Woody's diopter and Nikon 60 mm

(This issue started in the photos forums and since its still unclear to me I wanted to continue it here)

As I understand from the answers I got, the Woody's reduced the minimum focus distance by several inches with the 60mm.

But the 60mm is focusing very close to the port, sometimes I almost touch the subject with my port, so how much effect the Woody's diopter have?

Also in other threads its was mentions that there is no use in closeups diopters with that lens, so what is different with the Woody's diopter.

I'll be happy to see shots that demonstrate the capacities of the Woody's diopter with that lens (before & after)

The diopter is still a magifying glass so you will get some increase in magnification with the 60mm. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't my subject any closer than the 60mm can already focus - tough to light a subject 1/2" from the port, and easy to squish it! Diopters give much more effective magnification with longer lenses for the reasons that you suggest.

A dioptre shortens the effective focal length of a lens.

Focussing is dependent upon positioning the lens the correct distance away from the image plane. At infinity this back-focus distance is at the minimum for the lens and usually equals the focal length. For closer subjects the lens to image plane distance must be increased.

Therefore if your lens is 60mm and is racked out to allow sharp focus at a certain distance from the front of the lens and then you add a dioptre, the resulting shorter focal length means that the back-focus relative to it is greater meaning you can move closer. That is to say you have effectively swapped a 60m for maybe say a 40mm lens. It still fits in the same lend port.

Is everyone still awake?

Off to T&C tomorrow. If I can remember to do it, I'll shoot some 60mm "with and without" the diopter shots and post them on my return. I'll make a note of the approximate MFD differences as well.

Kasey your point is well taken on the 60mm but it also fits the 105mm and with the extra working distance, it's nice to pop a Woody's on and move in.

Rand

Whoever is telling you that you cannot use Woody's diopter with a 60 at full magnification is wrong. I used it every day last month in Indonesia. Most of the animals worth shooting were small enough that you needed some extra magnification. All of these were taken at full magnification with a 60mm macro lens and a Woody diopter. Never have any problems with bumping into the glass. I have been using it for a few years this way with zero problems. The only issue with lighting is that you have to pull the strobes in close to the port.

Joe

Here's a couple more for you to view.

Joe

Wow! These are terrific Joe.

Woody?! WOODY?!?! Where are you......

I called Nexus yesterday, Woody answered the phone.... =D

In my experience using a diopter with the 60mm with film slrs is where the problem lies, since you would need to get too close to the subject making lighting and other issues a problem. The 105 macro has always been the best option to add covnerters and diopters (with film 35mm) because of the added working distance.

Since the 60 = 90 more or less in digital you can treat it as a 105 in film equivalent, hence using the diopter works just fine.

Mauricio

Joe, great examples, thank's (all) for the info.

I used Woody's diopter on my Subal N90 housing with the 60mm all the time. I simply never had any issues with hitting the glass. Maybe it's the port length. The Subal FP-60 port allows the lens to just come up to within a fraction of an incy to the glass. This allows you a little more freedom to add a push on diopter and not hit the glass. However, it may be possible that other port lengths at full magnification have a larger gap between the front of the lens and the glass, reducing your options for a push-on diopter.

Joe

Those are certainly persuasive shots, Joe.

I find one problem of very small camera to subject distances is that the light from the flash tends to go across the subject rather than light it from the front. Most of your shots don't show this problem at all (the Croc-fish eye does a little). What stobes and strobe positioning are you using with this setup? I wanna copy!

Alex

In my experience using a diopter with the 60mm with film slrs is where the problem lies, since you would need to get too close to the subject making lighting and other issues a problem. The  105 macro has always been the best option to add covnerters and diopters (with film 35mm) because of the added working distance.

Since the 60 = 90 more or less in digital you can treat it as a 105 in film equivalent, hence using the diopter works just fine.

 

 

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Mauricio,

I know this is an old thread but was just going through it.

Is this correct? The focal length of the lens, 60 mm, should be the same whether it's used with a 35mm film SLR or 24x16 mm CCD digital camera (with 1.5x crop factor). It's just that with the latter, the image is cropped so the equivalent field of view is that of a 90 mm lens. Thus the distance from the lens to the subject using a 60 mm with a film vs a digital SLR with 24/16mm CCD should be the same, therefore using a diopter with the 60mm/digital camera will still mean the subject is too close?

Anyone any ideas?

Yes, you should be right. The working distance should not change. If you have or can get the 105 I think it is a better choice for using with a diopter. Same magnification but a longer working distance. The reduction in working distance with adding a diopter doesn't bring your subject as close to the lens as a diopter on the 60 does.

When using a Nexus Wet Lens (also known as a woody) with the 60, very little diopter benefit is able to be uitilized due to working distance issues. The lens still offers the benefit of refractive magnification, which increases reproduction.