There are many of course, but I found this one particularly useful, it's a scan of an old-fashioned style book. 120 pages, 20MB download. The descriptions near the front include drawings of systems, with useful dimensions. http://www.science-info.net/docs/leitz/LeitzImageForming-IlluinatingSystems.p...

It's the lack of auto diaphragm that prevents me even trying. Can't see much at f16, let alone an effective f96

Plastics are usually better than glass. Some "go" positive, some negative.
Maybe try a clear plastic ball point pen case or a ruler?
I think ABS works too, though I don't routinely polish my plumbing pipes..

Oh and in my case, Necessity married Parsimony.

I'm sure I'd find it really hard to focus that critically on a subject in the field. I can't get much beyond 1:1 with an auto diaphragm, but even at that I have problems. What has me wondering more though, is the Helilcon-Focus-style "halos" around the eyes. WHat's causing that? I've managed to work...

"spot removal"

It's called the "Spot Healing Brush"

I'll try some comparison shots and let you know. Actually the other one isn't all that expensive. People shy off them for enlarging, I think. Optimised for 0.8 to 1.2 mag, I can't imagine they're "bad" on resolution, just beyond that..

Well I really like number 3. The water drop adds something about the creature's environment, as does the mass of green. Would it be better with a conventional, little bit of leaf, to the left of the water droplet? I prefer it where it is. The upper part of number 2, I find a little empty, but I'd st...

I also have a 55mm 2.8 micro AIS (MF) and have seen no problems. They sometimes go for £50. I used a 55 f3.5 micro, the one with the stop down ring, some years ago, at around 1:10, on a copy stand. The 2.8 was sharper at its sharpest. Ken Rockwell says it's diffraction limited below f5.6. Presumably...

You need to see one of my invoices...

This shared activity of photomacrography/photomicrography has many fascinations. There's the startling revelation of the detail of what's around us, the weird, the bewildering, the almost alien. There's the depiction on the beauty of nature - a backlit dragonfly or a laden bee emerging from a glorio...

Isn't this one from your stack? that should eliminate misfocus.
Try flash versus however you lit the other pic

WHat's the aperture pn the lens and what's the magnification on sensor? WHat's the sensor size/Megapixels?

Thanks Betty. The outside diameter of the barrel is about 40mm, and the mount about 24mm The front element is held in with a screwed ring, which is the thread you can see, 30mm. The outer barrel is 17mm long including the knurled ring. The front surface is flat, so I've been trying it reversed, stuc...

That's what I thought! I worked for a while in a photo processing lab. The machine processor we had didn't use flash so short exposure times were used as much as possible. Imagine if you have 1000 prints to run off, a few seconds each is a lot. I think we had Componons, not very good wide open. Schn...

It appears to be a straightforward enlarger lens, though I'm unable to find it in any listing. From the serial number it's 1995, so I wonder if it was designed for quickly banging out enprints from those small negatives - APSC was it? It doesn't have a mount for which I have an adaptor, so I haven't...

Yes that method works too, on the D700 (=D300 =D3/x??). Something new to me. You need an AF lens, or it'll just fire the shutter. You need to set Continuous AF, with focus priority Set Menu item A5 to make the camera NOT focus when you press the shutter button. Didn't know you could do that! Press t...