Comments

farss wrote on 3/26/2006, 10:46 PM
Did you try Raynox, they may have something that'd work.

However I doubt you'll end up with anything exactly HD, although their macro adaptors are passable on DSCs.
If you step up to cameras with interchangeable glass there's all manner of optics for shooting bugs, although fleas might even be stretching their capabilities.

One of the biggest issues is macros loose a LOT of light, so you need to blast a lot of light at the talent and then you risk frying them, literally, leading to all sorts of problems with actors equity.

I'm certain there's heaps of good stuff on how the pros do it with water cooled filters in front of monster HMIs etc.

Loved to hear how you go, the world of small things is very interesting.

Bob.
Serena wrote on 3/26/2006, 11:17 PM
No, macro of that sort needs extension tubes and prime lenses. The stuff you see with David Attenbough (recent series on insects) was shot with special lenses invented by an Aussie nature cinematographer Jim Frazier. One trick for cutting heat from lamps (which I've used successfully) is to focus the light using a water filled laboratory flask (you remember those spherical flasks in science classes). These days white LEDs are more kindly to the talent.
birdcat wrote on 3/27/2006, 6:16 AM
I don't know if they are available for video cameras (or the Z1U in particular) but I used to use a bellows between the lens and my 35mm camera for ultra macro work. It was fairly cheap and worked well.
bdub wrote on 3/27/2006, 12:42 PM
I use my macro nikon lenses on the redrock m2 adapter. As for cooler light, I'm a big fan of the flo-lights (kino's redheaded stepchild).
Serena wrote on 3/27/2006, 2:27 PM
Well there is a technique for fixed lens cameras known as "afocal photography" and you might want to do some tests to discover whether it suits your subject: http://www.barrie-tao.com/afocal.html

It can work very well and I made an adapter so my husband could do microphotography using his digital camera on his microscope for subjects about the size of fleas. However the dimensions of the mating optics were comparable and I'm not sure that the Z1 lens will optically mate with a microscope eyepiece; I haven't tried that. Your depth of field will probably be smaller than the fleas' waist measurement.
You can use a unit such as a Nikon macro-bellows (which will be a better optical match) and remember that the bigger the magnification the smaller is the effective f/stop of your lens. If the magnification of image to subject is m, then the exposure factor is (1+m) squared. So if m=1, then you have to open up 2 stops.