>>3258150While waiting for the end caps' epoxy to cure I did some handheld shots to see what magnification I was getting and to see if the lens could even focus with that much extension. It works, even with the lens reversed. This is a super shaky and super photoshop enhanced shot of my LCD screen (yet again). 3 colors together = 1 pixel. The tube is 550mm long. It was a mailing tube for some wall poster.
The epoxy won't be cured fully for 24 hours after application, so that means no solid testing with sandbags, tons of light, and super long exposures until tomorrow. I think I'll rig up something for my 4-way rail to rest on so I can use the rail as a rest for the subject. That way the camera and tube can be locked down tightly with sandbags and the subject moved into focus using the rail.
This image isn't cropped, it is just shrunk and was originally 6000x4000. This is as good as it gets with 1/5 exposure handheld. I actually have a better photo that uses more magnification, but it is from when I was stacking a bunch or random extension tubes and bellows together, instead of one big tube like this monster. When this one is done, I'll be able to stack with it and if the focal point isn't inside the lens by that time, I can get some extreme magnification. This photo is probably around 20:1, but I've not calculated it yet.
