+1, +2, +4 and +10 filters / lenses ?

[jad123]

i have been looking at these + filters on ebay, i have been wondering how they would work on my 10x superzoom camera, it has a focal range of 38 - 380, i wondered if they would work with my camera, to improve bird photos and macro?

are they aimed at improving distance zoom, i.e. would the +2, give me 12x zoom, or are they to improve close ups of flowers / insects?,

i like taking macros of flowers and insects, also i like to take pictures of birds, in the garden, my bird feeder is about 22 feet away and cant get any closer to them, can anyone tell me if these are a worthwhile purchase, or are they a waste of money,

also if the ebay ones are no good can anyone recommend a set?

[hgernhardtjr]

Generally, such add-on lenses are for closeups. They will do nothing (and won't even work) at zoom lengths (although there are a few attachments that will). In general, the dSLR route is best, since you can exchange lenses (expensive!) to meet your needs. My SLR lenses go from a telescopic 2000mm, to a basic 28mm and I use a Canon body. But my investment in lenses has taken many years (with only the 3 newest being fully auto with the new 30D body).

I still shoot a prosumer all-in-one "superzoomish" F828 as my take-anywhere-always-with-me camera. For it, I foundone macro attachment lens to be worth the cost: The Raynox DCR 250. Do a search here and elsewhere for more info.

http://raynox.co.jp/english/egindex.htm

[shene]

jad123 wrote:

i have been looking at these + filters on ebay, i have been wondering how they would work on my 10x superzoom camera, it has a focal range of 38 - 380, i wondered if they would work with my camera, to improve bird photos and macro?

These are close-up lenses and have nothing to do with extending focal length of the camera lens. The +1, +2, +4, +8, etc are diopters rather than telephoto powers. The diopter of a close-up lens is defined as 1000/f, where f is the focal length of the close-up lens in mm. When you mount a close-up lens of diopter +d on a camera lens of focal length f (actual focal length marked on the lens rather than the 38-380 equivalent focal length). The theoretical magnification is f*d/1000. For example, if you use a +4 diopter close-up lens on a camera whose maximum focal length is 84mm, the magnification is 4*84/1000 = 0.336X. In other words, a 1 inch object would appear as 0.336 inch image on the sensor. To increase focal length for taking bird photos, use a telephoto converter lens. See my Canon A95 Info Page, especially the close-up lenses page, for more details.


jad123 wrote:

i like taking macros of flowers and insects, also i like to take pictures of birds, in the garden, my bird feeder is about 22 feet away and cant get any closer to them, can anyone tell me if these are a worthwhile purchase, or are they a waste of money,

To take bird photos, buy a telephoto converter lens. For superzooms, image quality can be good to very good if you choose a 1.5X or 1.7X teleconverters. Depending on your camera, there may be some limited choice. Good ones with reasonable prices include Olympus TCON-17 andSony VCL DH1758. If you aim for best image quality without any concern about price, try the Nikon TC-E17ED. See my Panasonic FZ-30 user guide for more details.

jad123 wrote:

also if the ebay ones are no good can anyone recommend a set?

Those +1, +2 and +4 set close-up lenses are usually so-so ones with significant chromatic aberration and soft corners. If you have budget limit, they may be good for a while. All major camera manufacturers have high quality doublet close-up lenses. Here are some good ones: Nikon #3T +1.5 and #4T +2.9 for small diameter cameras (i.e., 52mm), #5T +1.5 and #6T +2.9 for larger diameter cameras (i.e., 62mm), Canon 250D +4 and 500D +2 with various thread sizes, Olympus various MCON's, etc.

CK

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam

Nikon Coolpix 950/990/995/2500/4500/5700, Panasonic FZ-10/FZ-30, and Canon A95 User Guides