Bausch & Lomb 16mm f/2 Micro-Tessar Macro Lens. No Aperture. Vintage condition, glass clear.

Would you like to get into the wonderful realm of Macro photography, but hesitate because of the expense involved in purchasing a good dedicated Macro lens for your digital camera?

Dedicated Macro lenses by Canon, Nikon, etc. can be quite expensive.

I have an alternative solution that will not break the bank and will give you stunning up-close Macro images of insects, spiders, flowers, water droplets on vegetation - you name it.

One very economical solution is to use one of Bausch & Lomb's Micro-Tessar lenses in lieu of a dedicated prime Macro lens.

The Micro-Tessar lens design was developed jointly by B&L and Zeiss around the turn of the Century in 1900. They are based on the same optical formulae used for large photographic lenses with the same name, Tessar. The micro versions of these lenses were especially designed to be used for low power work on 160mm tube length microscopes. They enjoy wide field coverage of 55 degrees with uniform illumination and sharp definition. They are mounted with a metal iris diaphragm and are provided with a standard RMS thread also known as a "Society Screw." Lens openings from f/4.5 to f/22 in standard increments are possible with iris diaphragm associated with these lenses.

Recently some professional and amateur Macro photographers discovered that these lenses can have a second life so to speak as primary Macro lenses. Their optical characteristics prove to be ideal for this specialty application. Don?t let their diminutive size fool you. They really perform!

So, what you will need to use one of these lenses for Macro is a good DSLR camera that allows for interchangeable lenses, which most folks already have in their photographic arsenal. You will also need a good T2 adapter for your brand of camera along with an M42 to RMS adapter that will accept the Micro-Tessar lens and mate it to the T2 adapter. You will also need a good sturdy tripod, which again, you may already have. I would also add a Macro focusing rail, a LED light source and a copy of a software package called Helicon Focus (30-day free trial available) that will enable you to do image stacking.