Inexpensive Macro Setup

I had a friend ask me what to buy for an inexpensive macro setup so he could close-up pictures of the products they make for work. He wanted to be able to get within 1-6 inches of the product, which doesn’t really tell me the magnification he needs, but it gives me some idea that he wants to get closer than most cameras will allow.

I have a very expensive macro setup for my Canon 5d–a Sigma 150mm lens with a Canon ring-flash. That whole setup would run about $4k-$5k, and would be way out of his price range.

The hardest part of macro photography is the lighting, and you really need a ring flash mounted to the front of the lens if you’re not going to setup an entire macro studio. So, I started with the lighting, and found the Nikon Macro Cool Light SL-1 for their CoolPix series of consumer cameras. The best camera that was compatible with that flash is the Nikon Coolpix 5000. To connect the camera to the flash, you’ll need the Nikon UR-E6 adapter. Oh, and you’ll need a CF card for the camera.

All of those components have been discontinued, unfortunately. That does mean that you can find them cheap, though, and the whole setup will cost less than $300–not bad for 5 megapixel pictures at about 1.2″ from the front of the lens. Oh, he’ll need one more thing: a macro tripod. Macro tripods are really just any steady tripod with a sliding head on it to allow you to carefully adjust the distance of the camera from the object. I did find one macro tripod ready-to-go at B&H, without the complexity of finding a separate body and head.

Later, I’ll I plan to describe macro photography and my setup in more detail, but wanted to document this before I lost it.