Help on what camera for super macro etc

[Morty]

Hi I am interested in taking super macro photos & need help in what camera to buy & what lens to suit. I want to do this for my own enjoyment. I only have a point & shoot camera now. Any help would be great. I want to start of right. Tanks Morty

[i speak in math]

Originally Posted by Morty

Hi I am interested in taking super macro photos & need help in what camera to buy & what lens to suit. I want to do this for my own enjoyment. I only have a point & shoot camera now. Any help would be great. I want to start of right. Tanks Morty

What is super macro?. The camera body won't matter so much, with DSLRs, its all about the lenses. Every company makes a few great macros, its going to really depend on your budget and other requirements.

I shoot with a pentax k20d (old and cheap now, $400?). A modern good body will usually run about $800 to $1200. I use extension tubes and an old smc 50mm f/1.4 lens (about $100 for both) *this lens is manual focus and manual aperture, not noob friendly. A normal 90mm or 100mm macro usually runs about $400-$900. I used to use the pop up flash for lighting (free with camera body) but now I use a nicer, external flash ($230).

So, you're looking at $500 for a cheap-o setup like mine vs $1700 for a nice auto-exposure, auto focus version.

Here's what my old $500 set up looks like



It gave me results like this



and this



(more insects)

[Murtasma]

Really nice images where did you get that smc 50mm f/1.4 lens from? What extension tubes are you using? Does this SMC lens have a ring to adjust the aperture?

[i speak in math]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

Really nice images where did you get that smc 50mm f/1.4 lens from? What extension tubes are you using? Does this SMC lens have a ring to adjust the aperture?

I picked up the smc 50mm f/1.4 at KEH.com for $60. I am using vivitar auto-extension tubes at-22 that I also got at KEH.com. Yes, the lens has an aperture ring.