Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/02/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]G'day Scott, I wanted to weigh in on this discussion with my tuppence. I've used all sorts of close up devices over the years including Proxar lenes on the front of Blads and Rollei's extention rings, bellows, visoflex and lenes, macro lenes, and now digital p/s. I've lit subjects with natural light, flash, ring flash and dedicated medical ring flash. I've used lenes which focus soooooo close you would swear they were macro: the 50 F series on the blad and the 15 super-elmar come to mind. There is no one answer to your question, so here are a few comments: Digi point and shoot: These little creatures are amazing really. Even clumsy ones like the Digilux 1 will do a great job of recording details. I use them for just that. Shooting X-rays, grabbing snippets from books and articles, recording meals. Great fun, but not really "artistic" macro. http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/Digi Leica M: 1. I've not used the 90 "macro", but its older cousin the DR summicron does a pretty good job of extending the range of the M in the 50mm range, and I would expect the 90 would be similar. I carry it with me on trips, and it will pick up an image or two along the way. This is not the best example, but gives an idea of where I've found it handy http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/DRsummicron 2. The Visoflex is not such a silly option. I used it quite a bit in combination with the 65 elmar dedicated lens but also with the front elements of several lenes including the 135mm. Mine came with a beautiful set of bellows, and you can have a ball just collecting the rings and other attachments made for this wonderful compromise. http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/Viso65elmar http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/Viso65elmar2 http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/Viso65elmar3 Leica R: big jump in price but when I get serious about Macro, this is where I usually turn. My favourite lens is the f2.8 Apo Macro 100mm, and as others have said: what a lens. http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/100mmMacro http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/100mmMacro2 http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/100mmMacro3 You can also get close in other ways http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/180mmf2 Nikon: If you want to do macro work there should be nothing wrong with Nikon. Here is an interesting lens we bought for Helen's father. Its a dedicated macro lens of about 200mm made for medical purposes: no-one wants these things any more, and they are a "steal". I has its own built in ring flash and works like a dream with any Nikon body http://gallery.leica-users.org/Experiments-in-Scanning/Nikon On 02/02/2006, at 20:57, Scott McLoughlin wrote: > I've been looking into shooting macro. My interest is not so much > shooting > bugs, but more like Weston's peppers and other nature studies - i.e., > things > that don't move. Alastair