Figure 3. Components of the Macro Rig. Top Left: Camera, lens, lens support, and rail. Right: XYZ lab lifter supports and positions the sample holder. Bottom Left: Sample Holder made from Helping Hands gripper.
over a microscope is that the right lens can give you around 30 mm of working distance from objective lens to sample. Tat’s more than even a long working distance microscope lens. Te extra space gives you more options for sample positioning and effective lighting. Tis turns out to be a big deal in practice. Note that with long lenses of any
description (telephoto, astronomical, or macro) you support the lens, not the camera. Tis particular lens has enough of an online following that lens
support models are freely available for 3D printing (courtesy of Allan Walls). Te lens supports are attached to a conventional lens support rail. Once the camera and lens are sorted and supported, we need to provide steady yet flexible support for the sample. A key advantage of the rig over a microscope is the ability to pose the sample, rotate it, tilt it, and position it in any manner needed to deliver the desired image. If every good image tells a story,
composing and lighting each shot mindfully provides significant narrative. Many sample-holding options exist. I am currently using one of the simplest, an old “helping hands” soldering part holder painted black. Next, the sample and holder must be
positioned in front of the lens. Tis is a non-trivial task as the focal sweet spot is very small. Here I chose to wimp out and bought a relatively expensive XYZ scissor lift lab jack. Note that cheap lab jacks are unfit for this duty as they don’t move smoothly. (Lesson learned from experience.) Te lab jack combined with the
sample holder gives me six axes of motion for the sample. With all this freedom, failures to position the sample for best results have to be blamed on me, not my equipment.
The Frame
and Camera Sled Tere are many ways to support and
move the camera relative to the sample. I happened to have 2020 aluminum extrusion in the workshop. Tese are like tinker toys for (alleged) adults. You can make almost any shape or device you can imagine and it comes out strong and square.
36 FUNGI Volume 19:2 Summer 2026
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