If I tell you what I use, you will either call me crazy (or worse...), or you will fall from your chairs laughing! So, read on at your peril!
I had been into macro over a decade ago, and then quit because of other interests. I never went farther than add-on lenses, though.
I still kept my faithful F90, two zooms and a SB25 from those days, but all I did was "family" photos.
5 months ago, my first son was born, and interest in photography was rekindled. We got a digital camera, Fuji S304 (S3800 in the USA, I think), and I started playing. Then I found add-on lenses that would fit the Fuji, and shot several flowers and insects in the backyard.
I was hooked! Again (Oh, no!).
Now comes the fun part: I could not afford a digital SLR, so I bought a used Olympus C1400L, and hacked it completely, removing the lens to mount an M42 thread! Now I could use my leftovers from Zenith days: 3 extension tubes, 2 fixed lenses 35 and 135mm, and an old Angénieux zoom, 35-140, from a 35mm movie camera, which gives astounding quality!
The results were, to me, staggering! Although with many problems, this solution allows me to do things I never thought possible, but focusing with low light is very though. With a small CCD, the multiplying factor is something like 6x, which helps somewhat.
Encouraged by this, I took the big plunge: I bought a used Kodak DCS3c (EOS1n base with a Kodak 1.3Mp back) on eBay, and traded in my Nikon gear for lenses and a TTL flash. Not happy with the results (not having tubes, bellows or anything), I made an M42 adapter for the EOS body, and I`m back to using my old lenses and tubes! And I love it!
Now, if I can find anyone that wants to get rid of a C2500L or an E10 cheap, maybe with a broken lens...
PS: If anyone is feeling curious enough, I can post some of the results, and maybe some pics of the cameras themselves...just so you can laugh a bit!
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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