Close Up Lens +1d, +2d, +4d and Macro

alisande

15 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I'm sure you'll hear from people more knowledgeable than I, but it seems to me you didn't give us enough information to evaluate the lens. Just the fact that it screws onto your existing lens isn't enough to recommend it (or not).

I've had good results with a Raynox CDR-250 closeup lens, and the 150 is also good. If that's what you're looking at on eBay, and if you're certain it fits your camera, I'd give it a try.

loudnoise

15 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

What you're talking about is essentially a set of filters that act act as a macro lens replacement. I have the same set and have used macro lenses as well.

If you are taking pictures of relatively stationary objects close up lenses work fine. Marco lenses are faster and simpler to use.

The main thing you need to think/worry about with close up lenses is that what they do is cut the focal distance of the lens you have them on. 1x cuts it in half so a lens with a focus distance of 2 ft will now focus at 1 ft. This also works on the other end, infinity is now only half way to infinity.
It also does the same thing to your depth of field. So the higher number you have you can get closer and closer to the object and the width of the field in focus gets narrower and narrower.

You can also screw the various close up lenses together to get get even closer.

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It can be fun to breed your own zinnias - Part 3

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Pls8xx, "One thing that has been on my mind the last few weeks is how important it is to me that a zinnia have a short compact plant form. I grow in a sand/clay mix rather than topsoil. It will hold plants upright fine when dry, but when wet the soil looses its strength and the tall plants become vulnerable to wind knocking them over." You have made a good case that you do need zinnias with a more compact plant habit. Last year, we had a very violent storm with high winds of 50mph and it blew down literally dozens of my zinnias. I had concrete re-bar tomato cages around a few of my more critical "breeders" and they were protected. But many of my big zinnia plants snapped off at the ground and many more lost their basal branches and some lateral branches. Interestingly, some of my big bushy scabiosa flowered zinnias and most of those F1s with a "scabi" parent came through just fine, with amazing resistance to the high winds. As is usual in a high wind storm here, for a period of hours we lost our electrical power, our telephone land line, and our cable connection. I studied the wreckage in my zinnia patch to see "what went wrong" structurally with my zinnias. As is usual for me, there were some surprises. I plan to apply what I learned from my "crash investigation" to make better decisions about plant structure this year. For one thing, I had planted a lot of Burpeeanas, from both Burpee and from Stokes. I had a lot of "out of the seed packet" Burpeeanas and some F1 hybrids from crosses that I made between Burpeeanas. (Incidentally, your picture of the "original" red Burpeeanas shows just how nice that Burpeeana bushy look can be.) To my amazement, some of the most disastrous structural failures were in my Burpeeanas. They have what I refer to as a "candelabra" stem structure, with basal branches coming out from the main stem at a 90 degree angle. Even though the stems look thick and strong, there is a kind of "joint" at the attachment point. Some of the basal branches that were in contact with the soil had actually sprouted roots and were apparently in the process of becoming independent plants. It's almost as if the stem joint was "willing" to detach from the main stem. But even higher up, those branches that cantilevered out from the main stem at a 90-degree angle seemed inherently weak. In almost all cases, the branches broke at their attachment points to the main stem. The plants that seemed resistant to branches breaking off had their branches leaving the main stem at a much more acute angle, like 45 or even 30Â°. So their branches were headed upward at the attachment point. For whatever reason, those branches seemed much better attached, even if the plant habit was more generally upward than outward. Despite the fragility of the Burpeeana plants in high winds, I plan to continue growing them and selecting the best flowers and plants. I will just be looking for stronger attachment points for their branches. If you want to emphasize compactness in your zinnia breeding, you can start with some strains that are already compact and cross some other zinnias with them. I personally have quit crossing the lower growing zinnias because I don't like kneeling and bending over to do my cross pollinating. I've always had a tendency toward lower back pain from my gardening, and a lot of bending over just aggravates it. However, short zinnias are interesting looking and fascinating in crosses, so I am thinking about constructing some really high raised beds that might bring those short zinnias up to a more comfortable working distance. There are some short zinnias that you can cross with tall zinnias that will produce some intermediate compact F1 hybrids, and the F2s from them should sort out into a wide range of plants that you could pick from for further breeding. Three of the shortest are the Thumbelina zinnia, the Zinnita zinnia, and Zinnia Short Stuff. Here is another view of Short Stuff and here is another seed source: Short Stuff at New England seed. Some taller but still very compact zinnias are Zinnia Swizzle cherry and ivory, Zinnia Swizzle scarlet and yellow, Zinnia Dreamland hybrids, Zinnia Magellan mix, and I just found that Zinnia Peter Pan mix is apparently still available. By crossing some of those compact zinnias with other zinnias you should have the basis for creating several new strains of compact zinnias, with various degrees of compactness. MM

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Hi Alex, " I'd certainly be interested in finding an adaptor that worked! I guess I'll have to look into it all again, unless you can backtrack and give me the links other than Wiki that told you about those adaptors. " Well, I think there is a really good chance that the adapter I originally linked to would work. I'll repeat the link here. It is the Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter, Canon FD, FL Lens to Nikon Camera, for Nikon D7100, D7000, D5200, D5100, D3100, D300, D300S, D200, D100, D50, D60, D70, D80, D90, D40, D40x, N70s, D80, D800, D800e, D4, D3, D2, D1, D300, D300s, and D200. You can read the product description and then read the 26 customers reviews that Amazon has published for the product. Amazon has a good reputation for letting you return a product if it doesn't work for you or turns out to be defective. With no hassle they let me return a telescopic sight for a rifle that didn't live up to my expectations. I think if that adapter didn't work for you that you could return it. "I swear I looked at all that stuff, and had been convinced the adaptors wouldn't work, but I'd love to be proven wrong." Well, at the time you checked, there may not have been an adapter to use Canon FD lenses on Nikon SLRs. That adapter includes compatibility with Nikon D7100, D7000, D5200 cameras, which are relatively "late model" cameras. And almost all the lens adapters on Amazon are designed to adapt Nikon lenses for use on Canon cameras. Only the one I linked, and another that was out of stock, were to adapt Canon lenses for use on Nikon cameras. "Wait a minute, maybe it's the macro-lens I should be checking..." You should verify that it is a Canon FD or FL lens, and that it is in serviceable condition. " I have a scanner that will scan negatives, and I had them develop the film, but not print it, since I could save it digitally from the scanner." Impressive. So you also can extract digital images from all those old film negatives. I have an old Epson Perfection V750 Pro that can scan transparencies or opaque material. A good many years ago I bought a Stereo Realist camera and took a bunch of stereo slides. I have scanned a few, and made large prints from them for my sister, but I should take the time to scan a bunch more of them. It has three selectable scanning resolutions, 4800 dpi, 6400 dpi, and 9600 dpi. The higher the resolution, the slower the scan. And I use the maximum resolution on my stereo slides, because each side of a slide is only 23 x 24 mm. Not much to work with. Fortunately, Kodachrome is almost grainless, and I can get decent 8x10s from a stereo slide. I have some software (onOne's Perfect Resize) that could let me go bigger, but I haven't tried that yet. I have been thinking about getting a beam splitter for my Nikon D3200 so I could take some 3D pictures with it. And maybe some 3D video. It would be "cool" to take some 3D footage of a wooly worm eating away at one of my zinnias. Maybe not. My zinnia gardens have a surprisingly diverse ecology, with a lot of opportunities for close-up photography and videography. More later. ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

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indigosun

14 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

If you can afford it, buy an actual macro lens, not some screw-on attachment, unless you know your camera inside and out. It'll mess with metering, the AF (unless you're like me and only really use manual). But, if you really know your camera, and you're willing to put in the extra effort, you can shoot with even the most broke-a$$ lens, or a cheap attachment. Eventually, you'll want to actually buy a real macro lens.

lazypup

14 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Actually there are a number of options for taking macro photos.

Technically speaking the term "Machro" means that you can produce an image on the film that is between life size and 10x life size. (Image magnifications greater than 10x actual size are referred to as "Michro Photography".

Without question, the simplest and most user friendly method of producing Macro images is by means of a true Machro focusing lens.

Call me old school if you like, but when I began my serious interest in photography back in 1966 Machro lenses were not yet even heard.

The simplest method of producing Machro images with a manual camera is by means closeup lenses, but close up lenses often introduce some aspherical aberrations on the edge of the image. While I doubt that the average amateur would ever notice the difference, none the less, to a died in the wool purest, they offer the least quality in the final print, especially if you intend to make big enlargements. Another drawback is that the close up lenses block some of the light, which means you may loose an F-stop or two.

The next method of producing Machro images is by means of a "lens reversing ring". The normal lens is taken off the camera body, then the lens reversing ring is screwed into the lens filter mount on the front end of the lens and the lens is then attached to the body backwards so that the rear element of the lens is now out in front. (This can only be done with manual aperture lenses or auto lenses that have an auto/manual switch lever). While this method does work very well, with no loss of light the downside is that you are limited in the amount of magnification it can produce.

The next method is to extend the distance of the lens from the film plane by means of "Extension rings". Generally the extension rings come in a set of three rings, each of a different overall length. The extension rings are simply hollow tubes that fit between the rear of the lens and the camera body. The longer the extension, the greater the magnification, and the extension rings can be used singly or they can be stacked to further increase the extension, thus greater magnification. One advantage of extension rings is that you can get a set of "Auto-Extension Rings" which means the rings have the necessary internal mechanical linkages to maintain the cameras auto aperture function. (You can generally find both manual and auto extension rings in brand new condition for sale on Ebay for about $30 to $75) and if your willing to take your chances you may pick them up for half of that through the bidding process. Another advantage of extension rings is that there is no internal lens element so there is no loss of light.

Now if you are a true purist and want the ultimate in machro images you must use a "Bellows Extension".
A bellows extension has a metal frame with a lens board on one end and a camera mount on the opposite end with an accordian type cloth bellows that will extend or contract as you adjust the position of the camera or lens board. The adjustments are made by means of micro fine screw knobs on the frame. There is no mechanical linkage between the camera body and the lens board so typically you must us a manual lens to set the F-stop, however they do make high end bellows units that have an aperature control mechanism built into the lens board and it uses a dual shutter cable release so that when you press the shutter release one cable will stop the lens down on the lens board while the second cable will press the shutter release to snap the picture.

i once used my 1966 Pentax Spotmatic body with a Pentax Auto-Bellows and a Pentax 50mm f1:1.2 Auto-Tacumar lens to shoot a Ladybug sitting on a rose petal, and I got a full image picture of just the face of the ladybug. i later had that image enlarged to 11x14 with full clarity.

Here again, you can always find brand new extension bellows units on Ebay for immediate sale or you can take your chances on bidding and perhaps save a lot of money.

NOTE: When searching for a Bellows also look for "Bellows Slide Duplicators". To duplicate 35mm slides they use a bellows that has a special second bellows and slide holder. They can be used as either a slide duplicator or the slide holder can be removed and the main bellows used for Machro. In fact, My Pentax Auto-Bellows originally came with the slide duplicator attachment.

Now if you are really serious about shooting a lot of macro there are a couple other accessories that will prove invaluable.

1.Right angle finder. Generally when shooting machro images of insects, flowers or other natural subjects you will be using your camera at a very low angle. Most SLR cameras have two small slots on either side of the eyepiece to allow attaching a rubber eyecup or other accessories. A right angle finder snaps on the eyepiece and extends the eyepiece at right angle to the camera body. In this manner when shooting a low angle you can place the camera close to the ground then look straight down into the eyepiece as if you were looking in a microscope. Come of the extension eyepieces even offer a slight magnification to aid in focusing, and there are even some that can be fitted with a corrective lens so that people who wear glasses can use the eyepiece without glasses.

2.Quite often when shooting extremely close machro shots the camera and lens will be so close that they cast a shadow and normal flash is difficult to use in this situation. If you are serious about shooting a lot of machro you might want to consider a "Ring Light". A ring light is a circular flash unit that attaches to the front of the lens and it will produce shadowless lighting on the subject.

3.When making machro images the depth of field is always extremely limited when compared to normal photography.
For best results one should always use a tripod or other means to support the camera and insure it will remain steady during the exposure. If using a Machro zoom lens you can generally get by with a basic tripod, but most tripods will only close down to about 18" high and that means you will generally be looking down on the subject. For very low angles you might want to use a small table top tripod that is only 5 to 8" high, of course you would then need the angle finder eyepiece mentioned above.

I hope this information was not too confusing and be of value to you

Richard

Close Up Lens +1d, +2d, +4d and Macro

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alisande

loudnoise

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indigosun

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