the lens. This is especially true with live critters and the 200mm
Micro-Nikkor is popular for that reason. It provides that extra bit of
room.
And while true macro photography is 1:1 magnification or higher, I
tend to be more interested in magnifications a little less than that,
say in the range of 1:2. I really am mostly a close-up photographer
with a little macro work thrown in. I lose interest as the
magnifications climbs above 1:1 and start to resemble what we
might get from a microscope. I need more context around the
subject to tell my story.
This means that I like macro lenses that are wider, in the range of
short telephotos like 60mm. The 50mm Zeiss f/2.8 Makro-Planar
lens is one of my favorites as is the new Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G
lens. I also like and use the Coastal Optics f/4 60mm APO lens,
and so on. Again, the book mentioned above has notes on some 42
lenses.
I am less of a “gotcha” photographer than I used to be, less into
stalking critters or even hiking with equipment overland here and
there. Of course I am getting older, so that is a factor, but not the
only one. I also am doing more and more stacking on a focus rail
and the number of layers I use keeps going up. Where I used to get
away with a dozen layers, I often shoot over 100 these days. This
makes working in the field more difficult, especially because here in
Michigan where I live (it is very flat) we have wind too much of the
time. Stacking 100 layers with no chance of wind is rare.
This means I do more and more studio work and less field work
although I do spend time outdoors collecting samples of things to
photograph back in the studio. Actually, on the days when the wind
is calm I like to photograph in the field. When the wind is up, studio
work is much more productive as I can control a greater number of
factors. So let me review my history with focus stacking just a bit.
My initial attempts at close-up and macro photography found me
pushing the macro lenses I had to higher (narrower) apertures in an
attempt to achieve greater depth of field (DOF), but this was usually
an exercise in frustration. The combination of less light at narrow
apertures and the onset of diffraction was disappointing. And