Or how to succeed without really trying with a world class camera system!
Ohh, a pretty lead in tease image!
Today was gallery day for me. I really wanted to go out and shoot but decided that I needed to sit and be open. So… I dug out my high speed water drop kit and setup on my work table and decided that today I would test out my Fuji X Pro 1 and my Olympus OMD for water drops. This then is the X Pro 1 post!
First, I can hear you asking, “How can you possibly use the X Pro 1 for water drops?”, well the answer is both frightening and simple at the same time! I do several types of photography where the camera in use must have an electronic shutter release so that I can hook the camera up to a remote controller, like a Lightning Trigger or a Time Machine for water drops. But water drops really do not need to be triggered by the Time Machine since the exposure is about a second long to enable the machine to trigger the timed water drops generated for the collision, the size of the drops, the distance between them, the shutter release and lastly the strobes! This is all done in the following order:
- User pushes fire button.
- Camera opens the shutter for around 1 second.
- Time machine drops the first drop at XXX size.
- Time machine Drops the second drop at XXX size.
- Time Machine waits a programmed delay.
- Time Machine fires two external Canon 580 EX2 strobes set at 1/64 power.
Thats it! So, while sitting there taking about 600 OMD images of water drops and cursing the fact that the only macro lens I currently have is the 12mm to 50mm macro, I asked myself: “Hey Mark! Why dont you get out the X Pro 1 and put on the 60mm macro and set it up for water drops and simply push your mechanical shutter release at the same time you push the Time Machines fire button?”. WOW, I was amazed by the simplicity of this thought and immediately got out the X and setup! The rest is history!
Fuji X Pro 1 with the 35mm w/Canon 500D. Egg cup with green water and the time machine dripper with red water. Black backdrop.
Boat Drinks! Fuji X Pro 1 with the 35mm w/Canon 500D. Egg cup with green water and the time machine dripper with red water. Black backdrop.
Fuji X Pro 1 with the with 35mm w/Canon 500D. Egg cup with green water and the time machine dripper with red water. Black backdrop.
“Lizardo” Fuji X Pro 1 with the Fuji 60mm macro lens attached.
Now, I do have to tell you that I encountered a MAJOR issue with the Fuji 60mm Macro. Since this technique uses multiple flashes to light and freeze the water drops, I discovered that the lens is VERY PRONE to LENS FLAIR! ANY light that makes it into the objective from ANY angle reguardless of the placement of the flashes, even room lights will cause a flair in the direct center of the image EACH AND EVERY TIME! This was VERY FRUSTRATING and took about an hour to overcome with CAREFUL flash placement, darkening of the room and shading the back of the camera to keep stray light from even coming into the gallery windows in the front! I have to tell you that this was a major pain in the butt! I can see another lens in my future to shoot macro with. I even tried my CV 75mm f/1.8 but couldnt get close enough to the water drop to get a full frame image with a Canon 500d attached. So as you can see, the first 3 images were taken with the Fuji 35mm with a Canon 500D +2 diopter filter attached. Even so this is as close as I could get. The last image is with the 60mm macro.
Any suggestions for other macro lenses out there??
PLEASE??
Please let me know what you think! The lens aside, you can see that the camera worked great for the images and I will be using it for this again provided that I find a more macro/flash friendly lens!
Mark Hilliard Atelier's Blog 
Pingback: Fuji X Pro 1 for High Speed Water drops Anyone? « Mark Hilliard Atelier | Fujifilm X Series | Scoop.it
Pingback: Fuji X Pro 1 for High Speed Water drops Anyone? | Mark Hilliard | Fuji X-Pro1 | Scoop.it
You could try a Leica 90mm Elmar-M F4 Macro with the 500D attached.
It is a bit pricey but is VERY small and has outstanding optical quaility.
I use it mostly as a tele on my X-Pro1. (Plus I use the Fuji 18mm, 35mm, 60mm and the tiny Rokinon Fisheye X-Mount)
Best reagrds, Ingo
Thanks Fotoingo! The funny thing is that I was looking at that lens last night! It does look like a nice lens and you are correct it is very small! On the other hand I have that really nice CV 75mm f/1.8 which I really like but with the addition of the Canon 500D it still cannot get close enough. I am currently looking for the 10mm leica extension tube M to M (Leica OUFRO/16469) and found several for sale. I think that I will try one of these with the 500D on the CV 75mm first. I really like that Leica 90mm f/4 macro though….
I REALLY appreciate you getting back to me about the 90mm! It looks like a great lens!
You´re welcome 😉
Btw I ordered the Leica M to X-Mount Helicoid Adapter a while back and it should arrive here in some days. On my Nex-5n it worked WONDERS with my Leica lenses, so I guess it should work the same way with the Fuji.
Those adapters are like normal Leica to X-Mount adapters BUT you can turn the adapter itself and it extends then. Not 10mm like the extension ring mentioned by you but rather 4-8mm.
The nice thing is… You can use it as a normal adapter and only turn it when you want to get closer. You dont need the 500d to carry with you and dont need to put on the 10mm extension either.
I REALLY liked that perfect solution on my Nex.
Cant wait for the adapter to arrive 😉
Regards, Ingo
Wow, that sounds nice! Do you have a web site for it? I should go take a look!
I bought this one here :
http://www.ebay.de/itm/160873879500
Before that I bought on from a seller named “adplo” but you couldnt focus to infinity with that so I send it back.
I can send you a message if the new one works fine, if you want.
Other than that there a more expensive ones on ebay from Kipon for example but the one i used on the Nex was a cheap one too and it worked just fine .
If the new one is faulty too I will go for the Kipon one or the one from Hawks_factory .
Regarding the Adapter itself :
The magnification factor depends on the lens you use.
The smaller the focal length the closer you can focus.
So with a 24mm you can focus as close as some centimeters (nearly touching the front lens element), with a 35 or 50 mm you can focus till 30 centimeters or so and with a tele you gain only some centimeters.
But add your 75mm with the helicoid and the 500d and you will see an improvement for sure.
For me it works best with my 35mm and 50mm lenses.
Regards,
Ingo
OK, thanks. I ordered this one: M to X-Mount Helicoid Adapter from amazon for $78 tonight. It is in stock and will be here on Wednesday. I also got the 10mm tube from Ebay which is the Leica but is brand new. Perhaps I can stack them!
Please let me know how the new one you got from Ebay works.
Hey I got the Rainbow M to X-Mount Helicoid Adapter and while it seems to be built very well and does focus at infinity, the lens has a lot of movement in the helicoid with it extended any amount at all. This means that the projected image on the sensor is not square with the lens mount. You can actually move everything up/down and left/right.
I hope that you have better results. Please let me know what you got and how it works.
Hey again !
My helicoid arrived some days ago and it seems to be okay.
The adapter has only minor play and seems quite stable.
Focussing to infinity works also !
Maybe you should try it too.
Regards.
Ingo
OK heres a suggestion which may not cost much.
Look for a 2nd hand Tamron SP2 90mm macro. Does not matter which fit provided that you buy one with an aperture ring. It will go 1:1 on FF so should be no problem for this application. Then get a matching adaptor to the fuji.
The tamron lens is opticallly good. The barrel is polycarbonate so the assembly is light and should not be too much weight to hang off the front of the camera.
(an alternative would be a 150mm macro which should have a tripod collar but I think this would bbe more expensive.)
Of course one of the problems that has to be worked with is depth of field and angle of camera to subject.
Now if you want to be adventurous 🙂 see if you can finds a nikon version lens. and then get the kipon tilt adaptor. It not stunning in that tlt settings are not scaled and repeatable. But for static setupsd shoulf be interesting.
(I am exprimenting now with the tilt adaptor and fuji. but not macro. The kipon shift is also interesting. I have one of these coupled with a voigtlander 20mm)
Thanks so much Graham! Others have also suggested the Nikon 105mm macro as well. I happen to have a CV 75mm f/1.8 already and just located 5mm and and 10mm extension tubes and purchased them. With 15mm of extension plus the +2 Diopter filter this just might be enough…. We will see.
Pingback: A “drunk” Fuji X-E1 review :) | Fuji Rumors
Pingback: Fuji X Pro 1 for High Speed Water drops Anyone? | Thoughts about the new Fuji X Pro-1 | Scoop.it
Pingback: Fuji X Pro 1 for High Speed Water drops Anyone? | fujifilm x-pro1 | Scoop.it