Close-up lenses & lens settings for G2

[Buick159]

I have a Canon G2 and just purchased a set of Hoya close-up lenses: +1, +2 and +4. I was wondering how to set my camera lens apeture. There was no literature with the kit. Thanks for any help!

[shene]

Originally Posted by Buick159

I have a Canon G2 and just purchased a set of Hoya close-up lenses: +1, +2 and +4. I was wondering how to set my camera lens apeture.

The key trick in using close-up lenses, composition for max DOF aside, is the use of maximum focal length. Pull your camera back, zoom the lens all the way in, and mount one close-up lens at a time. Then, add another if you cannot get the result you want. In most situations, you will end-up moving your camera for focusing at the closest distance. Stack no more than two close-up lenses with the larger diopter one on the camera lens. Your camera's macro mode may not be very helpful unless the macro mode of G2 is at the longest focal length (I don't know about this because I don't own a G2). As for aperture, use the one next to the smallest aperture. For example, if the smallest aperture is F11, then choose the one less than F11 (e.g., F10, F8, etc). Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not use the smallest one because diffraction may ruin your image. To get a feeling of the magnification power, you might want to shoot some images to understand what the most appropriate focusing distance is given the size of the subject. The "Close-Up" page of my Nikon Coolpix 2500 user guide has some basics.

CK
http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam
Nikon Coolpix 950/990/995/2500/4500 User Guide