amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

See my post above... the California poppies were shot with a 20mm lens on a film camera, using 12mm extension. The flowers were actually touching the front element of the lens! Any more extension for higher magnification, the flower would have had to be inside the lens! The magnification in that shot is probably about 1:2 or 1:3.... one half or one third life size.

While short focal length lenses can make for some interesting close-up work, there's a limit to how high magnification you can achieve.

The main problem with macro lenses 50mm and shorter, or non-macro lenses made to focus closer as I did, is that there's less working distance between the front of the lens and the subject. Small critters don't like that... Or it can be a problem if you cast a shadow of inanimate objects. I use some short lenses "in studio", where close working distance isn't a problem and can even be useful (one lens I use a lot is 45mm). But for general use "in the field", I generally use and recommend a 90, 100, 105mm lens (both full frame and crop)... Or maybe 60mm, 70mm 85mm if you want something more compact and you're using a crop sensor camera.

Minimum focus distance (MFD) at max magnification with 90/100/105 is around 12". Keep in mind that MFD is measured from the sensor/film plane, so part of that space is occupied by the camera, lens and any attachments to the front of the lens such as lens hood, flash, filter, etc.

With a 60mm macro lens, the MFD drops to around 8 or 9".

With a 180mm or 200mm lens, MFD is about 18". But these lenses are a lot harder to hold steady at high magnification, so are more likely to require a tripod. They also make for very shallow depth of field, which may require smaller lens aperture, which in turn calls for slower shutter speeds and/or higher ISO, as well as risk of image quality loss to diffraction.

Something you may not have noticed is the Laowa Venus Optics 15mm f/4 Macro also has shift movements. That may be useful too... possibly for macro work but certainly for non-macro shots where you want some perspective correction (i.e., straightening buildings). The 45mm lens I mentioned above is a Tilt-Shift, which I use at times for both macro and non-macro work. The tilt movement can be used to control the plane of focus, in addition to the perspective correction of the shift movement.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

I looked at them but the old style "stop down" metering turned me off to them.

ballsafire Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

Please overlook this if you are offended, I don't want to appear to be offensive but what's up with your word -- "meh" at the end of your blog? I do know that in French the sound of (phonetics) "meh" would be equivalent to the french word "mais" ==meaning "but." Is this what you are saying?? But?? A simple yes or no would satisfy my curiosity! LOL
P.S. I have seen it used recently on the hog.

ecurb1105

Nowadays my macro work is all copy work. I use a set of close-up lenses or a PK-13 extension tube on a 50mm f1.8 on a D600 FX body.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

The Canon 500D is much more user friendly with ZOOM lenses ! - no light loss, no removing lens, can be used on ALL makes of lenses....I only recommend tubes for prime lenses - and then only if you are a more "serious" user and can handle the light loss.
.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Before I got a macro lens I bought a set of 3 close up lenses.
Put them on my 50mm f1.4 lens and had a good time taking good close up photos. They are not flat field but great for flowers, insects and other 3D objects.

So get some and have a lot of fun doing close ups.

I really liked mine. But when I went AF they did not fit and I could afford a 100mm macro so I got it. But would use them again if I had some that fit.

parmruss

As a beginner with a D7100, I've had decent results using a Meike set (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07236CYDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and Tamron 90mm F/2.5 with flash+diffuser. I set at 1/200-250, f22, ISO 100, hand held with autofocus. With a bit of practice, you can learn to slowly back out (or move in) on your subject and let the camera time the shot when you get into focus. Bit of a pain sometimes. See https://www.flickr.com/photos/140249051@N03/albums/72157710214369766 . Haven't tried this with natural light though.

spaceytracey Loc: East Glacier Park, MT

Check your camera menu. You may find a "macro" setting. My Sony a65 shows a flower to identify the close-up setting. Have fun.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Macro lenses are designed for maximum quality at close working distances, however, I have achieved good results with normal and medium telephoto lenses with extension tubes, reverse adapter, and close up SUBLEMETRY (CLOSE UP) LENSES. High quality supplementary lenses such as the Zeiss Proxars will yield surprisingly decent results. Theses enable fast working and the are not cumbersome like sometimes bellows and extension tubes can be, especially waht working in the field.

Just for your information, I am attaching an excerpt from an old Professional Photoguide that explains the theory and usage of theses accessories. the attach to the lens like filters.

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

Thanks e.l. Very interesting. I think I am going to get a set of extension tubes, just not sure which ones yet...basically how much to spend

User ID

DO NOT consult the macro section.

They follow an extreme/strict rule
of what is or is not macro, which is
not useful to MOST photographers.
It's more akin to photomicrography
than what most folks mean when
asking about macro.

There is a UHH Close-up forum and
that is most likely where you'll find
useful advice.

Link to close-up forum:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-113-1.html

Example:
This is NOT macro according to the
True Macro forum. It's a "close up".

(Download)

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Try this. Unmount the lens, turn it around and hold what is normally the from end against the camera mount. Have the camera in aperture mode or manual. The latter may be best and adjust for exposure.

Focus by moving the camera.

2666loco

Extension tubes are awful because there is virtually no depth of field.
Close up lenses are cheap and work well for $15 and is a really good option.
I bought for my Nikon a Vivitar 2x Macro extender (7 elements) which gives 100mm macro with a 50mm lens. It works very well, but in not a D lens.
The farther from the subject you can get, the more depth of field you will have no matter what you use.
An actual macro lens works well; I got a Sigma 50 mm macro in new condition on ebay in the past.
You can use a ring light with any of them. Ring lights are NOT flashes although manufacturers call them
flashes. They are about $32 on ebay or amazon. A true ring FLASH is about $80 on ebay or
amazon if you are going to shoot a lot of macros.
Hope this helps. I have shot many macros of model trains.

bleirer

Depth of field calculator for macro shows how little room for error there is.

https://www.photopills.com/calculators/dof-macro