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How much does the 500D increase magnification with these lenses? I mean, the Nikkor 20/3.5 focuses to MFD 30cm with 1:10 magnification by default (with a little surgery to 20cm, around 1:6, about...

Actually you don't need to get the tube to test. Just handhold the lens in front of the mount, perhaps improvise cardboard or rubber spacer rings if you want to test more precisely. With G lenses,...

Yes. With longer lenses you need relatively long extension. There will be a bit of IQ degradation. Nikon PN-11 or PK-13 Kenkos preserve everything (AF needs a lot of light). But they flex with...

The 85/3.5VR is good if you're looking for a dedicated macro with a relatively long working distance at 1:1 (considering the focal length - generally, WD is roughly proportional to the FL). Not so...

I lied ;)

Yes these birds get spoiled ;) In a certain area of our park, if you happen to stretch your arms while yawning, they will sit on your hand thinking you have food for them :)

It is definitely not the most convenient way of shooting macros indeed, but offers a different view upon the subject ;) Check pics by Satoshi Kuribayashi for example...

On second thought, I think the D7000 does not need to flip the mirror for changing the aperture as the D90 did. So that it is considerably more responsive than the D90 in LV (without flash) -...

What bug? In M or A mode just set aperture using the appropriate wheel on the body and push DoF-preview.

You don't need a fast aperture as you will want to stop down. In fact you may seek the oposite for "deep focus", the lens which stops down the most, unless you're diffractionophobic. Make sure...

When it comes to harsh light, the JPG DR tests of DPR are not the most relevant, except if you're lazy and limit yourself to JPG (in which case these test are indeed the most relevant for you). But...

High enough is questionable... According to some sources, the macro variant of the handholding rule is 1/ (focal length x crop factor x (1+magnification)­­­­­­^2) meaning that a 4 times faster...

Try a large diffuser screen mounted on the end of the lens

Try at least 10 shots at each setting for any relevance. I'm not sure if it works exactly as described; various macro lens designs are very different. AFAIK Nikkor micros tend to shrink the...

Some 3rd-party lenses do require such exposure compensation. But send an email to Rokinon or their service representative, they may be able to correct it. Check if the aperture blades move...

I wouldn't say it is a gimmick, but the built-in HDR modes are not best implemented. HDR involves heavy post-processing adjustments which need user control. A good implementation would be that the...

AFAIK rechargeable li-ion batteries are not well-suited for flash, slow recycling. There are also lithium CRV3 that should be more useful for flash but non-rechargeable.

Yes lots of good advice. I've successfully used flash of the Canon S60 with the Raynox DCR-250 and a simple cut-plastic-picnic-plate diffuser mounted on the Raynox, no housing or foil. One...

Well, a while ago when I was looking into this, the most recommended hi-capacity cells were known to recycle a little bit faster too than eneloops. I wouldn't vouch this still holds. Certainly....

Which 50/1.8 actually? G, D, older? The D is outstanding "value" regarding sharpness etc, but its background bokeh is harsh.