There are macro lenses and then there are microscopes. The Yasuhara Nanoha ($499.99) feels more like the latter. Yes, it mounts to a mirrorless camera, but its variable 4x to 5x magnification ratio means that it needs to almost touch its subject in order to bring it into focus, and there's no way to focus on distant objects. That certainly makes it a very specialized optic, but one that comes in at a price much lower than Canon's MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo SLR lens ($1,049). If you want to try your hand at extreme macro photography, considering adding it to your kit, but be mindful of its limitations.
DesignThe Nanoha isn't designed like a typical lens. Its front element is quite small, and is surrounded by a plastic bracket that houses three LED lights and a mini USB port to power them. The lights are necessary—the lens needs to be nearly touching the subject to properly focus, which effectively blocks ambient light. It measures 3.4 by 2.5 inches (HD) overall and weighs 12.7 ounces. It's available for Canon and Sony mirrorless cameras, as well as Micro Four Thirds models from Olympus and Panasonic.
The manual focus ring has a short throw, about 90 degrees, and has two markings—one for 4x magnification and one for 5x. There's also a physical aperture ring, which can be set to f/11, f/16, f/22, and f/32.
The included power bank is small, but it feels a little cheap. It's made of lightweight white plastic and requires two AA batteries for power. You'll need to find a way to secure the power bank to your camera if you don't want it dangling from a cable. I didn't use it much, instead opting for one I had on hand with an internal rechargeable battery. What would be really smart to include is a power bank with a shoe mount.
I worked with the Nanoha handheld, and even without a way to secure the USB power source to the lens, I didn't find it too awkward to use. I was shooting outdoors, and spent a good amount of time down low on the ground photographing ice crystals, fallen leaves, stones, lichens, and other subjects that I thought would be interesting when brought into close view. I probably should have been using a focus rail and a tripod, in which case a bit of gaffer tape would easily secure a USB battery to a tripod leg.
Image QualityNormally I test lens sharpness using an SFRPlus test chart and Imatest. But because the Nanoha can only focus very close, that isn't an option. Visual examination of photos shot in the field show that areas of an image that are in focus are quite crisp.
But getting focus right is challenging. There's very, very little depth when working with such a high magnification. Unless your subject is nearly flat, f/11 isn't a viable option without resorting to post-production methods like focus stacking. I found myself getting the best results in the field at f/22. I would have shot more at f/32 if the LED lights provided stronger illumination. As I was working handheld I wanted to keep the shutter speed fairly short—around 1/100-second was my goal—without pushing the ISO too high.
My test camera, the Sony Alpha NEX-6, is an older model, but one that does an excellent job at higher ISOs. Still, I found myself shooting at ISO 1600 or 3200, which is a bit further than I'd like to push the camera for macro work. A tripod and a remote shutter release would have gone a long way to let me keep the ISO down to a more reasonable level, and better utilize the minimum f/32 aperture for a greater depth of field.
I also wouldn't recommend this lens to capture moving subjects. If live insect photography is your thing, there are better options—but unless you add extension tubes or a bellows system, you'll be limited to 1:1 magnification with a traditional macro lens like the Zeiss Touit 2.8/50M or any of the multitude of old manual focus lenses that can be adapted to fit mirrorless cameras. With the Nanoha you need to be up close and personal with your subject, and give yourself some time to focus. Even with frame magnification, a standard feature on mirrorless cameras, I struggled to nail focus when setting up shots.
ConclusionsThe Yasuhara Nanoha has some limitations, simply based on its design. Most macro lenses let you focus on both close and distant subjects. To achieve its insane level of magnification, the Nanoha can only lock onto subjects that are close. The very short working distance means that the best subjects are inanimate ones. I found that the built-in LED lights go a long way to make it possible for photographers who are not highly experienced with extreme macro photography to capture interesting photos without investing in a ring light flash or an accessory like the Ray Flash. At $500, the Nanoha is a significant investment for many photographers, but it's worth the cost of entry if extreme macro photography interests you. The images that it is capable of capturing are otherworldly.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Source: Yasuhara Nanoha
No comments:
Post a Comment