Any Recommendations For Canon Digital Slr Camera & Macrolens

I bought these items so far

- Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D 10.1 MP Digital SLR Camera - Black (Kit w/ EF-S II 18-55mm Lens)
with 32GB SD card, 3 Batteries, 3 Chargers, Mini USB to USB cable
- Nikon EL-Nikkor 75mm f/4 Made in Japan, No. 477388
- Canon EOS / M42 Lens Mount Adapter - M42 screw mount lens to Canon EOS Body

Just try to get ones that are shipped from US. If shipped from China, some sellers ship fast, but others can take literally months. International sellers that ship faster and are very reliable are jinfinance (China) and rafcamera (Russia).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/M42-M42-Mou...AOSw0vBUc~nt

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Macro-Exten...qcDryT2bR0yQ

http://www.ebay.com/itm/new-RMS-fem...AOxyjK1RB3Vo

Which is better for varieties Nikon M5 or Plan4 objective or a different one? is 5x good or should I get 10x?

I will have to go look up focus stacking. I know nothing yet but been reading up the last few weeks.

Awesome pepactonius, I checked them out.

I also watched and wrote down the steps for Photoshop CC as I am more familiar using it daily for work. But Once I have everything I will check out different software. That looks fun..

Stacking Files in Photoshop

Open Photoshop to Load all your images together.

- Go to File
- Script
- Load Files Into Stack.

This loads all the images into one big stack instead of individually.

From there you can browse your files and choose the folder with the images you selected from Lightroom.

- "Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images." Check that box. [X]
- hit OK

Photoshop loads all of those images into one stack. Now that you have the images loaded, you will need to combine them all into one image.

Focus Stacking in Photoshop

1. Select all the files. (hold down Shift, and then click the First and last to select all the images)

2. Next you go to Edit -> Auto Blend Layers.

The two options that are now available to you Panorama and Focus Stacking.

- You check the option "Seamless Tones and Colors" [X]

- Hit OK.


Now Photoshop goes to work automating the task of taking the parts of each image that is in focus, then it creates a Layer Mask only revealing the part of the image that is in focus.

Focus Stacked image

5x is a good magnification for varieties. It covers the full date and MM of a Lincoln Cent with just a little extra space around it. 4x just gives a little wider field of view. 10x will zoom in much closer to a mintmark, but you'll definitely need focus stacking with small step size. Stacking with a 3x requires perhaps 3-5 steps. 5x requires perhaps 10 steps. But 10x requires 20+ steps, so it's not for the faint-hearted.

That said, so far, you have everything else but the lenses needed for shooting varieties! If you find yourself with everything but the lens, I can loan you one to get you started.

I bought this one today - the words as is scare me so fingers crossed...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252157884793

MICROSCOPE PART OBJECTIVE NIKON M5 5X OPTICS AS IS BIN#K7-F-13



- Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D 10.1 MP Digital SLR Camera - Black (Kit w/ EF-S II 18-55mm Lens)
with 32GB SD card, 3 Batteries, 3 Chargers, Mini USB to USB cable
- Nikon EL-Nikkor 75mm f/4 Made in Japan, No. 477388
- Canon EOS / M42 Lens Mount Adapter - M42 screw mount lens to Canon EOS Body
- M42-M42 Mount Focusing Helicoid Ring Adapter 17-31mm Macro Extension Tube EM#01
- 2 sets of Macro Extension Tube 3 Ring L8D Set Adapter for M42 42mm Screw Mount Camera Lens
- M42-M42 Mount Focusing Helicoid Ring Adapter 17-31mm Macro Extension Tube EM#01
- 2 of Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter, M39 to M42 (39MM - 42MM Thread) Adapter for Leica, Canon, Nikon, Carl Zeiss, Pentax, Leica
- Microscope Part Objective Nikon M5 5X Optics

$303.85 plus about $34 total in shipping

below the >$400 shopping list is now complete

Canon XS camera, body only:
EOS-M42 Adapter:
Nikon 75mm EL-Nikkor Lens
M42 focusing helicoid, 17-31mm:
M42 extensions, 2 sets 7/14/28mm:
M42-RMS Adapter
M42-M39 adapter:
Nikon M5 or Plan4 objective: