If you’re looking for a project to attempt from the comfort of your own home, you might be delighted to learn that you can start shooting macro photographs with only a couple of low-cost additions to your existing gear.
Landscape photographer Thomas Heaton struck upon this idea and has thrown together an excellent short video that runs you through his experience and offers some solid advice on where to start.
What’s pleasing is that you don’t need to splash out on an expensive new lens. Instead, you can snag a set of extension tubes for a little more than $30, bringing macro reproduction to your existing glass. Obviously, there are some disadvantages (corner sharpness being one of them) but as a home project to keep you from vegetating in front of the T.V., it’s very little money for a lot of fun (and perhaps some frustration).
There’s a wide variety of extension tubes available for every brand and sensor size, though some do seem to be (dramatically) more expensive than others. However, if image quality isn’t your prime concern, there’s entertainment to be had photographing flowers, feathers, and whatever else takes your fancy.
Once you’ve got your images, it’s probably a good time to learn how to focus stack.
Do you use extension tubes? Do you have any recommendations? Leave a comment below.
