17-40L Macro Attempt

I was visiting a cousin In Maryland and there were a lot of bees buzzing around the flowers in her garden. I only had my 17-40L lens that time and I just started shooting away. The results came out acceptable I guess, considering that this isn't a true macro lens. I am by the day getting more fascinated by this area of photography and I will invest in some true macro lenses and/or tubes soon. What's the most cost effective way to jump into macro shooting?

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Hey BB, I'm no expert a macro photography, but my research for an economical way to get into macro led me to a Pentax M42 Macro Takumar on ebay. (See my post "My Turn" here in the macro forum.) I've found M42 mount lenses to still be somewhat reasonable on ebay, and since you probably want to go full manual on the settings, as well as manual focus, I figured, Why not?
-Bruce

BB, welcome to the macro world. There are many ways to do macros, dedicated macro lens, extension tubes, close-up lens, and the combination of the fore-mentioned. The most cost effective way would be extension tubes. Of course, there are pros and cons for each options. There are some useful information in this website:

http://www.beautifulbu​gs.com

I love your shot, BTW. It's very colorful and crisp. The composition is great as well.

Bruce, thanks for the tip! I have no aversion to using manual focus and exposure lenses, having used them for many years. I think I will look into those M42 mount lenses. I do have a Russian Fishie (Zenitar 16 mm) that I use occasionally on my 20d. It does take good pictures, and built like a tank to boot.

Leo, thanks for the kind words and the link. I think I will be getting some tubes as well. Up[ob reading the link you gave me, I saw that my attempt isn't even a true macro, as it isn't nowhere 1:1 Anyway, I'll be getting some stuff soon to be able to get true macro pics.

Thanks again!