I have, again, been encouraged by the macro work of Danae Wolfe, http://www.wolfemacrophotography.com/, and her working with a pancake lens plus an extension tube ... i've tried the same via renting the lens and using extension tubes and it worked but no better then the 60mm macro i already have. However, the flash diffuser, a Graslon Spark diffuser, is an outstanding inexpensive piece of camera equipment that i am integrating into the macro system i use. I understand why she used the pancake lens as it doesn't cast a shadow when shooting closeups and with a longer lens, the top of the lens often gets in the way of the flash. Still, there is a way to learn to work with that and i'm planning on learning how.
A few samples:
All shot with 60mm macro and Graslon Spark flash diffuser. I like the results.
