In reply to Post #2284
If you are a Canon user then the Yongnuo Macro Ring Lite YN14EX is worth looking at. This model meshes in with all the auto flash settings on the EOS models and is very easy to use.
This new breed of ring lite features two separate tubes that sit each side of the lens as opposed to the old style which was an unbroken ring around the lens and yes did give boring lighting but all that has changed with the new breed of guns.
I have been using one for over a year with a range of macro lenses magnifying from basic 1:1 life-size and 3x life-size and can't fault it apart from a slightly flimsy battery cover catch which I corrected with a small screw
From memory the cost was around £70UK from a well known shopping channel which is a fraction of the cost of the Canon model which this one seems to be a direct copy of.

In reply to Post #2051
Considering its early days I would be dead chuffed with these results. Looks like you made the right choice and wish you luck with it in the future

In reply to Post #2048
Hi Andy
I am a fan of Tamron lenses which are a tad underrated. My 75-300 half life size is a good one. On the question of who do you buy a macro lens from that's a difficult one. There are a lot of on-line traders who deal in grey imports and they are usually priced way below the UK price.
There is a risk and I guess it depends if you feel it is one worth taking. That's about all I can say about this as I am undecided.
As to choice of macro for me a shortlist would contain a Canon 100mm, (the bog standard one) I would look long and hard at the Tamron, as I fancy in the lower price bracket it is a good one. In the upper price bracket it would be the Canon MP65. My choice of macro is swayed because I own macro lenses so ease of use would be a consideration, my main macro lens is a manual.

In reply to Post #2042
The Canon 100mm USM is a good choice as is the Tamron. My flickr page is a mixture of flower macro's and insects, mainly taken with vintage lenses details are johnt2012 if you fancy a look.

In reply to Post #2037

Shot 1 shows lens reversed. Shot 2 shows the much magnified image Shot 3 shows the largest image you can get with the lens used the normal way

Take your 18-55mm lens off the camera and turn it around so that the front of the lens is now facing the camera body. Set the zoom at 55mm. carefully place the lens against the body and have a look through the viewfinder.
Chose an object with some detail and move the body and lens backwards and forwards until it comes into sharp focus.

This is called reverse lens and to attach the lens to the body you need a `reversing ring` which has a male screw thread on one side and a Canon EOS mount on the other. One side screws into the filter mount on the lens and then mounts onto the camera.

As you are using an electric lens there is no way you can set an aperture on it. The aperture is set on the body and the contacts in lens and body talk to each other which sets the aperture on the lens.
As you have broken that contact, that can't happen but you can trick the lens into setting and keeping an aperture set and retained when the lens is taken off the camera'

Put the camera into AV mode and set an aperture f8 is a good choice


On the camera body there is a small button called `Depth of Field Preview Button` ( the button manually stops the lens down to the aperture set)

Keeping the button pressed in, dismount the lens from the camera.

You now have a lens set at the aperture you have selected and it will retain that setting until you mount the lens again.

When the lens is mounted either in reversed lens mode or using manual extension tubes or a set of bellows the camera will match a speed which allows for an appropriate exposure.

The slight downside is that the image seen in the viewfinder will be darker because you are looking through a smaller aperture than if the lens was in full auto mode at maximum aperture. A middle of the road aperture does overcome this situation to a great extent.

Cost of a reversing ring around £5UK, Cost of manual extension tubes around £15 UK.

In reply to Post #2035
Your welcome Andrew. What camera do you use? as there is a tweak with Canon models that gets you approaching 1/1 lifesize with the 18-55mm lens for around £5

In reply to Post #2033
Hi Andrew
If you are looking at insect macro's then they are taken hand held. A tripod is useful for stationary objects such as flowers. You can get some much needed stability from using a mono pod but generally it's hand held.
You do not need to buy a ring flash for macro photography. They are expensive although you can get an LED version off the bay for less than £20. A ring flash gives shadow less lighting and delivers the light directly onto the subject but the lighting is very flat and tends to give less contrast.
I own a ring flash but seldom use it preferring to use a Canon 430 ex with a diffuser attached which is a standard outfit amongst macro people.




The lens in the picture is a Vivitar 90mm f2.8 Macro in FD mount adapted to Canon EOS mount. It's 30 years old and I paid £80 for it off the bay and it does this



It also works quite nicely with flowers

In reply to Post #1993
Hi Jason
I see you mentioned using Topaz software. Are you using their `In Focus` and or `Detail 3`?, both are good but due to the amount of control you have it takes a while to balance all the adjustments and get the result you were looking for.

Their noise reduction programme Topaz `DeNoise` can take the edge off image sharpness but detail can be brought back with intelligent use of the sliders

A very quick fix which boosts sharpness in a simple step is the `Smart Sharpen` feature in Photoshop

In reply to Post #1977
Keep looking around mate If you have access to London take your cash and wave it in front of the Tottenham Court Rd shops.

In reply to Post #1971
Try Pixlr.com, most of what you need and it's free or PicMonkey mostly free. For something a tad more pro try GIMP, not that user friendly but does work