My work has not really required me to do macro, but I have always been fascinated with close-up photos that I decided to check alternative (cheaper) routes, and for roughly 1/3 of the cost of a Nikon 60mm Macro, I got a set of Kenko Extension tubes and reverse mount adapter. Using my exsisting lenses, I am now able to go beyond 1:1.

Here are some samples:

Here is a shot using an Nikkor 85mm F1.8 with a 20mm extension tube and a Nikkor 28mm F2.8 AI-S reverse mounted on a D200.

http://www.photosbykengo.com/misc/KG2_2958.jpg
The transistor (is it a transistor?) is a measly 2.4mm in length. Likewise image is not cropped but only resized, so you can see relative size of the transistor to the whole image. This was shot at F8 anything smaller I was getting vignetting at the corner. By the way this is part of a Nikon D2H metering board.

Here is an example of a Nikkor 20mm F4 AI lens reverse mounted on the D70.
http://www.photosbykengo.com/misc/DSC_1021_sm.jpg

Whoever said thumb tacks were sharp :D

Nice shots! Where did you get your extension tubes from? how much did it cost you?

Try extension tubes with a 70-300 zoom set at 300mm. You'll have great subject to camera distance and great macro shots! You'll need a fast shutter speed and ample light. So try flash units.

I got to say this is one hellafa shot! (the thumb tacks)

@ken

very nice! how much are the extension tubes? pardon my ignorance but how different are these tubes from the 'extenders' that canon sells?

I'm a Nikonian and I'm not sure with Canonites' hardware. But one thing's for sure: extension tubes are not teleconverters. I got mine second hand from an old pro for a software swap. Before that I'd use the toilet paper roll (the cylindrical cardboard) as an extension tube and put it between the camera and lense!

Have fun!