So, you want to do macro photography but don't want to commit to spending hundreds of pounds on a nice macro lens like the: Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro Lens (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-canon-ef-100mm-f2-8-usm-macro-lens/p12862) for around £400 or perhaps the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 IS USM Macro Lens (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-canon-ef-100mm-f-2-8l-macro-is-usm-lens/p1033229) for around £700?
Well, if these aren't a viable option for you, but you still want to do macro photography at near as makes no difference 1:1 ratio (like the expensive macro lenses), I've got an option that certainly is viable for you.
But first, lets discuss the alternatives to what I chose for doing macro photography on the cheap.
The first option is coupling rings, this allows you to join one lens, mounted on the camera, to another lens, switched around. This allows for a very close focusing distance, but relies on you having two similarish diameter lenses (in filter thread) which not everybody has, and leaves one of the rear lenses exposed to the world, including all its dust! You also lose all control of automatic functions including aperture control (assuming there is no external aperture adjustment) and autofocus. Not ideal! That's why I discounted this option.
The second option would be a reversing ring, this basically lets you stick your lens on backwards so the front element is facing the sensor, widely available for most filter thread sizes, so your lens will probably fit. But I often find the front of my lens collects specks of dust, so this means when I face it toward the sensor, I am much more likely to get dust onto the sensor. Also, by reversing it I expose the rear element to the world, much like with coupling rings, and if I don't clean the rear element before reattaching the right way, we end up with the same sensor dust problem. Also, the rear element isn't designed to stand up to any kind of abuse like the front element, so a knock on it could spell disaster. It also doesn't allow really that close to 1:1 magnification, so is by no means a comparable alternative to a dedicated macro lens. You also lose all potential of an automatic focus system and aperture control. I also discredited this option.
It is important to note that up until now, the previous two options will both retain full image quality and sharpness of the said lenses you are using.
The third and final alternative option to extension tubes is diopter macro filters. A good set of these will set you back £100-200, so it seems to make sense just to buy the dedicated lens! Plus you could argue that even these high quality filters, by adding glass to lens automatically degrades quality to some extent. But if you're looking to alternatives for this, you're probably looking at the filters in the region of £10-30. These filters will almost soften the image that your lens is producing, and are generally only available in 52mm or 58mm filter threads. The fact that they degrade quality automatically put them out of the window for me, the fact they don't really get particularly close to 1:1 also helped me make the decision. But you do retain full autofocus and aperture control as the lens is still mounted directly to the body, so possibly a cheap way to go if this kind of thing is of concern to you.
The option that I chose for, and is in my opinion the best, is the extension tube. This essentially moves your lens further from the camera meaning that you can focus much closer, and on a nice long lens (200mmish) with a normally relatively close focusing distance you can get very close to and sometimes surpass the 1:1 magnification ratio. A big plus for me. I should mention now that just by the very nature of moving the lens further from the camera you are in fact reducing the amount of light reaching the sensor by a stop or two, so this can sometimes be a problem, a tripod is a definite must here, and a remote shutter release if you have one. These provide all the same benefits as a dedicated macro lens with the benefits of taking up much less room in your bag and they're much lighter, they also sometimes surpass the golden 1:1 ratio, the only downside being the loss in light. From here though, you can choose two ways to go with extension tubes, there's cheap, and there's expensive. Let's look at expensive first, (the route I chose not to go down). For around £120 you can pick up a set of Kenko extension tubes (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenko-Teleplus-Extension-Tube-Canon/dp/B000JGD9JY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1289074058&sr=8-1) and these will allow to you retain full autofocus and aperture control, they have electrical connectors to communicate with the camera, this is the only thing that makes them more expensive, so this is why I couldn't justify the expense over the cheap option. So lets look at the cheap option. For around £10 delivered, yes that's £120 saving (http://www.amazon.co.uk/MACRO-EXTENSION-TUBES-CANON-Camera/dp/B001CWZE6A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1289074286&sr=1-2) you can pick up these generic tubes, and can I just say, they're great!! I fail to understand the negative reviews, they're absolutely spot on for £10, full metal construction and they easily support my relatively heavy 28-200mm USM lens even when holding the body not supporting the lens, i.e, they're super tough. They have identical functionality to the £130 Kenkos, the only thing being different is that you will lose autofocus and aperture control, but most macro photographers use autofocus anyway for practical reasons, so for £10 instead of £130, will I miss these features?! Probably not, and if I do, I'll just casually take a look at the £120 wad of cash in my wallet. You'll probably lose out on an instruction manual, and nice box etc. (I'm guessing, but i've never had the Kenkos), but who cares for the price?!
So maybe I've convinced you that these are the way forward? Or maybe not, maybe autofocus and aperture control on the cheap are essential, then maybe go for the diopter filters. But I'd say the case for extension tubes is fairly strong. I've done a quick unboxing and commentary on these, feel free to take a look just below, it is also worth mentioning that you can add extension tubes to a macro lens making for super super super macro photography.
Part 1
Part 2
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