I wouldn't spend the money Wayne. At 10mp you can be pretty far away from the miniature and still get a close shot. I have a d40 which is only 6mp and I shoot mostly with a 55-200mm DX lens that's got a 2ft minimum focal range.
This isn't the best picture since it's just a black primed miniature, but it shows a fairly large image of what's essentially a 12mm figure.
This image was taken with an off-camera flash in the bathroom of my old apartment. Now that I have more space in my painting area I set up two off-camera flashes on stands with umbrellas. I use the washing machine as a surface and bend a sheet of white paper as a background.
You may think that sounds expensive, but it's actually on par with the cost of the cheapest nikkor macro lens.
This kit is awesome considering all the extras you get like gaffer tape, gels, black tinfoil for gobos, etc, etc.
When I bought this it didn't come with the gaffer tape, and I still haven't found a local source for the stuff.
gaffer tape, btw, is a duck tape which tears easily and cleanly, is completely matte, adheres strongly but can be removed without leaving residue. Great for temporarily taping stuff to stuff, like gels to cameras or using the tape as a clamp.
