Cheap Macro on SLR/DSLR

[johnyu]

I want to do macro but don't have much to spend. I thought of reverse ring and extension tubes on my 50/1.8. But I will lose TTL metering with my D70.

Is macro attachment (attached to the front of the lens) of any good? Any suggestion?

 

[ken00]

you never state what kind of macro you wana do...
for insects macro.. you might want to have a longer working distance...
the reversed ring setup needs you to be rather close to the subject..

TTL metering doesn't bother me, i believe you need to be in M mode anyway...

I want to do macro but don't have much to spend. I thought of reverse ring and extension tubes on my 50/1.8. But I will lose TTL metering with my D70.

Is macro attachment (attached to the front of the lens) of any good? Any suggestion?

 

[justarius]

I want to do macro but don't have much to spend. I thought of reverse ring and extension tubes on my 50/1.8. But I will lose TTL metering with my D70.

Is macro attachment (attached to the front of the lens) of any good? Any suggestion?

If you want to use extension tubes with your D70, get the third party tubes (
(Kenko, Uniplus, etc) which can preserve AF and metering unlike Nikon's tubes.

If you have another lens, you can reverse mount the 50/1.8 on to that lens like a filter, using a male-male filter ring.

Or you can get a closeup filter. Try to get a 2 element type for better quality (ie, Nikon 3T,4T or Canon 250D, 500D filters).

 

[justarius]

you never state what kind of macro you wana do...
for insects macro.. you might want to have a longer working distance...
the reversed ring setup needs you to be rather close to the subject..

TTL metering doesn't bother me, i believe you need to be in M mode anyway...

erm metering has nothing to do with whether you are shooting in P/A/S/M mode or whether you are using autofocus or manual focus.

 

[johnyu]

If you want to use extension tubes with your D70, get the third party tubes (
(Kenko, Uniplus, etc) which can preserve AF and metering unlike Nikon's tubes.

Wow, I didn't know such things existed. What is the price range roughly?

If you have another lens, you can reverse mount the 50/1.8 on to that lens like a filter, using a male-male filter ring.

Right! why didn't I think of that!!

Or you can get a closeup filter. Try to get a 2 element type for better quality (ie, Nikon 3T,4T or Canon 250D, 500D filters).

Again, any idea of price range?

Thanks, justarius.

 

[justarius]

Wow, I didn't know such things existed. What is the price range roughly?


Right! why didn't I think of that!!


Again, any idea of price range?

Thanks, justarius.

I've seen the 3rd party tubes going for >$100 for a set of 3 different lengths here in CS buy and sell.

Price range of a good 2 element closeup lens depends on filter size. The Nikon 4T costs $53 at CP before bargaining, but the 4T is optimise for telephoto lenses. If you plan to use it on your 50mm, you need to get the Nikon 3T filter

 

[smallaperture]

IMO, the extension tube is the best, as it doesn't have any glass at all, so no added aberration of any kind, theoretically. And in the long run, is economical, as it works with all lenses except WA.

Also, I find that the 25mm tube, one single tube is the best. Shorter tube - the effect is too little to be of any significance. Longer tube - you end up having difficulties to focus. So, just stick to 25mm tube. Most modern lenses, zoom or prime focus pretty near, so, not much of a problem in having a good focusing range with the tube. Happy shooting all things small.