Originally posted by sculptor666 i'm above 2:1 already... trying to increase distance to the front of the lens... best solution/compromise i've come up with is adding extension tubes to non macro lenses that have large apertures (so viewfinder is still bright enough) and adding the raynox 250 (sometimes). for example, i took this a few minutes ago by my mailbox... da*55 1.4 plus 67mm extension plus raynox250 and on camera flash... which is about 2:1. focus distance to the front of the lens is about 1"
Nice work there. 1" working distance at 2:1 isn't bad. Given that you already have the Raynox 250, and the requirements you've put forth, I suggest getting hold of a DA 55-300. I've never tried this combo, but others have and have shown good results. You'll have the brightness in the viewfinder you want, easily adjustable magnification, and (somewhat) better working distance.