Nikon D700 and bellows for 0.75 - 3x vs InfiniProbe TS-160

[fishguy]

Hello,

I'm relatively new to micro and macro photography. My interest stems from my profession - a fish pathologist. My images of fish are generally fine but I wish to up my game and greatly improve fine features, lesions and small parasites in images from the fish I examine. Last year, with Rik's help, I put together a system based mostly on what I already have regarding camera equipment: Nikon D700, Nikon 105 macro VR, 2x TC, Nikon R1C1 flash system and tripod. I added a stackshot controller and started assembling some nice images at 2x. I set and forget image capture process using the software to build stacks as images are collected. This system works fine but it is a little limiting since it is 2x and lens/tc changes are required for any other magnification. If photography was the primary focus then this limitation would probably not apply. However, photography is only one component of my work, and is accomplished in the lab with a number of other tasks going on at the same time. I would not attempt this type of photography in the field.

With that in mind I would like to make my system more flexible in a number of ways - magnification and specimen manipulation. My first thought was the canon 65 mpe lens but that would require purchase of camera, software etc and I would end up with 2 duplicate systems and a big hole in my budget. The next thought was to go to a bellows. I did some reading and it seems like my nikon D700 with my 60 macro AFD lens mounted on a PB-6 bellows would achieve about 0.9 - 3 X in normal position. That magnification range seems to be about perfect for my uses. I also know there are numerous other lenses that can be purchased and adapted to the bellows for other purposes/magnifications. Finally, I have a pretty solid Kaiser copy stand that I can mount the camera and bellows on. A vertical orientation would allow easy specimen manipulation on the stand and give me control over camera height.

Option number 2: I came across adds for the Infinity TS-160 lens and it is mentioned briefly in this forum. I'm afraid I know very little about this lens system but it looks like it has the capability to focus at different magnifications (sort of like an adjustable extension tube?). Can someone provide a little more information on the InfiniProbe? From what I gather:

1) It is very flexible in use but the trade off is decreased optical performance compared to other lens systems.

2) Requires a lot of light.

I am willing to trade away some optical performance if I gain considerably in flexibility and ability to work quickly. I saw some on-line images taken with this system and, although displayed for computer screen res, look very good. I would continue to stack images with stackshot and Zerene and thought that I read somewhere that the Infiniprobe would stack well.

I need advice for someone like myself who needs flexibility and ability to work quickly, and would like "good" results, but does not need top "pixel peeping" image quality. Any thoughts or advice on bellows use vs a lens system like the Infiniprobe?

Thanks!