At 01:55 PM 12/5/2002 -0500, you wrote:
With time you do learn that but, in the field where speed matters, extension tubes and bellows are the slowest to work with. In addition, the accessory lenses make more sense to carry with you for those times when macro shots are not your primary focus (pardon the pun) but you want something "just in case."I disagree. The key to macro field work is to know what combination of devices gives you the magnification you desire. Prior to spending heaps of money on gear I used the Nikon 6T and 5T suplementary lenses (62mm) on a crappy 60-300mm f4-5.6 zoom. The results were not bad considering the zoom lens was a cheap Kalimar.
When I first got started in photography (1970) I had my Spotmatic, a set of automatic extension tubes, the auto-bellows and a reversing ring. I even invested in a couple of enlarger lenses and the Leica thread mount adaptor to use with the bellows. Going out in the field to photograph quickly turned into a burden.
I bought one of those rings a while back because I wanted to try using my 28 & 50mm lenses on my 200mm. I just haven't gotten around to playing with it yet.Now I use tubes or a bellows or a Vivitar S1 105/2.5 macro lens and I also stack a 100mm bellows lens (reverse-mounted) on a 200mm prime (2x magnification). The 100mm bellows lens acts like a multi-element close-up lens in this case (for 4x I'll reverse mount a 50mm on the 200mm). Stacking lenses requires extension tubes to avoid vignetting.
Again, even if you know the exact combination of equipment, it is still slow to set up and you risk your subject taking off for the wild blue yonder.The key to all of my setups is knowing which one gives the magnification I want and knowing which combination of strobe or natural light is needed. It takes a lot of testing and burns a lot of film but in the end it allows me to work quickly in the field with all sorts of gear.
Keep in mind that you used yours with a crappy zoom lens. My zoom lenses focus to .5x by themselves so my use of accessory lenses tends to be restricted to single focal length lenses.> Accessory lenses are a little better since you don't have to remove the > lens from the camera. This is true but even with the Nikon multi-element lenses you get some softness. I don't use mine anymore.
The macro lens I mentioned was only $100 and gives excellent results. If you're going to do any amount of macro, I'd say pay the extra $50 and get it instead. The tubes will still be slow to work with in the field.> > A real macro lens if your best choice and the Vivitar 100mm/3.5 lens is > very good for its price, especially when you consider the price of > extension tubes. I use the Series 1 105/2.5 Macro extensively. It's an awesome lens that gives 1x magnification without adapters or tubes. Extension tubes are cheap! You can get a set of Vivitar auto Tubes that work with "A" lenses for US$50 or less sometimes. Macro lenses (even my beloved Vivitar) are the most expensive way to shoot macro. The Nikon 5T and 6T were not cheap either when I bough them new a few years ago.
Gary J Sibio
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