Another What Macro

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I need a decent Macro specifically for taking shot of very small, usually inert subjects.
It's for quality assurance work were I need to take shots of small things like foreign bodies in food etc like flour mites etc, or particles of debris so they can be blown up for identification.
 
What is a typcial size of the mite?

You might need to go beyond 1:1 magnification, something no current Nikon fit macro lenses will do.

For really small beasties, I've used a Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-S, with stacked extenstion tubes. That got me to about 3:1 magnification, and I was able to get something smaller than a pin head (just the size of dust spec) so I could count its legs...

You might need to consider reversal rings or other tricks. Hard to answer without knowing the size of your subjects though.

Where in Cambridgeshire are you? I have several Nikon fit macro lenses, extension tubes etc.
 
Thanks P
Sizes vary but often the size of a pin head or smaller.
You could probably fit around 4 flour mites (psocids) on a pin head for example.

Trouble is, I wont be able to use any complex set-up of bellows and lighting etc as I investigate complaints at estblishments so needs to be very portable and quick to use.

I know this means some sort of compromise but that's ok anything that needs more serious investigation I sent to Public Analyist.

3.1 should be more than enough.

I'm in Peterborough by the way, but travel throughout all of Cambridegeshire, East Anglia and North London regularly with my job.
 
I think Canon's MP-E65 is the only off the shelf solution for what you're describing....but you'll need a cheap Canon body to go with it.

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
I think Canon's MP-E65 is the only off the shelf solution for what you're describing....but you'll need a cheap Canon body to go with it.

Bob
Click to expand...

Won't he need a flash too? I can't see this being done without lighting in my limited experience of Macro.
 
OK.. the reason I ask is that stuff smaller than a pin-head is REALLY hard to do. I spotted a teeny tiny spec of dust (you could fit 10 on a pinhead) moving on one of my lens cap.. so I tried to see how close I could get it.

Example:

http://www.odysseus-software.co.uk/LensTests/DSC_9198-mite.jpg

PS: I think its the dust mite. I used a Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AI-S (my favourite macro lens) with about 5 (!!) extension tubes, you'd be best to get an older manual focus macro lens, as AF is a complete no-no that close up.
 
trapper501 said:
Won't he need a flash too? I can't see this being done without lighting in my limited experience of Macro.
Click to expand...

In the field, then yes. I'd assumed a laboratory type environment and there are usually cold light sources liberally scattered around...I use a fibre-optic CLS for my bellows rig as a flash won't get close enough (>16x mag)

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
I think Canon's MP-E65 is the only off the shelf solution for what you're describing....but you'll need a cheap Canon body to go with it.

Bob
Click to expand...
Having had a quick google I thought the MP-E65 may be the way to go.
Would I need a fullframe Canon body or what we Nikonites call a DX format :D
 
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