alternative to macro lens?

[liverlipsyyz]

i recently read in scott kelby's book the following, "can't afford a macro? how about a close-up?". he says you can purchase a canon close-up lens for about 1/4 of the price of a real macro lens. he says you can get a version that screws on to a nikon lens (i have a nikon 18-55mm and a nikon 55-200mm). would this work for macro photography? does anyone else use a set up like that? i called my photo store and they said there are all kinds of close-up filters and i'm wondering if what i described above is a "close up filter". kelby says he has a canon close-up lens 500D that he got for 1/4 price of a macro lens. can someone help me?
thanks!
liver

[wulf]

I highly recommend the Raynox DCR-250 (see my examples on Flickr). It is an extra lens to allow you to focus much closer along with an adaptor ring that clips onto most lenses. I can't remember the exact range but it certainly covers all my collection (from 52mm to about 72mm filter size).

Image quality is good and it is convenient to be able to clip it on and off. I did find that one of the bits of plastic on my adaptor ring broke after about 6 months but it had seen heavy use.

Wulf

[ditch_azeroth]

i tried using the dcr-250 too and can attest to its usefulness. if you had wulf's vivitar 90mm f/2.5 lens, then that would be a different thing.

[NicoleB]

Am I a moron?

I have a Raynox maco (shoot me which one), used it with my Casio. And somewhere I had an adapter ring.

I loved the macro lens....maybe I should give it a try with the Nikon D300.

Think it would work?

(Where the heck did I put that adapter ring?!)

[wulf]

The Vivitar and Raynox make a great combination - that gets me to 1:1 or closer.

NicoleB - the Raynox would certainly work with your D300.

Wulf

Nb. as a cheap way to get macro shots, you can buy a loupe - a magnifying lens - and rig up some way of holding it in front of the lens

[NicoleB]

Originally Posted by wulf

NicoleB - the Raynox would certainly work with your D300.

Thanks, Wulf!

Argh and I can't find the adapter,...... *slaps forehead*

[DSImages]

I actually just purchase a set of Quantaray Close up filters. +4, +2, +1. Which are stackable. Meaning you can put them together to get a +7. Anyway, Im new to macro so that is why I decided to go the cheap route before i dropped the money on a good lens. Filter pack cost about 30 bucks. Below are some pics with and without.

First image is with a D40, 18-55mm lens, shot taken at 55mm.



Second image is with same camera and lens, 55mm, with all three filters stacked. +7

[liverlipsyyz]

great examples! wow, really shallow dof on the stacked one, eh? i'm going to be getting a close-up filter pack next week and i also have a nikon d40 with a 18-55mm (also have a 55-200mm). what brand of filters did you buy? for some reason the lady at the shop told me you can't stack them???

[inkista]

If you're looking into multiple filters, I'd also say you may want to give some thought to an extension tube set.

The convention wisdom is that adding optical elements to a lens will degrade image quality. You may increase distortion or chromatic aberration, and it's most likely to decrease contrast. An extension tube has no glass. It's just a bunch of tubes with electrical contacts to pass along the lens/body signals. They are more expensive than diopter filters, but since you can stack the three tubes in any combination, you have a little more flexibility in magnification.

Other options to using close-up filters are holding some kind of magnifying glass held in front of the lens. You don't need a screw-on filter, it's just more convenient. You can also do lens reversal if you already have a prime lens like, say a 50mm f/1.8. You essentialy put one lens face-to-face with the one you have mounted on the camera. You can just hold the lens up, or use a ring that connects the lenses by their filter threads. This has the same effect as a diopter filter, but probably has higher quality glass and higher magnification (reversed wide angles are better for getting closer which may be counter-intertuitive). These tricks, btw, tend to work better with primes than with zooms.

Just two examples but:

Canon XT, 50mm f/1.8 + Kenko tube set, all tubes stacked (68mm extension):


Canon XT. EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM, with 50mm f/1.8 reversed on the front.


The Poor Man's Macro group on Flickr is a pretty good starting to place to learn about these techniques. I did want to mention, however, that none of these things is as easy to use as a macro lens. All three techniques, lens reversal, extension tubes, and filters will severely limit your framing ability--the subject will ONLY focus at a specific distance from the lens. A macro lens, in comparison, gives you the ability to choose the framing before setting focus, and its close focus ability was gained by tweaking the lens design with a floating element, and you get an added benefit of razor sharp glass. Macro lenses are easily the sharpest lens in any lineup.

[daft_biker]

Personally I prefer the extension tube option as I don't mind using tubes on dedicated macro lenses now that I've upgraded. If I'd have bought close up "filters" I'd likely have stopped using them long ago due to the loss in image quality.

Decent extension tubes may be a little more expensive than a set of close up lenses initially but I think they are a far better investment in the long run. I also have the Kenko set in Canon fit - great value and easy to use although mine are the older variant that don't take EF-S lenses (3 years regular use and they're as good as new).