How To Best Use Camera Lenses Filters Close Up

Shut-upward lenses could be the ideal solution if you're looking for a relatively cheap and easy way to have shut-upward photos of flowers. Only why stop at flowers? There are all sorts of interesting subjects for this type of photography and a good close-up lens could be just what yous demand to make it happen.

What is a close-upwardly lens?

Despite the name, a close-up lens doesn't expect much similar a lens. It looks more similar a filter and the circular versions spiral into the thread on your photographic camera lens just like any other filter. For this reason close-up lenses are also chosen close-up filters or supplementary filters.

A shut-upwards lens is a high quality magnifying glass that fits on the forepart of your photographic camera's lens. It works by reducing the minimum focusing distance of the lens information technology is attached to. Every bit a result you can move your lens closer to your subject and become greater magnification.

The strength of close-up lenses is measured in diopters, only like eye-glasses. The higher the number, the greater the magnification. Most shut-up lenses come in strengths of +1, +2, +3, and +iv diopter, although they can go as high as +10 diopter. The more powerful lenses can go you lot really close to the subject, just at the toll of a degradation in image quality.

You tin too combine two lenses to increase the magnification (for example, a +i and +2 diopter lens combined gives the aforementioned magnification as a +3 diopter lens) although again, you lot will meet a significant drib in image quality.

What focal lengths can you utilize shut-upward lenses with?

Close-upwards lenses give y'all more magnification when used with telephoto lenses. The longer the focal length, the closer you can get to your subject, which gives you more magnification.

As a full general guide, if you're using a lens with a focal length of 50mm on a full-frame camera (or 35mm with APS-C or 25mm with Micro Four-thirds) then an extension tube is a better choice than a shut-upwards lens as it will help you become closer to the subject.

But with longer focal lengths close-up lenses are more effective. I made all the photos in this tutorial with an 85mm lens combined with a Canon 500D close-upward lens.

What are the benefits of close-up lenses?

When it comes to close-up photography there are iv chief ways of getting closer to your subject.

Use a macro lens.
Put an extension tube between lens and camera.
Contrary a lens using an adapter ring (contrary lens macro).
Attach a close-up lens / filter to a telephoto lens.

And then why would yous use choose a close-up lens rather than 1 of the other methods? Let's accept a look at some of the benefits.

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Lower cost

Close-up lenses are usually (although not always) cheaper than macro lenses.

Lightweight and portable

They are easier to carry with you than a macro lens (you lot tin too look at extension tubes if this is important to y'all)

No light loss

If you lot utilize a macro lens or extension tubes the extra extension means that less lite reaches the sensor or film. That ways you accept to utilize a college ISO, wider aperture, or slower shutter speed to get the right exposure. In that location is no light loss with close-up lenses, making them a practiced option at any time but particularly in low light.

Car-exposure and auto-focus work

This may not exist the case if you use inexpensive extension tubes that break the electronic connections between the lens and photographic camera body.

Improve protection for your photographic camera

You can add or remove a close-up lens without removing the camera lens. In dusty or muddy weather, this characteristic prevents dust and dirt entering your camera body and helps go on the sensor clean.

Easier focus with telephoto zooms

When you use a close-upwards lens with a telephoto zoom, the lens remains focused on the aforementioned point when you lot zoom in or out. If yous are using extension tubes, the point of focus changes when yous zoom, and you have to refocus the lens afterwards. This is another reason why close-up lenses are a practiced match for telephoto lenses.

Are at that place any disadvantages to using close-up lenses?

The main disadvantage of using close-up lenses is that the bore may limit the choice of lenses that you can utilise information technology with (Raynox has a workaround for this, see below).

Another is that image quality can endure at wide apertures, even with skillful quality lenses. This depends a lot on the combination of lens and close-upward lens. The more powerful the close-up lens, the more probable you lot are to get optical aberrations when the main lens is wide open.

In practice this isn't a large trouble equally you need to stop downward to increment depth of field and will rarely use the master lens's widest discontinuity anyway.

It'south too a good idea to avoid buying single-chemical element lenses every bit the image quality isn't good plenty (see below).

What types of shut-up lens can you purchase?

There are 3 types of close-up lens you can purchase. The pick that's best for you depends on your budget and how of import paradigm quality is.

Single-element shut-upwards lenses

This is the most mutual blazon. Information technology'due south the sort you lot ordinarily see sold in photographic camera stores and at trade shows, sometimes in sets of iii or four, and ofttimes at bargain prices. Information technology's ideal if yous're on a budget or merely want to effort close-up photography without spending much money.

Unmarried chemical element lenses may be cheap but the trade-off for that is epitome quality. Single chemical element lenses endure from poor edge sharpness and chromatic aberrations. They tin can't touch the quality of multi-element close-up lenses, or images taken with extension tubes or macro lenses.

This means that single-element lenses are more of a fun item than annihilation else. They allow yous play around with close-up or macro photography without having to buy more expensive equipment.

Double-element close-upward lenses

Double-element lenses contain two elements. They are also called dual-element or achromatic close-up lenses. The 2d element cancels out the aberrations and poor edge quality of the commencement.

They're more expensive than single-element lenses, but the gain in paradigm quality is well worth the actress cost. The result is that the paradigm quality is much higher and is similar to what you would look to encounter from a photo taken with an extension tube.

The only thing is that not many people make double-chemical element lenses. For all-time value go for Catechism's close-up lenses. Information technology makes two models – the 250D (+iv diopter) and the 500D (+2 diopter). Don't worry if you don't take a Canon camera, you can use the 250D and 500D (pictured below) lenses with whatsoever lens as long as the filter thread size matches.

Schneider also makes close-upward lenses, but they're much more expensive.

Nikon used to make the 3T, 4T, 5T and 6T double-element lenses, but they've been discontinued. You may be able to buy them second-manus.

Multi-element shut-up lenses

If ii elements aren't enough for you, Raynox makes triple-element shut-up lenses that come up with a snap-on mount that you tin can use to attach them to lenses with a filter thread from 52 to 67mm. They are surprisingly inexpensive considering what you get for your money.

They give you greater magnification than the Canon close-up lenses. The Raynox DCR-150 gives +4.8 diopters of magnification, and the DCR-250 gives an amazing +8 diopters.

Note that Raynox calls these macro lenses rather than shut-upwardly lenses, even though they are not true macro lenses.

What subjects are best for close-up lenses?

You tin can accept a photo of only virtually anything with close-up lenses. Flowers and insects are probably the near obvious choice. But with imagination you tin can use them to create interesting photos of lots of subjects. The close-up photos in this article should give you plenty of inspiration!