Inexpensive Option For Macro

[smiz]

Hey NR,

 

So I'm a total noob when it comes to photography, but am really trying to get some good shots of my tank life. Here is a list of what I have. What I am after is a cheap (under $50 option to try to get some decent WYISWYG photos of frags.

 

Equipment:

Nikon D3100

55mm-200mm lens

18mm-55mm lens

Nikkor 60mm macro lens

 

I recently purchased the 60mm hoping it was what I needed. Turns out I need something closer to 80mm-100mm for my needs.

 

So my NR photogs is there any attachment ring or accessory I can buy inexpensively to get the macros I'm after?

[ReviloM]

Use these to attach to your stock lense:

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/PLR-Close-Up-Digital-Cameras-55-200mm/dp/B002P9HXMW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415286253&sr=8-1&keywords=closeup+macro+d3100

 

 

 

Here are images I shot using the +10 before I got my tamron macro lense:

 

[Hernkgiggleshh]

Another option, which is one I've used for extreme macro shots is a reverse-ring
Basically attaches one lens -Backwards- onto the front of the lens on your camera.
The only problem with this method is focusing distance, which ends up being very small.
I've taken photos in the 1/2" - 1" range

[Mike Savage]

The Nikon 60mm macro you have is an awesome lens and the one I use for the majority of my photography (I shoot marine aquaria) If you need more working distance then the Sigma 150 is the way to go. I shoot a D800 so I have much shorter working distance than you and have not found it to be a problem.

[Kimosobey]

I wonder if a 50mm 1.8 and some extension tubes can produce some good macro photos. I'm going to try this route

[cromag27]

Kenko extension tubes.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

or if you want a free alternative, hold the lens backwards, and focus via distance..... lol youll have to shoot a lot but it works well. especially with longer lenses. fun to do, but naturally a tube would do yeah better.

[yoshii]

I've used some random extension tubes off Amazon (I think they were around $12) and I like them, the only downside is their tiny depth of field. If you really want to though, you could just focus stack (personally I'm too lazy to do this)

 

Edit: I first got diopters like what Marquiseo posted, but then switched to extension tubes because the corners of the images were less blurry

 

Here's what I've done with extension tubes, and a 18-55mm (basically the cheapest options)

 

 

[cromag27]

Nice photos.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

I havent used tubes in years, but it is pretty damn impressive how close you can get. closer than most macros I feel at times . but for sure, DOF is a huge issue with them

[cromag27]

Image quality with tubes is inferior as well. works fine enough for our purposes, however.