Hey Everyone, Im really excited to get into scanning my negatives but Im having trouble finding a decent/not super expensive macro lens to use on my xt30. I have a Nikkor 50mm 1.4, I was wondering if putting a reverse ring on it would be adequate or is better to just spend the money and get an actual macro lens?
I was looking at a 55mm macro lens, would that focal length work for digitizing negatives?
Its not the focal length that is as important for macro as the maximum reproduction ratio. A true macro lens reaches 1:1 reproductions which pretty much means that the negative will take up the whole frame of your DSLR and still maintain focus ability. I can not speak for reverse mounting lenses as I haven’t tried it, but if you are planning on getting a macro lens, make sure it is 1:1.
If you plan on buying a lens, old macro lenses can be had for cheap, such as the Micro-nikkor 55mm f3.5 (which requires the pk-13 extension tube to focus to 1:1). These older lenses are often overlooked as they manual focus only, but for lots of macro work, that’s the primary mode of focusing.
Thank you!
I was actually looking at that Nikkor 55mm f3.5 or the 2.8. Is the extension tube ‘necessary’ or could I temporarily get away with just the lens for a while?
I mean, the extension tube is under $10 so i would just get it. or else you will not have 1:1 focusing ability.
Oh great. I didn’t realize they were so cheap. The ones I saw were close to $100. I’ll keep looking. Thank you
You will need a lens converter to mount a Nikon lens to a fuji body, not a lens extension tube. I use a K&O brand converter for an old nikon 105 macro lens on my xt1 and it works fine. It is very inexpensive.
I do have a converter because I like to shoot my old Nikon glass on my fuji. Are you saying I will need the converter and the extension tube or just the converter. Because I did just buy the extension tube 
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I hope you have gotten a good answer already.
If you have a reverse ring and a lens converter, you should be able to use any nikon lens with the same size filter thread as your reverse ring. My own experience is that I prefer the extension tubes to the reverse ring.