After accidentally stumbling on Opo Tersers breakdown of his setup for his absolutely jaw dropping extreme close up macro photos of spiders eyes I decided to expand my set up as well because I didn’t know the specific pieces I would need for a Nikon Camera so after a night of research I figured I could help with the model numbers and specific parts for other Nikon users. (Im using a d70 but this will work for any Nikon that can take the older manual lenses.)

Collection of useful macro links

• Opo Tersers Bellows / Reversed Lens set up
• LordV’s Dewdrop Refraction Setup [resulting shot here]
• LordV’s Focus Stacking Tutorial essential for dealing with very small Depth of Fields.
• Soap Bubble Macrophotography techniques
• Martin Waughs amazing Liquid scupltures – [About the process here]
• Tools of High Speed Flash Photography (DIY)
• Incredibly detailed and helpful site with in-depth information on Nikkors
• Insects in flight by way of extreme macro set ups [2]
  

Parts List

Nikon Bellows – You can get a PB6 but those tend to be more expensive and I went for a “Bellows F Attachment II” which I found on ebay for 25 bucks

Nikon TC200 2x Teleextender – Doubles your focal length of most lens up to 200mm – Connects to the bellows. Paid ~40 for this on ebay – You can probably use an offbrand without too much consequence. Im just a Nikon glass fanboy.

Nikon BR2A Reversing Ring – Used to connect the reversed lens  to the teleextender – cheap around 5 bucks on ebay

Nikon Nikkor 28mm f/2.0 prime wide angle lens – The fastest glass I could afford – Haven’t picked this up yet but expecting to pay 150-200. The 24mm is also equally as nice looking.

Nikon SC-17 off – camera flash cord - This allows you to attach the flash to an external mount ~10 on ebay with some waiting

Ball Head Swivel Mount – The Flash after being plugged into the Camera Flash cord can be attached to the Ball Head Swivel mount which connects to the Bracket Frame. ~$15

As for the flash – I have a nearly identical flash to the one quoted on Opo Tersers page

I found an off-brand Bracket Frame which the flash connects to on Ebay. I didnt feel like paying a lot for this either so I want for what looked to be the most functional one I could find.

I will be updating as I get more information – Please contact me if any information is incorrect.

Hopefully this helps someone out there.

kris

This article was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm in the category: photography.