44:39 +0000

I found a thread on NR about making/modifying gear:
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=1220

and there's another thread where msmoto hacks a beautiful fisheye as I recall but I can't find it.

I won't link to it lest somebody gets mad, but the lead item on Petapixel at the moment is a breathtakingly simple piece by Juha Loukola about turning a kit lens into a macro lens by removing the front element... "and that's all".

Confession: I dropped out of second-year Optics twice.

Questions: Is it really that simple? Is it worth doing? Do I lose AF? Do I have any focusing flexibility left at all? Pluses? Minuses?

I'm pretty sure I can find a perfectly functional kit lens with cruddy front element pretty cheap.

I do love my 200mm f/4 Nikkor Micro, but I'd be very much interested in a "travel" macro lens that weighs less. The 200mm weighs 2.61 lbs. A decapitated 18-55mm kit lens would be less than 7 ounces.

Opinions?