Christian wrote: "In my experience, hand-holding is required for bug macros and for this reason flash is needed 95% of the time. to avoid the point source problem or the lens shading problem, a bracket that puts the flash out OVER the front of the lens is needed. I built my first one and have recently purchased a bracket from Wimberley. Both allow the flash to be positioned in many different ways and work for lots of lens and magnification combinations. In addition, to soften the light a little more, I have a Stofen Omni-bounce on the flash."
In my experience, longer focal length is required for bug macros. I prefer to work from a tripod with a 100-200mm lens and extension tubes as required and flash. It's very frustrating to try to shoot a bug from a distance of 4-6". Tom Reese
