magnifying glass macro

[blejavac]

This one's for ppl who haven't thought of it already and don't want to buy fixed 50mm just to take an occasional macro (the reversed 50mm lens trick works w/ the zoom lenses but its a real drag to get and keep them in position).

All u need is a magnifying glas - times two..
Why two? Why not..



the tissue between handles is to keep the glasses leveled

Now u just hold the glass in front of the lens, u can put ur camera in AF mode (this way it takes a bit longer to focus cause ur hands are moving) or put it to MF and focus with getting closer or away from the subject. (or moving the subject close or away from the camera)

next three shots aren't cropped, they are their original format, taken at different lenghts w/ two magnifying glasses

this one is taken at 42mm (olympus size = 84mm leica), which is the far end of 14-42 lens (this lens is kinda macro - u can get as close as 25cm to focus on a subject w/o aid). downsize to this is that w/ pressing the glass against the lens u can zoom out, back to 14mm - so be gentle. upsize is that the aperture of these kind of lenses is around f4 so it gives u plenty of room in lower lite conditions, and DoF is quite deep.


this one is 40mm (=80 in leica), near end of 40-150mm lens. as u can see if u count the mm in both shots there isn't much difference. but this one has an upsize: it cannot zoom out while u press the glass against it. downsize is that it has shalower DoF which makes it harder to focus on a subject - but thats what macro is all about - lol


this 3rd one goes extreme. be sure to drink a lot of fluids, get well rested and don't be hungry before u play around w/ this one.
it's 150mm (=300 leica) lens, far end of 40-150mm zoom. DoF is more shallow than miss universe and miss world combined. focusing is - to say the least - hard, but hey we're digital so fire away. (I've used this "technique" while shooting film - it aint fun to wait shots developed). downsizes: a lot of them. upsize: u can get reeeaaaly close..next best thing to a microscope - lol


btw. I played w/ a microscope too, I'll post some shots in Share ur shots thread

back to tutorial
now for couple of things I've encountered:

- to allow myself more lite I took the UV filter off - got the spot on a lens where the glass pressed against the first lens glass - they're both spherical enough to touch each other. so before using the glass check if it touches ur lens glass. if it does just keep the filter on. spot wasn't a scratch but hey why risk it

- haven't noticed any flares but ur hand which holds the mag.glass mite produce a shadow on a subject. it helps to be ambidextrous - lol. or bend the hand - till it hurts..

- my minolta had 55mm diameter, the olympus has 58mm dia. of the lens so the average mag.glass fits just perfect. probably ppl w/ lenses over 65mm in diameter would have problems finding a suitable glass.
- in the two glasses combo the white one is 3x magnifying, the black one is 2,5x. it'd be fun to try a 10x mag.

- when u put ur camera down, walk around w/ 2 glasses combo on ur eye (as near as possible) and check out the world around u. THE DUST IS EVERYWHERE! (not suitable for children under 3yrs and persons w/ OCD -LMAO)

- it's hard to break a glass, u can keep it in ur pocket or a bag or a fannypack. it really isn't heavy and when u get a hold of it - it's really easy to use.

this is a bee I shot using 2mag.glass combo:
1st shot is uncropped, 2nd one is cropped to some senses..lol, and the third one is just "showing off" how much u can use and how far u can go to still have a reasonable quality photo. the original was shot in raw and saved as 400dpi tiff so it gives u plenty of room to blow it up
I'll put links here, took enough server space already

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m.../macro/bee.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...ee_cropped.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m104/blejavac/macro/bee_cropped_even_more.jpg

hope u'll have fun
L

[photofun]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm going to buy some new magnifying glasses next time I go to the store - mine are too scratched to use and have the little round extra magnifier in them. I really appreciated your shots showing the different focal lengths and got quite a laugh with the 150 mm. I always love looking at macro shots and seeing what my failing eyes miss.

[asterismos]

Thanks for posting this tutorial. Before reading your tutorial I never realized this would work but thought it was quite a nifty way to get my feet wet with macro so I made one of my own, improving a little bit on the design. I am amazed at how well it works and just wanted to say thanks for putting this tutorial on DPS.

[tudacee]

thanks for the idea...never thought of it before...will give it a try

[candleman]

the bee is a beautiful result.. nice work.
thanks for the tutorial... i think this has brought me out of my creative dry spell!