I'm working on a pretty comprehensive post on inexpensive alternatives to a real, 1:1 macro lens. Been rainy here lately and haven't been able to shoot many examples.

For the pic that follows, I screwed two lenses together, face to face, attached one to the camera, and had the barebottom end of the other facing the subject. Only got one good shot before I gave up on that technique - was windy and the light was bad, too. But...I did like this pic.

Yeah that's an amazing shot!

Shoot - I meant to point out the BRUTAL vignetting using that lens-to-lens, face-to-face technique. Just nasty (gotta click on it to see just how bad it is):

That is brutal! I assume this is a characteristic of digital cameras? I don't remember that at all with my film camera when I used multiple close up lenses together.

@Leftwood
Do you still use that Minolta?

Not sure...it could have something to do with the fact that I only have one coupler and that's 49mm to 52mm. And I only have one of each lens at those sizes - so I ended up putting a kit 18-55 (52mm) with a 50mm prime (49mm) and put the kit lens on the camera (nothing good was happening the other way around). The 50mm lens was wide open (f/2) - at f/22, it was like shooting through a pinhole. I couldn't see well enough to focus (but I want to play with it on a sunny day).

I think I'll probably order step-up and step-down kits next week and try some very odd combinations face-to-face.

Seedfork said:@Leftwood
Do you still use that Minolta?

Believe it or not, that was the last camera I used before I went digital, which was very late in the game at that! (2008)
I'll never go back. Close up photography has always been a hobby of mine since my youth in 4-H back in the 1970s, and honestly, using a digital camera is so incredibly easy compare to film, it's like cheating!

That was also my last film camera. Like you I am never going back.

Dave, if you have trouble with photos becoming darker with increasing the f# then try reducing the speed. Each camera varies so much it's a matter of experimenting, I had to revise how I used settings when I changed from a Nikon D90 to the D7000. It makes a big difference according to what lens you use too.

You can only safely go down to 1/160 sec. for hand held shots but can go lower with practise. Increasing the ISO will also lighten up shots in dull conditions.

With the D90 I used +EV quite a lot, it worked for that camera but I don't use it with the D7000 as I can achieve the results using just speed, f# and occasionally ISO. If what I use works then I tend to get stuck in a rut, when checking a photo recently I looked at the full details and realised I had increased the flash setting by one stop which seems fine and I remember doing it I think in autumn when taking photos in a dullish spot. That made me think about reverting the flash to neutral setting or to a minus for summer when and if we have bright sunshine.

I always use the flash and manual shooting for insect photography, the results in manual are far superior to using auto and flash is necessary to highlight detail on very small insects. I don't use a screw on lens as I have a 2x tele-convertor attached to a prime 105mm macro lens. Using auto doesn't give anywhere near the same magnification as using manual does, and the camera can have trouble focusing on small objects in auto. The addition of a tele-convertor has the effect of making darker shots too, once you know what works for a particular set up it becomes second nature. Then the camera wears out, you have to buy a new one and the learning process starts again!

I use spot focus along with spot metering which concentrates focus and light on a small area in the centre, that also has the effect of darkening but is essential for insect photography. If I take a more distant shot it still works well on those settings if I alter the f#, and speed. I also have my lens set to 0.5M, I rarely change that for distance shots but it still works, if I change it I forget to put it back!

Leftwood said:That is brutal! I assume this is a characteristic of digital cameras? I don't remember that at all with my film camera when I used multiple close up lenses together.

So answer is nope. It's a characteristic of the guy driving the digital camera.

I found an old Sigma AF 35-80 and then screwed my 50mm Pentax SMC onto it backward. Got vignetting at 35mm (cameraside) but after 50mm or so it went away (even at f/4). I shot this one is at f/18 (f/2 on the 50mm always) and the depth of focus is still absolutely silly shallow. I was trying to do these shots handheld at twilight in a decent breeze. With proper lighting and a subject that would hold still, it would be a fun way to shoot closeups. I shot this one (and everything else) with the Sigma (camera-side) at 80mm. It's uncropped. That's a sensor full of geranium insides.

This is not about threaded zooming filters - and belongs in another thread. I'm still gonna post it here because that seems to be where the conversation is.

I'm about 1/2 done with a Rube Goldberg macro-ing post discussing several techniques, but..."screw two lenses together" seems like a legit one. I got some pretty neat pictures of alyssum that I'll go through soon and post to appropriate places...but wanted to get this one out to show the scale (unretouched, then crop of same because you lose so much detail when you upload) . Wow! I am having tons of fun.

How do you attach the lens together? An adapter of some sort, I support.

dave said:How do you attach the lens together? An adapter of some sort, I support.

Yep...

Check Amazon for Fotodiox 52mm - 55mm, 49-52mm (etc., depending on the size of your lenses) Macro Close-up Reverse Ring. It's got male threads on both sides and it screws into the lenses.

If you want to play with the technique using a variety of lenses, amazon also has step-up and step-down kits (so you only need to get one reverse ring). Good things to have in the bag for this kind of monkey business (and for filters and for a lot of other reasons, too).

Same technique, same lenses. Straight colors from the camera (no fiddling, just a crop).

- I like this shot a lot

oops - mistake post