How to get real close on a budget

[Puck M]

I wanted to take asuper close macro shot; close enough that, forexample , the date on a U.S.dime (ten cent coin)would fill the frame. I have a Minolta Z1with a 10X zoom and a pretty fair macro mode but even in super macro mode I couldn't get that close. I have an old Miranda Sensorex SLR which I bought in 1969. I took the 50MM lens offthe Mirandaand placed it up against the Z1's lensso that the front of the Miranda lens was against the front of the Z1 lens. Putting the Z1 in normal mode (not macro) and zooming the Z1 to the 380 MM equivalent FL, I was able togetwhat I wanted. The Z1 autofocused sharply butthe depth of field can be measured in the micometers so you need a tripod to keep this lash up at a constant distance from your subject.

I'm sure this is no great revealation tomany of you but itdoes illustrate what you can do with the things you may have on hand without the need tobuy additional accessories. If you want to take pictures of the star performer in your flea circus and do it on a budget give this a try!

[pavaros]

the thought of a flea circus and of someone inspecting it with a super macro system makes me laugh
Puck M thanks for the tip, i ve got a zuiko 50mm lens for an olympus OM20 but i dont know how i can securely attach it in front of my C-750. Would it work handheld?

[Puck M]

Pavaros,

I hand held the Miranda lens up against the Z1 lens. I have the adaptor tube and a UV filter on my Z1 so this worked well. A better approach would be to get a 52 to 46 MM reducing ring to screw the Miranda lens right on to the Minolta Z1, but that would require the expenditure of a few more dollars.

[photosbyvito]

wat a coincidence! zuhdo did the same thing...but didn't go for the extra dollars...but used duct tape instead

i've tried this...with my dad's old 50mm....works extremely well.....mind posting your dime shot?

i have some from the old challenge....in the "Close- Cell Phone??" thread....lol

[Puck M]

photosbyvito wrote:

i've tried this...with my dad's old 50mm....works extremely well.....mind posting your dime shot?

Here it is:



As you can see, real shallow DOF and I didn't get the lens perfectly parallel to the coin.

[photosbyvito]

that's sooooo cool....wat stinks...is that if you don't use the wide open arperture on the 50mm lens....you have to deal with the stupid black along the edge

oh well...lol...photography is about compromises...lol



nice shot btw...very cool effect....did you have your camera on a tripod?

if so....that is impressive...lol...it is tough to have the camera close enough while it's on a tripod...

[Guitarman]

:shock:I just got a Canon 50mm lens off ebay (I was surfing around and someone was selling it CHEAP, I got it for 18 bucks shipped!) and after attaching it to my extra lens barrel with some black electrical tape, all I can say is WOW!!!!!! Talk about getting in close! A very cool trick for sure! Now all I gotta do is get some interesting subject matter to get up close and personal with......:-)

[Puck M]

Guitarman wrote:

Talk about getting in close! A very cool trick for sure! Now all I gotta do is get some interesting subject matter to get up close and personal with......:-)

Yes it is cool isn't it. Let ussee what you come up with. Most anything will be more interesting than what I posted.:-)

[TrevorB]

I did something similar with my FZ10. I took the objective lens out of an old spotting scope that I had, cut a hole in the lens cap of the scope and attached the lens to it. The lens cap was the perfect size to fit into the lens hood of the FZ10. I could zoom in to 12 X (420mm equiv.) and focus to about a foot in front of the lens.

I'll post a pic of an orange stem. This is resized, not cropped, and I think I applied the unsharp mask before I saved it.

[Herb]

You can do this sort of thing even with a cheap plastic lens.

The close-up on the right was taken with the objective lens from a toy telescope that was about 2 inches long (when extended!) and cost $1.50. I cut through the plastic barrel holding the lens - and it was a perfect push fit over the lens barrel of our old Leica Digilux zoom (same as the old Fuji 1700MX - both now discontinued). Of course I used a tripod. The part of the picture on the left gives an idea of the actual size of the flowers.