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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;benveniste, post: 2362005, member: 25547&quot;]Using your current gear, there are a few ways to achieve increased magnification through accessories, but getting &quot;really close-up&quot; is still quite a challenge.&nbsp; I&#039;m going to assume you have the current 105mm VR lens, which allows 1:1 magnification on its own.&nbsp; If you have an older manual focus model, it only does half life size.</p><p><br /></p><p>The first option is extension tubes.&nbsp; For the 105mm VR, you need &quot;autofocus&quot; or &quot;electrified&quot; tubes.&nbsp; The best known brand of these is Kenko, but there are other cheaper alternatives available as well.&nbsp; Should you decide on a cheaper brand, be sure of the return policy.&nbsp; In my experience the quality control isn&#039;t as good as the Kenko tubes.&nbsp; These tubes typically come in a set of three in sizes of 12mm, 20mm, and 36mm.&nbsp; You can use one, two or three of them as needed.&nbsp; When using all three with your gear, you can achieve magnifications of 1.87x instead of 1x.</p><p><br /></p><p>The second option are accessory close-up lenses.&nbsp; These come in various strengths and qualities.&nbsp; I recommend getting what are called achromatic lenses which are made of two or more types of glass.&nbsp; Nikon used to make one called the 6T which is great for this lens, but it&#039;s hard to find.&nbsp; Marumi makes a similar close-up lens called the DHG 330, and a stronger one called the DHG 200.&nbsp; Both are available on Amazon and often on eBay.&nbsp; Raynox makes an even stronger model called the DCR-250, but I have no experience with it.&nbsp; The 6T allows magnifications of 1.5x; the Raynox can get up to 2.25x.&nbsp; You can use a combination of extension tubes and close-up lenses as well.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are a number of tradeoffs between extension tubes and close-up lenses, but with a 105mm lens I&#039;d suggest starting with the tubes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, if you happen to have an old 50mm f/1.8 lens with an aperture ring, you can buy something called a macro coupling ring which lets you mount the 50mm &quot;backwards&quot; on your 105mm VR.&nbsp; The 50mm then acts as a very strong close-up lens, allowing magnifications of up to 4x.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s a crop of a shot done on a D800 with this last approach.&nbsp; It, alas, shows a D/S Buffalo with PVC damage:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]481904[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>All of these approaches require mounting the camera securely to avoid vibration (I use a copystand), a way to light the coin, very careful focusing either manually or with live view, a remote or wired release, and some patience and trial and error.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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