petrochemist

Nice shots Hank. I couldn't see the highlight issue till you showed the higher magnification shot, but have had similar issues when I tried an LED ring light - I really should give it another go ...

Extension tubes make more difference with shorter focal lengths. For simple lenses each focal lengths addition of extension gives an added 1 to the magnification, i.e. to go from infinity focus to ...

MD lenses have to sit closer to the sensor than Nikon cameras allow if they are to get infinity focus. It is possible to connect them for macro close up & use just how close will depend on the ...

Cant see how they'd be able to sort out the electronics with another manufacturers lens without very expensive designs for each lens.

Cokin adapters are flat, and I have a load of spares :-)

Reflections would certainly be a problem if the ND filters don't have anti reflective coatings. I suspect having the darker filter first will reduce this. My own experience with dark filters is ...

If you're after interesting distortions try a few non-photographic lenses. Simple monocle designs mounted via a helicoid should be cheap & prone to distortion. They could be based on close up ...

I've had such a spreadsheet for over 5 years which has grown over the years Mine currently has: Name clean/mod needed Usefullness Last Used serial no Recent cost Category System Prime or Zoom or ...

Around 100mm is the typical compromise. Much longer than that gets noticeably more expensive, but might be a benefit if the subject is harmful... Something like the Raynox DCR150 (a highly ...

A telephoto gives slightly flat perspective (which CAN be more flattering for some subjects)  but requires more space than a typical portrait lens. Focal lengths around 85-105 give a field of view ...

As above they are pretty much essential for graduated filters, and a few others where the height of the filter can be critical.. I used to use Cokin A years ago with film, and now sometimes use ...

Unless the exchange rate has changed drastically since I visited Canada my variable NDs were significantly cheaper than that! I think mine were around £20 but would have been in smaller sizes - ...

http://extreme-macro.co.uk/relaxing-insects/ has quite a bit of further info on this. Not tried it myself despite a ready access to the chemicals.

In lower light 4 stops could be sufficient, (used with a smallish aperture & low ISO) but it's far more normal to use a 10 stop for those sort of shots. Variable ND filters are also trouble on wide ...

Thankyou. It hasn't worked with everything I've tried it on, but it's certainly proved more rewarding than many lenses costing 5-10 times as much.

The images you linked to look much bigger than these fisheye adapters normally are, but 49mm is definitely a filter thread rather than a lens mount. The 0.15X in the name also confirms it... $10 ...

Yes a much better rail than my manual one but quite a bit more expensive!

I got a cheap (~$20) one from China, works well enough for low magnification shots, but has far too much free play for high power work. If you're planning on trying shots at more than 2x a good ...

I tend to use a M42 to M52 helicoid for my projection lenses. Many of them fit inside allowing a long helicoid (mines 36-90mm long) to be used while still having infinity focus. The lens can ...

Ok so you need high ISO & wide aperture for the background you want. So get your flash off camera & move that back, Or reduce it's intensity by bouncing it (further distance & possibly much of it ...