HELP! I have bought a reversing lens for my Nikon D5100. I can see the subject that I want to photograph but when I release the shutter, the camera takes the shot but there is no image recorded. Can anyone provide any help please?
You have to be in manual mode to reverse lens with Nikon DSLRs, so make sure of that. You also need TONS of light for it to work well, the more the better. Also, I'm assuming you are using your kit lens or something similar? There is a small slider at the bottom of that that, when the lens is on the camera correctly, it controls aperture. With reverse lensing, you're going to have to hold that open yourself. The camera migh say you're set to f/2 but its not the case in reverse lensing. I have an old kit lens I shoot these kinds of pics with, and I literally tape the aperture slider down so I don't have to hold it. :) If you have a prime lens with a locking aperture ring, that'll work better. If not, you can totally do it, just be prepared for a sore finger. :). Good luck!
P.S. Reverse lensing is one of my favorite types of shooting - I have several pictures on my project and in my Flickr, so check them out! I might have more info there re: shooting, settings, etc. The reverse lens groups on Flickr have tons of good info too. :)
@beautifulthing thanks for your reply but I'd already done all of that, including wedging open the aperture slide with a small piece of card. The lens is the kit 18-55mm AF-S Nikkor lens. The wedged aperture slide lets in considerably more light, but the camera still records black images. I've looked at a stack of tutorials for this on the internet and the only things that I don't have is an extension tube (which some say helps) and I'm not able to set the aperture to anything higher than f/5.6.
@doorknee71 Hmm. When you're reverse lensing, setting the aperture on a Nikon does nothing. Once the lens is reversed the camera is no longer controlling it. You can dial in an f/5.6, but the camera isn't talking to the slider, so no effect. Make sure your shutter speed is good and also your ISO. What you'll need for both might vary.
Shooting with extension tubes and shooting with a reversed lens are two different means to the same end. You wouldn't use them together, at least, not in my experience. :)
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Shooting with extension tubes and shooting with a reversed lens are two different means to the same end. You wouldn't use them together, at least, not in my experience. :)