I cover most of the options in the article
sterretje linked to. In brief:
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Close-up adapters. Basic ones are cheap (like under US$15 per set) and the images can be decent, as long as you don't care about image edges. No good for stamps, fine for orchids and beetles. Corrected adapters like those from Raynox can be brilliant -- see the Raynox Club here -- and not too terribly expensive, at around US$65.
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Lens reversal. Macro, enlarger, and reversed lenses all have edge-to-edge flatfield sharpness. Manual-focus prime lenses are best for reversal. A good candidate is the Super-Takumar 55/2 (probably under US$20) mounted on a 49mm-PK mount--reversal ring (about US$5). Your working distance is about 45mm / under 2in. Reversal alone doesn't magnify; for more magnification, add extension. There's also reverse-stacking; see the article.
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Extension (tubes and/or bellows). You can get a cheap set of PK macro tubes (about US$6) and normally mount a lens with an aperture ring. Image edges won't be quite as sharp as with a macro or enlarging or reversed lens, but edges don't always matter. Or you can mount a reversed lens for great sharpness but a close working distance. For more elbow room, mount a non-reversed 100mm lens on a couple sets of macro tubes.
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Enlarger lenses (ELs). Depending on how close you work and the magnification desired, this can be a cheap option. Try a 75mm lens (often around US$5) on one or two sets of macro tubes. You'll also need a cheap wide-flange M42-PK or M39-PK adapter (about US$5) -- or you can get a black PK body cap for a buck, cut a hole in it, screw the EL in, and go!
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Macro lenses. New AF macro lenses aren't cheap, and AF is overkill (or useless) at macro distances, but these can be useful general-purpose lenses also. Macro lenses in the 90-105mm range are popular for closeups, and portraits, and general short-tele shooting. Used manual-focus macro lenses often aren't much cheaper than their AF counterparts. You pay for convenience.
My recommendations: For simplicity and low cost, use a cheap close-up adapter set; for better images at higher cost, use a Raynox. If you have manual primes in the 35-50-100mm range, you can use a cheap mount-reversal adapter and/or cheap macro tubes. If you don't have such lenses, an enlarger lens plus macro tubes setup is cheap and clean. Those are the cheap ways to shoot close. Have fun!
EDIT: I forgot to mention macro-zooms. They usually aren't macro, which is magnification of 1:2 (0.5x) or greater. They usually go no further than 1:4 (0.25x). BUT... you can fake it, cheap! The A35-80/4-5.6 is arguably the worst lens Pentax ever made. But reversed, it provides a nice sharp image. I put mine on a 49mm-PK mount-reversal ring. At 35mm, it gives about 2:1 (2x) magnification at maybe 4cm working distance. At 80mm, it gives about 1:2 (0.5x) magnification at about 15cm working distance, and will also focus past infinity. A real macro zoom! And it can probably be found for about US$15 used. Also get a cheap set of PK macro tubes, and use the tubes as lens hoods.
Last edited by RioRico; 12-10-2011 at 12:21 PM.
Originally posted by DennisBhoy 
Post #10 by jatrax
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