There are only two to consider , don't waste your money on the cheap ones . If you get the Canon 500D get it in 77mm and then get step down rings to fit you 75-300 . The 500 D is a 2x diopter the 250D is a 4x diopter it will come in in 58mm the largest . the 500D in 77mm will fit anything from the 70-200 2.8 L, 300f4 L, 4005.6L and any of the lesser lens .
I decided to try something a little different instead of the diopter. I picked up a 67-52mm reversing ring and made a 52mm to nikon body reversing ring. I used the 67 to 52 to attach my 18-55mm lens to my 70-300. The results are dismal to say the least. There is some serious vignetting. I believe that this is due to the 18-55 being a DX lens. The 52mm reversing ring is amazing however. At 55 mm my results are around 0.87 Mag...nearly 1:1 with a working distance of about 2.5 inches. At 18 mm I get 3.93 mag...nearly 4:1, but with a working distance of about 1 inch. Not terrible for the cost of a body cap, 52mm UV filter and a stick of JB weld. The pics below are shrunk from 4288x2848 to 800x531.
At 18mm
The method suggested in this thread sounds very interesting. However, I am a complete "macro virgin", and do not know what is meant by using a "reversed lens". In fact, I've never even heard of the term before, so if someone wouldn't mind filling me in (in very, very basic layman's terms) I would appreciate it.
Also, in my attempt to understand one of the posts here, I got the impression that maybe you use a lens that is not even mounted to the camera - could this be so?
And another (probably false) impression that I got is that you shoot thru two lenses at once. Could this also possibly be true? If so, it seems like you may lose sharpness, just like you do if using a tele extender.
The reversed lens method is exactly what it sounds like. You use an adapter that screws into the front of the lens like a filter. The other side of the adapter attaches to the camera body. There are no automatic functions this way, but it is cheap...like $15 for the adapter. The shorter the focal length the more magnification. ie an 18mm has more magnification than a 55.
As for using a lens that is not attached, it can be done, but is VERY difficult to get a sharp image due to movement of the lens and camera. Using 2 lens is a bit like the first method, but you use a different adapter; one that screws into the front of both lens. You would normally use a longer telephoto lens attached to the camera then use an adapter to attach a normal length lens (in reverse) to the front of the telephoto. The wider the reversed lens, the greater the magnification. To do this properly, the normal length lens that is reversed would be at the smallest f-stop and focused to infinity. The telephoto attached to the camera is used to focus. I like the combination of my 70-300 VR attached to the camera with a 55mm or shorter lens reversed and attached to the front of the 70-300. The biggest issue with this combo is that the 70-300 has a 67mm front thread and the 18-55 has a 52mm which results in a bit of vignetting. Another good Nikon combo is the relatively cheap 55-200 AF-s lens with a 50 reversed on the front. Both have 52mm front threads and should have less vignetting. I hope this helps
It seems as if there are no drawbacks, other than not being able to AF or use AI servo. And maybe some dust issues that arise whenever lenses or adapters are mounted & unmounted.
Does anyone know what the best adapter is? If so, could you post a link to a site where such an adapter could be purchased?
Admittedly, there are some drawbacks to the reversed lens method...it's not as convenient as a macro lens, and if you use a lens without an aperture ring like my AF-S 18-55, then there is some rigging to do, but it is not bad to use. I made my lens to body ring by using epoxy to connect a body cap with a large hole cut in the center, and a protective filter with the threads pointing out. It is not bad for free, but I will probably purchase one like this
I can show pick of my home made one if anyone wants a visual.
LostinTexas wrote:
It is not bad for free, but I will probably purchase one like this
Darn - doesn't look like there's one for recent Canon bodies. Can't understand why - I'm sure if the ones offered sell, then a model for recent Canon bodies would certainly sell.
The close-up filters are pretty good...I have a Quantaray +10 for my 18-55mm kit lens that is pretty awesome. However, finding a good quality filter is a crap shoot. I have a set of +1, +2, +4, +10 for my 70-300 Nikon from opteka that are marginal at best. However, I bought them to see which diopter strength worked best for me before buying an expensive one. Also, none of my close up diopters can come close to my 18-55 on a reversing ring. It is a little more trouble to use, but the results of a reversed lens are pretty impressive.
Why is it a crap-shoot? Any Kenko filter with the letters "AC" on the barrel will totally ROCK! and they're very inexpensive too! $15 ~ $25 used, $30 ~ $50 new. The #10 is a bit extreme though and unless you're photographing a flea's butt is mostly only useful for creating image stacks in a controlled environment. The DOF for a #10 on a 100mm lens set to f/8 is about two or three millimeters.
I find a #4 on a 100mm ~ 200mm lens to be the most useful myself:
That gives you a nice working distance and as you can see a very manageable DOF range too! The one's from Kenko will produce about the same or better IQ than a reversed lens. And, while I dunno every lens, usually reversing a lens means almost no working distance. Typically less than 1cm. Lighting is very difficult at anything less than about 6 centimeters. The #10 closeup filter has a maximum WD of 10 cm. Oh, so nice! A #4 has a max WD of 25cm (on any and every lens!). At ten or twenty centimeters lighting is oh so easy, and oh so beautiful. And repeating myself, all the functions of whatever lens you attach it to , continue to work properly. AF, AE, etc. all just work. \(^.^)/ Yay for things that work!
Can someone clarify exactly how the aperture is set prior to reversing the lens? From what I can pick up, you set the aperture with the lens mounted normally, then push the DOF preview buttion, then remove the lens and mount in the reverse - is that it?
If so, do you turn off the camera when changing the lens around or must it be left on?
Also what are the optimal aperture ranges for macro?
On my Nikon camera with the 18-55 kit lens, I have to wedge a piece of cardboard to hold the aperture tab wide open. If you have a manual lens, then you just set the ap with the ring. My ap is 3.5 wide open at 18mm and 5.6 at 55mm. It's a more precise with a manual aperture non-G lens.
Lighting is very difficult at anything less than about 6 centimeters. The #10 closeup filter has a maximum WD of 10 cm. Oh, so nice! A #4 has a max WD of 25cm (on any and every lens!). At ten or twenty centimeters lighting is oh so easy, and oh so beautiful. And repeating myself, all the functions of whatever lens you attach it to , continue to work properly. AF, AE, etc. all just work. \(^.^)/ Yay for things that work! 
