On Wed, 22 Jul 1998 16:41:37 GMT, Andy Rubaszek
>I want to take close-up shots in the 2:1 to 4:1 range.
>I plan on putting my 60mm Micro Nikkor on a bellows to do so, but
>am wondering if a lens other than a macro would be more suitable
>for such work. Opinions?
Unless you plan on reversing this lens, you may find the
front working distance impractically short even at minimum
bellows extension. The 60mm is excellent on the TC200/201
2X converter when stopped down, and you can probably get
away with a short extension tube between the lens and
converter, or with a 5T or 6T close-up achromat on the
front. Getting to 4X sharply is not easy (see my Nikon
list on my web page, under "I babble" [Sigma 90 and
Nikkor 200mm f4 non-macro notes] for info on getting to
3+X sharply). Above that, and specialized macro lenses
(also in the Nikon list...) or a reversed CRT 55mm f1.2
Nikkor are the way to go. Bellows are clumsy devices
in general, and have fallen out of favor for all but
very high magnification work. Auto extension tubes,
teleconverters, and achromats are more practical for
adding to lenses for most macro work between 1X and 3X,
above which standard type lenses don't work very well...
(some people recommend reversing WA lenses, or adding
fast lenses to the fronts of short tele lenses for
achieving high magnification, but I have not found
these methods good for providing the highest possible
image quality over the whole frame). BTW, you may also
want to see "Bugs" on my web page, for some macro
images up to about 3X...