Even though I shoot mirrorless most of the time, I still like using my Canon 5D Mark II. When I made the transition to Micro Four Thirds, I sold many of my Canon optics to pay for the new gear. As a result, I have a few gaps in my DSLR kit.

One of those gaps was a macro lens. My beautiful Canon 100mm L Macro fetched a great price on the used market. It was a good call to sell it. So now, when I want to shoot close with the 5D, I use this rig that leverages my Zeiss lenses that I have on hand for film photography.

The macro rig that I've cobbled together uses a Zeiss 50mm f/1.7, Contax 13mm extension tube, and a Fotodiox lens mount adapter. If I had to buy this stuff, which I didn't, it would run me about $175 on the used market. And if I substituted an excellent Yashica 50mm for the Zeiss, total cost drops to about $65. (But it's so hard to resist the Zeiss...)

The 13mm extension tube combined with the 50mm focal length provides excellent magnification. I shoot in manual mode, setting the aperture on the lens, then adjusting the shutter speed until the readouts are correct in the viewfinder. Since macro photography is a bit slower than other types of shooting, using manual exposure and focusing isn't really a handicap.

Canon 5D Mark II with Zeiss 50mm lens and Contax 13mm extension tube. Aperture set to f/1.7. Photos by Derrick Story.

Much of the work I do with the Canon is in the studio, and having a array of full frame optics to complement the handful of EOS zooms I kept, feels like a real luxury. And the image quality is terrific.

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