Macro on the cheap!

[paul911]

I fancy having a go at some macro shots but don’t have the cash for a dedicated lens. What’s the views on close up lens? Seem to be exceptionally cheap (approx. £10) or is it a case of you get what you pay for?



http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/?_nkw=eos+close+up+le...

Any views or pics to share appreciated.

Many thanks
Paul

[Tycho]

I bought some of these for my Olympus and found that the depth of field is extremely shallow but it does give you a taste of macro photography. I like mine and they will tide me over until I can afford a proper macro lens. Will try and post some pics up when I get home.

[4hero]

Not used this type myself Paul, but got a +4 Je$$ops filter as my introduction to macro. The filter on the 18-55 kit lens did produce some decent results! Don't have any example shots right now, but will try and dig some out when I get home tonight.

[DucatiGary]

i have this set > http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MACRO-Close-Up-Lenses-for-Ca...

s'allright

not had chance to play with them though too much, DOF is very shallow though, im sure you could do worse mind

[paul911]

Cheers for the comments guys. Looking like a no brainer for a tenner then Would still love to see some pics if anyone gets a chance.

Cheers
Paul

[Don]

Bought a Sigma one for my Mrs Nikon 18-200

£15 or £20 off eBay. Loads of fun for bugger all money. If it gives you a taste and you then want a dedicated macro lens you'll have lost nothing.

Go for it.

[rustyspit]

If you've got a 50mm prime lens, you can get some good results with a reverse mounting ring which is also be very cheap - it is essentially just an adapter that allows you to screw the lens on back to front and can give some very sharp results.

If (like me) you're even tighter than that, you could try just taking the lens off and holding it back to front - if you're careful and patient you can get some surprisingly good results without buying any kit at all...

[paul911]

rustyspit said:

If (like me) you're even tighter than that, you could try just taking the lens off and holding it back to front - if you're careful and patient you can get some surprisingly good results without buying any kit at all...

I did the reverse lens thing with this pic, but it was really difficult trying to focus. That’s an amazing shot you have …

[4hero]

even harder is reversing a 100mm with the 18-55 kit lens, manually focusing 2 lenses isn't easy



^ clicky for original if you fancy ^

thumbs up for the filters though, will post some shots tonight!

[rustyspit]

Thanks - it was the results of lots of trial and error!

I'm no expert, but macro is always a bit of a trade-off between light and depth-of-field. You can get more depth of field and make it easier to focus by stopping the aperture right down, but then you'll need a flash to give you enough light for the picture.

Even with a proper macro lens it can sometimes be easier to set the focus, then gently move the camera back and forth until the subject is in focus.

[cirks]

rustyspit said:

you can get some surprisingly good results without buying any kit at all...

That's an amazing shot for the technique you used! So, what's the exif data say "give up, the bloke taking this didn't have electronic contacts"

Edited by cirks on Friday 19th September 17:17

[rustyspit]

cirks said:

That's an amazing shot for the technique you used! So, what's the exif data say "give up, the bloke taking this didn't have electronic contacts"

Pretty much:

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/0
Focal Length: 0 mm
Exposure Program: Manual

Edited by rustyspit on Friday 19th September 17:35

[_dobbo_]

That's not cheap - this is cheap:



It follows the principle rustyspit mentions of reversing a lens onto the body, although does take it to the extreme somewhat...

And this is my hair:

Edited by _dobbo_ on Friday 19th September 17:38

[big_peaches]

Silver fox ??

[muppetdave]

Some really good shots there especially the hair!!

[paul911]

Lol, nice one Dobbo. What lens did you have reversed and on the body? I tried various combinations but couldn’t avoid the black circle in my image - lens body or is it massive vignetting

[_dobbo_]

It's a 50mm f/1.8 reversed onto the tube, with the tube applied to the body. This avoided the circle, earlier attempts with two lenses backed onto each other had the circle issue.

[VxDuncan]

Had a set of those close up lenses (might be in the back of a drawer somewhere). Okay, but found the colour fringing (CA) REALLY bad. Then went and bought some cheap extension tube. Have to do everything manually, but they work well without comprimising image quality.

[DIW35]

The alternative to a filter that screws on to your lens is a set of extension tubes that fi between your lens and the camera body. Advantage with these is that they can be used with any of your lenses.

These were taken using extension tubes.

[Tycho]

Here's a couple of my early attempts:
The difficult part was getting a 2 year old to sit still with a camera 1/2 inch from his face. Solved with a chocolate mini roll bribe....

Edited by Tycho on Saturday 20th September 08:16