Fotodiox Macro Reverse Adapter Compatible with 52mm Filter Thread to Nikon F Mount Cameras

When I bought this, there was limited information in the description, so I bought it thinking it isn't much money, and it could be returned if it didn't do what I hoped it would. Stuff I wish I was in the description when I bought it: This adapter allows you to mount a fast lens with a 52 mm filter thread backwards on your F mount camera. This must be used in full manual mode on dslr cameras. This worked as intended with our f1.8 35mm lens. This will be less useful with slow lenses, because there won't be enough light to find focus. It worked, but not well enough to try to get any pictures with the 55-200 lense at 55, and didn't work well at all at 200 (to dark to see focus). On our 55-200 zoom lens at least, the zoom ring works as a focus ring, making it so you can get perfect focus on a tripod without a macro mount or moving the tripod. A fast extending barrel zoom with an aperture ring might actually be better with this than a macro prime lens (other than the the manual metering issue many cameras will have with that arrangement). Old lenses might have convenient aperture rings, but modern lenses will require you to manually adjust aperture against minor spring tension. At first I thought I would jam the aperture open with something (delicately), but it turns out that you need to adjust aperture to get good shots handheld. This is because you need light to focus, and you need depth of field to get good macro shots of most stuff (the F1.8 35mm reversed and set to f1.8 doesn't have enough depth of field to put the top and bottom of the mint mark on a coin in focus at the same time). If this paragraph doesn't make sense to you, you are unlikely to be happy with this item. With our 35mm lens reversed, we get somewhere about 2:1 reproduction ratio. That is both awesome, and somewhat frustrating. It is frustrating in that since working distance is how you focus, you can't back up to get a bigger area in the shot. It appears that longer focal lengths give lower reproduction ratios and greater working distances. Still, the image quality we get is stellar (as good as the F1.8 35mm nikkor is capable of frontwards). Unlike the screw-on-the-front macro adapters, or diopter filters, etc, the image quality seems to be as good as the lens you use it with. So picture made with this are harder to make, but excellent quality is possible, not just "excellent for the price." I freaked out when it wouldn't come off of the lens. No worries. The proper procedure for using this is to install it onto the lens finger tight, then install the lens onto the camera. When you are done with it, REMOVE THE LENS first, then the adapter from the camera. This does not have an extremely tight fit to the camera body, and pressing the release button, it comes right off. Update (12/2013): Shortly after the original review back in 2010, I ended up installing this to an old underwater camera lens purchased at full retail (used) for $15. The underwater lens is awesome in that the glass is excellent for the price I paid, and the manual aperture adjustment is a knob that protrudes from the side of the lens body. It was only so inexpensive because no one uses the camera mount it is made for anymore. I highly encourage others to use the same trick. The best photos I've ever taken (ignoring the value of documenting family events)have been with this reversing ring and the $15 old underwater lens. This also avoids the problems some others have had (which I have not) of getting the ring stuck on a nice lens.

Fotodiox customer service has ALWAYS been fast, incredible and accommodating to me in the past. Delivery is fast! Not sure about all their products but they've only delivered good products for fair prices to me so far. I need to try even more of their items. I find it's very difficult to rely on ratings here for anything. This product is AWSUME! No, it isn't as good as having a dedicated macro lens but it's good in a pinch if you don't have lots of $ for a macro lens. Also, if weight's a factor it's great not to carry an extra lens all day just to get a couple macro shots here or there. It's very light, and made from metal, not plastic. I love it! I purchased the 52mm first because I have 2 prime lenses that can fit it. 50mm 1.8 D and 28mm 2.8 D. This system probably works best with faster wider aperture lenses as these. "I still need to try other sizes". It works great on both my old D70S and my D300. YOU MUST USE "M" manual setting on these both or you might get F error messages and no shots. I discovered a GREAT TIP to share! If you have "Live View" and use older lenses with the manual dial for f stops in back, "Non G Lenses", you can adjust and see the actual DOF, "depth of field" real time live before you shoot. However, your ISO, shutter speeds, and or possibly exposure settings may need to be experimented with because the camera's light meters wont work. Also, good light and a tripod are a must. Forget about focus. You must move the camera back and forth to focus on my primes. Example, a quarter 25c coin. With a 50mm 1.8 it focuses aprox 4 to 5 inches away. This same coin nearly fills the entire frame of my DX crop sensor on the D300. I honestly discovered some #s never seen before at the bottom edge of the Washington bust of a newer coin? No way can I see this with the naked eye. Hope this helps.

A simple, no nonsense reversing ring that does the job admirably - this design has been around 'forever' and long predates digital photography. You won't get auto-focus or auto-exposure with this ring and you won't even get aperture control for your Nikon DX lenses. But once you understand that this is a simple, all-manual adapter, it provides a lot more utility than the price would suggest. Long exposure times are the norm, as your lenses will probably default to fully stopped down to minimum aperture. Depth of field is also minimal (normally in fractions of a millimeter) which is to be expected with a lens working in 'reversed' mode. You will also probably have to bring your subject into focus by manually moving it towards/away from the camera - or as I found more useful - putting the camera on a table top tripod and sliding it towards/away from the subject. A little fiddly to work with when mounting the lens on the camera (hint - screw the ring onto the lens first, then attach to the camera, to remove I suggest unscrewing the lens from the mount first THEN removing the ring from the camera body). In the end though the creative possibilities of macro photography are endless and well worth the price of this well made unit.

Pros: -Cheap macro shots -Metal construction -Works perfectly with my D3100 and kit lens Cons: -Attaches to the camera almost too firmly. I suggest attaching the ring to the camera and then screwing your lens in; reverse the process for easier removal. -Can be difficult with the newer G lenses that don't have aperture rings. Bottom Line: I bought this product for use on my D3100. It's a pretty simple ring that does what it's supposed to. Mounts on the camera body and allows for screw on of a 50mm lens. Don't forget that you'll need to put the camera in manual mode, and if you have a G lens you'll need to open the aperture manually (using the lever on the lens mount) if you don't want 30" exposure times. I suggest using an older lens with a manual aperture ring if you want better control over the shot.

I got this because I wanted to do some macro photography but didn't want to buy a lens just for macro since any lens these days is so expensive (and I'm in medical school with student loans to the moon and back). For just ten bucks this simple little piece does the trick for what I need it to do. The images I've gotten so far are fairly high quality macro, not quite on the level of what a dedicated macro lens would capture but also not that far off either. Here's two images I got #1 (http://i.imgur.com/fUqwb6y.jpg) and #2 (http://i.imgur.com/NTyLKD2.jpg) using my Nikon "kit" lens that is 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. The only real limitation to this reverse adapter is that you have to manually do the aperture to get a good image, and by "manually" I don't mean only putting the camera in manual mode but also manually opening the aperture control lever with your finger or something else. The lenses I own have an aperture that has a spring inside of it so that it closes when the lens isn't mounted on the camera body, so when you flip the lens around and go to shoot macro the aperture is closed as far as it will go and there's not even close to enough light to get a decent picture. My Neanderthal way of fixing that was to wad up a little piece of paper and jam open the lever that controls the aperture, and although that's probably not the best thing to do to your lens I was very careful with it and it worked for me. Only problem with that method is that the depth of field becomes almost nothing when you jam the aperture open all the way. I know if I buy the aperture control adapter piece my problems will be solved, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. If that paragraph didn't make any sense to you, wait a while to buy this piece because you need to have at least a decent grasp of photography terms and methods to effectively take reverse macro pictures. Overall, a great product for the price and would highly recommend it for anybody wanting to try out some macro photography but not wanting to spend a fortune on a dedicated macro lens.

Why did you pick this product vs others?: Works for me , great product

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Well, I got Mount adapter 2 days back. Due to busy i thought trying that today.When i mount that ring,i felt little difficult to screw in. After that i mounted my 50 mm lens.When i switched on My Nikon D7000, its showing "F--" error.I think its a waste of money.If i want send it back, that will cast me the same product price for shipping. so, its a garbage for me. 02/17/2012: After reading comments on my review. I tried once again using manual mode. I got pics, but i need more light and more time to take pics. This is a good adapter for this price. I want to say people who is new to DSLR like me, take good care while keeping and taking out the Ring from the Camera. Fotodiox 52mm Filter Thread Lens, Macro Reverse Ring Camera Mount Adapter, for Nikon D1, D2, D3, D3x,D3s, D100, D200, D300, D300s, D700, D40, D40x, D50, D60, D70, D70s, D80, D90, D3000, D3100, D5000, D7000