In article <4mcg4j$vu@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, tawlman@aol.com says...

>All the messages on macros and problems with lighting and focus make me
>think, perhaps I should be concentrating more on a film which I can
>enlarge without it becoming grainy, rather than the actual
>subject-to-image ratio. That is, I want asubject-to-final-picture-image
>ratio of 1:8 or 1:16, and I need good depth-of-field. I am focusing on
>objects around 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter in captivity.
>
>My question is, would I get better or worse results with a
>subject-to-image ratio of 1:1 and enlarging the result 8 times than >with a ratio of 1:4 and enlarging with a factor of 2?
>
>Isn't there also a tradeoff in film speed vs lighting? If I understand >itright, a low film speed will enlarge much more than a high film speed
>without grainyness, but may have blurryness due to the longer exposure
>time.
>
>This is all still theory to me. If anyone has actuall suggestions of >what to use to accomplish this, I would appreciate it.

I don't recall if your subject is moving (alive) or not. If so, I have had excellent results with a single TTL flash mounted so that the head
is next to the end of the lens. Since the light source is large
compared with the subject, the light is very soft and natural looking. The flash "shutter speed" takes care of the movement problem (the
camera is moved to achieve focus), and the flash intensity permits
very small effective apertures, even with slow-speed films. If the
final magnification desired is 8-16X, it is easier to get high quality results shooting 1-2X on the film, and enlarging the negative. It is VERY hard to get consistently sharp images on film at magnifications higher than 2X (and it is a bit of a challenge even there, unless the subject is still), due to focus and lens optical quality at high magnification. Many macro lenses perform well at 1:1 (and some even focus to that ratio without the need for accessories), and longer than 50-60mm lenses are more convenient to use, since they have more front space for a given ratio (though the extension of the lens to get higher magnification quickly makes the rig awkwardly large with longer lenses). Adding a good 2X converter to a lens that focuses to 1:1 (f11-16 only, for best quality!) often works reasonably well. It is hard to find convenient to use optical systems that are also sharp at higher magnifications. The 90mm Vivitar Series I, which is available (used only) in most mounts, with its 1:1 adapter, combined with a Vivitar 2X Macro Converter does work well for providing 2X magnification (or even
a bit more....) on film. If you are using Nikon, the following (in addition to the Vivitar 90mm) are the best combinations of the many
that I have tried (at f11-16): The 60mm f2.8 Micro-Nikkor (with front space problems) combined with the TC200/201 2X converter is quite sharp at 2X. The Nikkor non-macro 200mm f4, with the Sigma achromat made for their 90mm macro (Sigma will sell it separately), and a 1.4X or 2X Nikkor TC14A or TC200/201 converter can produce high-quality images up to about 3.5X magnification on the film. I have not tried the new 200mm f4 AFD Micro-Nikkor, though it is worth a try with the 2X converter and/or the Nikkor 6T achromat.
Hope This Helps