In Fathers Day gift ideas, I made reference to a "ghetto macro". Today Ill show you just what I mean and why spending $15 is worth it.
and this
Again, this is not a very big flower. And not a very big spider. You can compare him to the bits of pollen for reference. Both of these were shot at "73mm" (109mm effective) and f/8. As I said before, this is a tool that needs bright light. I took these late afternoon because you also need to be able to get almost on top of the subject. Overhead sunlight would make direct shots almost impossible.
Close up lenses are also called "diopters" and sometimes "macro filters." They vary in quality and of course price. Functionally they are the same as reading glasses. Practically, they allow you to get closer, MUCH closer, to your subject. Why then would anyone spend the insane dollars on a "real" macro lens? As always, there are tradeoffs. The first and most obvious is the extremely small focus area. You can forget about trying to frame a nice "rule of thirds" shot in camera - its center focus time. Second, your depth of field is measured in millimeters. Finally, focus is more about moving the camera than turing the dial so tripod work is probably out too. This is a bright light tool! Despite all of that, you can get some AMAZING results with a little practice and a lot of shooting. Enough talk.
The pictures:
This was shot using a 200mm zoom, all the way zoomed at the minimum distance.
This is the same daisy with a 10x filter attached at "50mm" (different angle). This is a very small flower and I couldn't get a single shot where the front petals and the back petals were both in focus. most of the time I crank the lens to the widest setting - in this case 50mm - and then move my entire body until the part I want is in focus. I have managed to get a few good pictures with autofocus but this is really a time when you want to go to manual focus.
Ok, thats nice but not THAT impressive. How about this....
and this
Again, this is not a very big flower. And not a very big spider. You can compare him to the bits of pollen for reference. Both of these were shot at "73mm" (109mm effective) and f/8. As I said before, this is a tool that needs bright light. I took these late afternoon because you also need to be able to get almost on top of the subject. Overhead sunlight would make direct shots almost impossible.
I have not tried using a flash with this yet but it would almost have to be off camera. Also, forget about your lens hood. Even the smallest one on my 18-55mm hit the subject.
Because the DoF is so shallow, flat subjects will give you more area in focus. In fact, if you can get a flat enough subject, its hard to tell the picture was not shot with a "real" macro.
I have more examples up on the DPOAB Flickr page.
I have more examples up on the DPOAB Flickr page. Close up lenses are classic "good enough" tools. If your bread and butter is producing high quality extreme close ups, buy one of these. But if you just want to take really cool pictures of tiny spiders and pretty flowers, a close up lens and some practice will get you some great shots.
It is a little thicker and a little longer than a standard pen with a brush on one end and a cleaning thingy on the other. Its one of those thigns that you dont need until you really need and there is no real substitute.
I choose the 52mm as my example but the price is close on the other sizes. "But he already HAS a UV filter. Why get him another one?" The whole point of UV filters, other than filtering UV, is to get scratched. Or more correctly, to protect the REAL glass from getting scratched. But what happens if one day into that dream hiking trip with the majestic views he puts a one inch scratch across his filter? I have a spare UV filter in each of the two sizes my different lenses take. That gives me one spare and then I have to start juggling. In the mean time I can order a new backup. Its a whole lot cheaper than buying one at Disney World or walking back to civilization with no pictures.
I picked one at random but you will need to get the one that fits your flash. Besides making you look really cool, you will get better lighting, fewer red eyes and fewer shadows using a diffuser. There are others out there but there is a reason pros use the Sto-Fen.
After one day of walking around with my 70-300 zoom and battery pack, I ordered this. Besides yelling "Steal Me!!" in bright yellow, red or blue colors, most manufacture straps are too thin and not padded. if you plan to USE your camera, get one of these.
Think of this as a Sto-Fen for your popup because that is exactly what it does. If you do not have a flash besides your popup, you NEED one of these. Popup flashes are harsh and give you flat pictures with red eyes and creepy skin tone. If you love your family, buy one of these!!
QUALIFYING STATEMENT! I only have the 10x. And Im mad because I paid almost as much for the 10X alone as the complete set is here. And its only almost because this doesn't qualify for free shipping! These are sometimes called "ghetto macro" lenses. Besides allowing you to get some great pictures, they produce a very very shallow Depth of Field that gives the rest of the picture a nice soft focus look. If you like bugs or flowers, you will like having these.
I picked up 
at Costco for $20 so if you can find it there, get 2. These are the best rechargeables I have ever used. Unlike other rechargeable batteries, the Eneloops don't get tired and lose charge when they are in your camera or flash. Charge time is a little longer than some but it is worth it. I routinely get over 1000 pictures out of a single charge.
This, as far as I can tell, identical to the 6601UT except for the color and the bag. I have the 6601UT and while it is by no means a "professional" tripod, it does the job. Its reasonably light, reasonably sturdy and dirt cheep. I am only now starting to get inot lots of tripod work and I know I will eventually move up to a better tripod. This blog is about "good enough" and for most people, that describes this tripod.
