Macro studio

I promised myself that I would one day return to Macro imagery. Years ago I had a Nikon D70s with a 105 VR Macro lens, a brilliant piece of kit, but first I had the 105 manual focus lens, and for what I want to do that fits the bill perfectly. So I purchased my old lens back from the mate I sold it to. £20, he's a very good mate.
My main intention is/was to produce a mini studio effect, to save the pain of taking pieces of card/lights/camera and mini-pod around the house and conservatory. I came up with this idea after purchasing a D3100 simply because it's a lightweight DSLR; the table may not be a necessity for some, but with back and neck problems it enables me to stand upright and work without strain. A small table from Argos £20, to match my desk and filing cabinet. Two black gooseneck lamps with clamp fittings, adaptors and on/off switches, £5.99 each, Homebase. Helping hand holder and magnifier, now £3 on E-Bay. Table top vice, about £15. Twin track ie left and right fore and aft micro slide adjuster £31E-Bay, LED ring light, £30 from Neewar via Amazon; an identical ring light is available with a Polaroid sticker for twice the price. The controller for the light sits in the flash slot, the light itself is slid onto a circular adaptor plate screwed into the lens end.
I've included an Eye-fi SD card £56, as I can upload as I shoot and watch the results wirelessly, the D3100 isn't designed for tethering but will do it if necessary. I've also repurchased Helicon Soft/Focus £25. Basic hand operated remote shutter switch £8. Basic coloured paper or card for backdrops is very inexpensive. All I need to do is work out a backdrop support mechanism.

So, how does it work? The camera is set on manual, the aperture and focus is set manually. Get the front of the target in focus, now move the camera on the slide a few millimeters backwards in front of the subject, then gradually move the whole setup on the guide rail a fraction of a mm each shot, by use of the knurled knob, and gradually move through and past the object without touching the focus ring. The images appear in a set folder on my desktop. I can look at them and make changes to settings. The file is then dragged and dropped into Helicon focus which takes all the layers and flattens them into one image, this produces a macro picture in focus right through or around the object. There is a clever 3D option as well in Helicon, so I'm looking out for an old, small turntable. :-) Guess what, Lego make small square parts with turntables 99p for 8 on E-Bay, ideal with a small item on a fixed base.

If you cut out the SD card and vice, the cost for parts, apart from a lens is £126. My Christmas pressy to myself. The lens is available from E-Bay for about £100-150, remember this is done manually rather than autofocus.

The main thing is that this setup will make me use the macro system. Messing around with odds and sods gets in everybodys way around the house and became inconvenient, this way I'm on my own and can play happily with my toys.