Canon A70 is a 3.2 megapixel consumer camera with 3x optical zoom and manual mode. With a little bit of customization, you can actually take wonderful macro shots. This setup allows me to take up to 2.5:1 magnification which is 1cm for a full frame shot. However it can only take very closeup shots with very close working distance (4cm). Why Canon A70? Actually I was bored during the public holiday (Deepavali) and borrowed my wife's camera (Canon A70) to find a way to take better macro shots. Canon A70 has small built-in lens size which allows to use reversed EF 35mmf2, good quality with accurate color, small size, light weight, cheap and portable. With the help of slave flash, it provide fill-in flash that gives better quality, detail and good exposure. If you are tired of heavy setup of your SLR or DSLR, try this new setup that allows you to explore the new way of macro photography.

Hardware Requirement

S/NO	Item	Screenshot	Remarks
01	Canon A70		You can use any Canon A?? series for such setup.
02	Canon A70 Adapter Tube B-52 (LA-DC52C)		This Adapter Tube is used for mounting filter and other add-on lens like wide angle or teleconverter lenses.
03	Achiever 115A/SSlave Flash		Any slave flash will do. You may use a diffuser like Omni-Bounce to diffuse the flash
04	L-Bracket	NO SCREENSHOT	Any L-bracket will do. As long it can hold the flash high up and side way where the internal flash can reach the sensor
05	Canon EF 35mm f2		It is a Canon 35mm SLR Lens that mounted reversely. You can use other prime lens like Canon EF 50mm f1.8 or Pentax 50mm f1.4 MF
06	2x Step-up Ring 52mm-58mm Ring glued together		I cannot find macro coupler ring 52mm so I use two step-up rings glued together. I glue them with the filter threads facing outward
07	Customised Flash Reflector		It is made of cardboard which paste just below Canon A70 internal flash to an angle of 45 degree to reflect light to trigger the slave flash
08	LCD Shade		Made of cardboard folded in rectangle shape and paste onto the LCD. It is useful when taking under hot weather

Setting up the Hardware

1. Paste the small rectangular cardboard just below the Canon A70 internal flash
2. Paste the cardboard LCD Shade onto the LCD of the Canon A70
3. Mount the Adapter Tube B-52 onto the Canon A70
4. Screw the "2x Step-up Ring 52mm-58mm Ring" onto the Adapter Tube B-52
5. Remove the Canon EF 35mm f2 lens filter cover and screw it onto the "2x Step-up Ring 52mm-58mm Ring"
6. Put the Canon A70 aside
7. Cover the slave flash head with diffuser (like 550EX Omni-Bounce)
8. Mount the slave flash onto the L-Bracket
9. Mount the Canon A70 onto the L-Bracket
10. Adjust the Canon A70 position so that the slave flash is pointing at the center of the lens
11. Remove the Canon EF 35mm f2 lens rear cover
12. You are ready for macro shoot out

Overview Setup

S/NO	Description	Screenshot
01	Front View
02	Side View
03	Back View
04	Side View

How to take?

1. Hold the flash bracket with your left hand
2. Use the following settings:
• Zoom: 3.8x (Optical Zoom 3x + Digital Zoom 0.8x)
• Mode: Manual
• Aperture = f8
• Shutter Speed = 1/160sec or faster depend on metering
• ISO = 50
• Internal Flash = On
• Best Quality and L size
3. Spot your object. I would recommend you to take under good lighting area.
4. Aim the Canon A70 to the general direction of the object, press 1/2 shutter and check the metering, esp. the shutter speed
5. Adjust the shutter speed (preferred 1/160sec or faster) to get 0 compensate value
6. Move your Canon A70 setup slowly to the object about 4cm working distance
7. Press 1/2 shutter to focus and move your Canon A70 setup to re-focus
8. If you see the object appears sharp and in focus at the LCD, click on the shutter button
9. Canon A70 internal flash should fire off and reflected upwards to trigger the slave flash
10. Practise many times to get good shots
11. Good luck !

Sample Shots
Uncropped