Nikkor 28-85mm f/3.5~4.5 ai-s

[John Geerts]

In fairness, John, your image stretched the limitations of any lens.

Yes and No.  In my style of Photography it is a normal shot (back light and macro).   It all depends on the use you have for a lens.  Good to hear and see it works very well for your kind of work.

[JKoerner007]

Yes and No.  In my style of Photography it is a normal shot (back light and macro).   It all depends on the use you have for a lens.  Good to hear and see it works very well for your kind of work.

Good point, John. Thanks.

[JKoerner007]

Another scorpion shot taken with my previous 28-85 AI-S:


California Common Scorpion by John A. Koerner II, on Flickr

2-image stack. Focused on mouthparts, stinger, blended.

[JKoerner007]

Took some reverse/super-macro shots with the new AI-S 28-85mm. Used another Phidippus adumbratus ♀ as a model—at various focal lengths—for various degrees of magnification.

Not the best shots I've ever taken, but pretty pleased with the results:

[JKoerner007]

None of these are stacked, just single images taken @ f/16-22, so diffraction was present.

Missed the focus on the last, getting the outer eye hairs rather than the central eye, but the light is nice. It was taken zoomed all the way into 28mm (2.9x magnification on my D500 ... or ~ a 5.1x equivalent on a FF).

[Akira]

Amazing captures!  Thanks for sharing!  Did you shoot them with the reversed zoom handheld?

[JKoerner007]

Amazing captures!  Thanks for sharing!  Did you shoot them with the reversed zoom handheld?

Thank you

As for the details, no, I rarely shoot hand-held.

These were taken with a D500 + SB700 Flash, a Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket (used to elevate the flash, and situate a bit forward, for lens clearance), and a Vello FlexFrame Softbox Diffuser to soften the light.

Thanks for looking ...

[Akira]

Thanks for the technical details!

[JKoerner007]

Thanks for the technical details!

You bet

[JKoerner007]

Okay, I have had more time to mess around with my new "mint" 28-58 f/3.5~4.5 AI-S. My Impressions are as follows:

As a 28mm landscape lens, at infinity, it's only ... meh, so-so.

As an 85mm portrait lens, at mid-close distances, it's pretty nice.

In the 28m 1:4 Macro Mode, properly-oriented, it's pretty nice.

Here are some shots I have taken with the lens properly-oriented (all of these are at f/8, except Portrait 2, which was f/4):

[JKoerner007]

As a "super-macro" lens, reversed, all the previous macro images (several weeks ago, way up top) were shot at f/11 - f/22

Having shot at multiple other apertures with it, the best macro aperture, reversed, is f/8. (Retains the most vivid color + most pleasant bokeh.)

I will post some results to show the differences in bokeh, reversed.

The first image (below) is a 2-image stack of a small fly @ f/11. It is razor-sharp, but the diffraction ruins the bokeh.

The next 3 images are just random, single-image shots, taken @ f.8, to 1) show the incredibly-shallow DOF, 2) to underscore why stacking is necessary, and 3) to show how much better the bokeh is @ f/8 than f/11+.

The final 2 images are 4- to 8-image stacks taken @ f/8. One is at 2:1 the final is a 4mm spider taken at nearly 5:1.

By doing mini-stacks @ f/8, you get the best of both worlds: some appreciable DOF, but also the retained color and bokeh qualities.

[Jack Dahlgren]

How do you get the insects to stay still enough? Seems like I could never get that close to a fly.

[JKoerner007]

How do you get the insects to stay still enough? Seems like I could never get that close to a fly.

Trust me, they don't all hold still

Best time is in the morning, when it's light, but before the sun is actually out. It's colder then, so they're more likely to allow close approach. No shadow to cast over them either.

That will give you 25% to 75% "sit and stay" odds.

If you try to photograph them super-close, mid-day when it's warm ... and cast a shadow over them ... you have less than 5% chance.

Most spiders stay pretty still, especially those that are virtually blind in a web ... or ambush types that rely on camou.

[Jack Dahlgren]

Trust me, they don't all hold still

Best time is in the morning, when it's light, but before the sun is actually out. It's colder then, so they're more likely to allow close approach. No shadow to cast over them either.

That will give you 25% to 75% "sit and stay" odds.

If you try to photograph them super-close, mid-day when it's warm ... and cast a shadow over them ... you have less than 5% chance.

Most spiders stay pretty still, especially those that are virtually blind in a web ... or ambush types that rely on camou.

Guess flash is essential then.

[adutra]

Hi
I recently got this lens 28-85 mm AI-s, and it has an button with as orange line. Someone could tell me what is this button for?
Thank you for any help.
Alexandre