Help with Macro equipment

Ebay sell sets of close up lenses for about £12-£15.

This is the cheapest option and they can give surprisingly good results.

They usually come as a set of 4: +1, +2, +4 and +10 Dioptres.

They simply screw on like a filter to the front of your lens.

This was taken on a Canon 350D with +10 Dioptre close up lens on the 18-55mm kit lens:



​

Be prepared to have a low hit rate for good shots.

DOF is extremely limited so take loads of pictures.

I usually get about 10 - 20% hit rate which I rate as very good.
 
petersmart said:
Ebay sell sets of close up lenses for about £12-£15.

This is the cheapest option and they can give surprisingly good results.

They usually come as a set of 4: +1, +2, +4 and +10 Dioptres.

They simply screw on like a filter to the front of your lens.

This was taken on a Canon 350D with +10 Dioptre close up lens on the 18-55mm kit lens:

Be prepared to have a low hit rate for good shots.

DOF is extremely limited so take loads of pictures.

I usually get about 10 - 20% hit rate which I rate as very good.
Click to expand...


Thanks for this, looks like the cheapest way to macro for sure! I have seen these on the bay but thought they may be pointless but looks like i may have been wrong.

Just to make this a little clearer in my head, your kit lens is 25cm or maybe the older 28cm min focus, how close can you get with the +10?
 
Hi Mike,

If you wan to try extreme macro (5x lifesize), I can let you borrow my Canon MPE-65. I haven't used since I bought it here last year and I now have a 100mm f/2.8 L IS for any macro work I want to do.

Let me know and we can arrange for you to collect.

Bob
 
Bawbee said:
Hi Mike,

If you wan to try extreme macro (5x lifesize), I can let you borrow my Canon MPE-65. I haven't used since I bought it here last year and I now have a 100mm f/2.8 L IS for any macro work I want to do.

Let me know and we can arrange for you to collect.

Bob
Click to expand...

Hey Bob, thanks very much for the offer but im a Nikon D90 user :bang:
 
What would you like to take pictures of?

I started with one of the +10 filters which for the price is fantastic, as it lets you retain autofocus, etc. Quality is not quite perfect but it's not bad. petersmart's photo above is probably as good as the image quality ever gets with them.

Then there are manual lenses. My "extreme" macro setup is an M42 lens adapter with a standard 135mm lens, but also with a 58mm lens reversed and stuck on the end of the 135mm. This gets about 3:1 macro and decent quality. You can then add cheap M42 teleconverters to reduce quality and increase magnification.
I have had 12:1 macro with just about reasonable quality from this setup. Cost should be under £100.
But this is only for tripod shots with subjects that don't move ;)
 
bobiscuit said:
What would you like to take pictures of?

I started with one of the +10 filters which for the price is fantastic, as it lets you retain autofocus, etc. Quality is not quite perfect but it's not bad. petersmart's photo above is probably as good as the image quality ever gets with them.

Then there are manual lenses. My "extreme" macro setup is an M42 lens adapter with a standard 135mm lens, but also with a 58mm lens reversed and stuck on the end of the 135mm. This gets about 3:1 macro and decent quality. You can then add cheap M42 teleconverters to reduce quality and increase magnification.
I have had 12:1 macro with just about reasonable quality from this setup. Cost should be under £100.
But this is only for tripod shots with subjects that don't move ;)
Click to expand...


Coo. Spare M42 135mm lens.....check
Spare M42 58mm lens....check

Can I ask a few questions? How do you attach the 58 to the front of the 135? Also, which one do you focus with and what do you do with the apertures on both lenses? Ie, do you set the 58mm and leave it, and then focus with the 135mm only, do you set the 58mm aperture wide open and adjust with the 135mm and so on?
 
I use black electrical tape to stick the 58mm reversed onto the front of the 135mm.

58mm stays wide open (f/2) and 135mm stays open until I get focus and then down to at least f/11 for enough DOF. I find live view helps!

I usually tape the focus rings in place to prevent accidentally turning them. Focus happens by moving the camera back and forth - but with a DOF of about 1mm at best, it's easier said than done.

Here's a sample shot with (IIRC) a 3x teleconverter:
The full frame:
4004505106_4798915c31_o.jpg


A bit of a crop to see some detail:
4003743385_a5628fef07_o.jpg


And for reference, same insect next to a 5p coin:
4004505414_b79b15029e.jpg
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
Have a look at the Raynox DCR150 & DCR250
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, i had a quick search and it looks like the way forward to keep the image quality up although few pounds more than im prepared to pay just to mess around. I will defo keep this in mind if i get a little more serious before purchasing a dedicated macro lens

bobiscuit said:
What would you like to take pictures of?

I started with one of the +10 filters which for the price is fantastic, as it lets you retain autofocus, etc. Quality is not quite perfect but it's not bad. petersmart's photo above is probably as good as the image quality ever gets with them.

Then there are manual lenses. My "extreme" macro setup is an M42 lens adapter with a standard 135mm lens, but also with a 58mm lens reversed and stuck on the end of the 135mm. This gets about 3:1 macro and decent quality. You can then add cheap M42 teleconverters to reduce quality and increase magnification.
I have had 12:1 macro with just about reasonable quality from this setup. Cost should be under £100.
But this is only for tripod shots with subjects that don't move ;)
Click to expand...

Not anything specific, just close ups of typical things like jewelry, coins, marbles and of course some water drops and the like. Just want to give it a go without spending much more than a few £££. I might get addicted which would of course change the budget accordingly

Bawbee said:
Oooops, wrong Mike :lol:
Click to expand...

:suspect: Hi :eek: Its a different Mike
 
bobiscuit said:
I use black electrical tape to stick the 58mm reversed onto the front of the 135mm.

58mm stays wide open (f/2) and 135mm stays open until I get focus and then down to at least f/11 for enough DOF. I find live view helps!

I usually tape the focus rings in place to prevent accidentally turning them. Focus happens by moving the camera back and forth - but with a DOF of about 1mm at best, it's easier said than done.

Here's a sample shot with (IIRC) a 3x teleconverter:
The full frame:

A bit of a crop to see some detail:

And for reference, same insect next to a 5p coin:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed explanation and sample shots, i really didnt think the insect was that small until your last pic, mighty impressive :clap:
 
Mr Mike said:
Thanks for this, looks like the cheapest way to macro for sure! I have seen these on the bay but thought they may be pointless but looks like i may have been wrong.

Just to make this a little clearer in my head, your kit lens is 25cm or maybe the older 28cm min focus, how close can you get with the +10?
Click to expand...

To be quite honest I haven't got a clue!

I just get close enough to take the pics.

If I couldn't get close enough with one lens I'd just put another one on.

I don't use them much these days since I got the kenko DG AF Extension tubes.
 
petersmart said:
To be quite honest I haven't got a clue!

I just get close enough to take the pics.

If I couldn't get close enough with one lens I'd just put another one on.

I don't use them much these days since I got the kenko DG AF Extension tubes.
Click to expand...

I worked this out myself since posting, you are still at min focus distance except the subject is now magnified to fill the frame. Amazing how things can seem complicated until you try or see it for yourself.
 
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