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I have been a huge fan of extreme macro photography for quite some time now. While experimenting with a lot of different equipment, and many different theories, I learned a lot about macro photography, and what it takes to assemble a high quality system, while on a budget. There several components to a macro setup to discuss, and I will focus on the lens, and the equipment needed to attach it to the camera body, and turn it into a macro lens, whether it was intentionally built to be a macro or not.

I have seen a lot of beautiful Fine Arts Prints of Macro subjects shot with fairly inexpensive setups. First of all, please understand that currently most cameras are automatic, in their focus, metering etc. Of course, this was not the case 20 or 30 years ago, when a lot of macro technology was being developed. This being said, I want to make sure that you understand that this setup will be a manual setup. However, it will work well with either a film or a digital SLR camera.

Modern cameras have been getting smaller, and more automated; however, for macro photography, smaller size, and automation are not necessarily an advantage. There are some really great macro lenses available for modern SLRs from all big vendors. However, their prices are commonly over $500. If you add the cost of artificial lighting, you are looking at paying around a grand. Our goal here is a quality yet low cost alternative, so let’s get to it.

The first thing that a good macro setup needs is something which all modern film and digital SLRs lack. What could they all possibly lack? An adjustable distance between the lens, and the film plane, or a digital sensor. Macro is about getting very close to the subject and magnifying it to its original size, or preferably larger. Having the ability to extend the lens away from the camera allows the camera to achieve focus at a much shorter distance, than if the lens was fixed to the camera.

So here’s what we need to get the lens broken away from the camera. Many people have heard of, or seen a bellows, which is nothing more than an accordion made out of some type of a synthetic material, painted black, with a lens mount on one end, and a camera mount on the other. The accordion is fixed on its horizontal plane, and the rail to which it is fixed allows it to extend and contract on that fixed plane. This device has the camera attached to it, and allows the end with the lens attached to be moved closer or further away from the camera’s film/digital plane. This makes for an excellent start. The Macro bellows such as this is commonly sold by specialty camera stores, and many stores online. A search on eBay will lend you one for under $100. Look for a bellows with a correct mount for your camera, and an M42 mount on the lens end. I know you are asking yourself right now, why not the correct mount for my lenses? You are more than likely shooting with an automatic film, or a digital SLR, and this will be a manual setup, and your lenses do not allow manual aperture setting. This means that you will not have any depth control, because your lenses will be at their widest opening. Depth of Field is essential in Macro photography. It is a must.

At his point we have a bellows but we need a lens. I will discuss getting a good lens in detail in another article, but to summarize, any normal to telephoto lens with an M42 mount will complete this kit. A lens which was designed to be macro is best, but a plain normal 50-80mm lens will work. Just remember, the lens should have aperture control, and manual focus, which will help you precisely adjust your composition, and will let you control depth of field. Older lenses from manufacturers like Carl Zeiss, or Pentax are of excellent mechanical and optical quality, despite their age. Once again, eBay is a good place to pick one up. Do not expect to pay any more than appx. $150.

So, for under $300 is it possible to have a better setup than a $500 macro lens. Yes, your results will be better with this setup, than with even the most expensive automatic macro lenses. Give this a try, and stay tuned for more articles on the subject of Macro Photography.

Owner of a small photography marketing company. If interested in learning more about me, visit http://www.worldonpaper.com.

There has always been a debate about what is better. Traditional cameras using film, or the so called new technology, storing pictures in digital form on memory cards, in computers or on CD-Rom.

As being a photographer for more than half of my life, I stuck with traditional film for very long. About 7 years ago I started to supplement my work with photos taken the digital way. A point and shoot camera with just 640×480 pixel resolution was the most attractive gadget I had these days. Its lens was even capable of doing close-up work, using a macro switch.

That Fujifilm DX-7 was upgraded with a bigger Memory-Card and the camera served me well for several years.

Anyway, over time, I was still more satisfied with the possibilities my collection of Pentax SLR cameras gave me. It started with using the best lenses for each picture or just using a Zoom (which offers a range from wide angle to telephoto), changing the shutter speed to either stop or blur the motion of objects in the picture, use external flashlights, change the aperture openings to adjust the range of sharpness and lots more. Not forgetting the better picture quality I could get from a 35mm negative or slide. I was happy to use my heavy, solid metal camera.

The world changed for me when camera makers like Nikon and Canon introduced their Digital SLR Cameras. I went to my local camera shop every week and debated with the salesman about advantages and disadvantages of the models they had on sale. Also I checked with lots of users in online services to get first hand feedback on how these cameras performed. Finally, when Pentax introduced their Digital SLRs, I couldn’t wait much longer. I needed to have one of those.

With the Pentax 1st DS have a whole list of advantages over smaller Digital Cameras:

I can use the same lenses that fit my traditional camera

Have full control over speed and aperture

I can see the picture immediately after it is taken

I can shoot a series of pictures and choose the best (at no extra cost for film or paper)

A good resolution of 6 Megapixel which allows quite big prints

It weights more than a compact digital camera, so you can hold it steady more easily

Make use of all the filters, flashlights, lenses and accessories I have collected over the years.

Storing the pictures on the PC via a fast USB connection

Up to 1 GB storage on a SD Memory Card (about 380 jpg photos)

Selecting only the best photos for printing

With all these advantages of digital SLR Cameras, you may wonder why I still keep my old 35mm film cameras with me. First, it is emotional, and second, photographing the old fashioned way keeps me calm. You just need more time to produce an excellent, satisfying photograph (because you cannot see the result right after the shot).

Article © 2006 http://www.digitalcameratips.de
Tom has spent most of his free time behind cameras of different types. He specializes in close-up work and travel photography. To share his experiences and fascination about digital photography, he has set up http://www.digitalcameratips.de which covers topics for beginners as well as advanced users of digital cameras.

When you take a picture not everything will be in focus. You may hear a lot said about “depth of field”. Don’t be confused by this terminology - it’s easy to understand and, used correctly, will help your images have more impact.

In any picture, there will be areas in the foreground (in front of you subject) and areas in the background (behind your subject) that will be out of focus. If you take a picture of your dog on the lawn, both the grass in front and the fence behind will be less sharply in focus that the dog itself.

The area between these two out of focus parts is known as the “depth of field” and can be seen as the parts of the image, from front to back, that are in focus.

But, it doesn’t stop there!

The size of the aperture that your lens is set at for the shot will determine the depth of field. A larger aperture (small number) will have a small depth of field whereas a small aperture (large number) will have a greater one.

There’s more!

The distance away from the subject will also change the depth of field. The picture of the mountain in the distance will have a large area of focus whereas the close up of the bumble bee on a flower will have a tiny depth of field.

More …

What does this mean?

You may want a large depth of field so that as much as possible is in focus. This is a technique particularly useful in landscape photography. In this case, move away from the subject and use a small aperture.

On the other hand, you may wish a small depth of field. For a close up shot (for example of the bumble bee) the shallow depth of field will isolate the bee by blurring the background. This is useful for other shots as well (for example, portraits). In these cases, use a large aperture and get closer to your subject.

It’s easy!

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com