In a couple postings, Jerry Bromenshenk provided very good advice about
retaining a standard camera (with various lenses) for close-up work.
Consider also the following:

   Anyone who has a good camera and macro lens can buy a teleconverter
instead of bellows to increase the size of image photographed.  I have used
both a 2X and 3X teleconverter and have had no problems.  Of course, one
has to use flash with such great magnification.

   Bright sunlight or single flash has a problem already noted --- the
presence of a dark shadow.  To counter that, I used a "Macrobracket"
attachment to the camera.  The end of one arm (I chose the left) had a
single simple flash; the other end had the same type of flash covered with
a single layer of velum.  That combination permitted a full and a fill-in
flash simultaneously and yielded a great picture.  Naturally, one has to
calculate the amount of exposure time, a task much easier with
teleconverters than with bellows.

   By using slide film, one gets very sharp pictures already ready for
slide presentations.

                                                                Adrian



Adrian M. Wenner                    (805) 963-8508 (home phone)
967 Garcia Road                     (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106  [http://www.beesource.com/pov/wenner/index.htm]

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*
*    "The history of science teaches us that each time we think
*  that we have it all figured out, nature has a radical surprise
*  in store for us that requires significant and sometimes drastic
*  changes in how we think the world works."
*
*                                          Brian Greene (1999:373)
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