In winter, when insects are hidden and the outdoors becomes more difficult, the macro photography enthusiastim is satisfied with the high magnification in the home studio environment.
The flash and led lights are very close to the subject. The led lamp is used both as an additional light source and as an auxiliary light in focus.
Ping pong ball diffuser softens the harsh light and provides all-around illumination. I’m using “helping hands” to hold flowers/insects, also to create colored backgrounds. There is a Newport 423 micrometer driven linear stage under the bellows. This was the hardest part to find. In this way, focus can be shifted with a precision of one percent of a millimeter.
The Lomo 8X 0.20 microscope lens is hidden inside the pingpong ball. It is mounted to the bellows by an Asahi microscope adapter.
On the right, Rodagon 28mm f4 and Nikon El-Nikkor 50mm f2.8N lenses are reverse mounted on macro extension tubes and Vivitar Macro Focusing Teleconverter 2X. I use them for magnifications in the 0.5X to 4X range
