[Wannabe]

Just wondering... i've been reading up on 2x telephoto lens attachments and macro filters and think i'd like to try them... but need your wisdom..

Can someone please tell me if these are good/bad, and if i'll need them along with the lenses I have? (18-135mm, 50mm, 28-300mm DG Macro)

Macro Filters...

62 mm Close Up Lens Kit +1 +2+4 +10 Canon Nikon Sony - eBay (item 120225607744 end time Feb-23-08 07:27:08 PST)

2x telephoto converters..

2x TELEPHOTO LENS for NIKON D80 D2Xs D70 D50 D200 D2H - (eBay.ca item 130135699649 end time 14-Mar-08 19:53:10 EDT)

or...

58MM 2X TELEPHOTO LENS FOR NIKON D50 D70 D70s D80 D200 - (eBay.ca item 250134978267 end time 17-Mar-08 20:25:28 EDT)

or...

52mm 52 2X Tele Telephoto Lens FOR Canon Nikon Fujifilm - (eBay.ca item 110225782009 end time 25-Feb-08 21:06:42 EST)

Thanks so much for your replies!!

[silkstone]

The general advice is to avoid. You can get filter-type screw-on lenses of reasonable quality, but most of the ones sold on eBay are rubbish.

For macro and close-up work, it's best to get either extension tubes (Jessops do some decent ones) which don't put any more glass in the way, or a dedicated macro lens. For extended telephoto there are 1.4x and 2x converters that go between the camera and the lens - Kenko do some good ones. If you're thinking of going down this route, do some research and ask questions here, because there are some drawbacks.

[Davetherave]

[quote=silkstone;187280] For extended telephoto there are 1.4x and 2x converters that go between the camera and the lens - Kenko do some good ones.QUOTE]

Hi Silk ive just got hold of one of these Kenko models x2 pro 300 for canon eos, but it didnt come with any instructions/guide. Can i use it on any of my lenses

Sigma 8mm 3.5 ex dg fisheye
Canon EFs 17-85 is usm 4-5.6
Canon 70-200 usm L F4
Sigma 50-500 f4-6.3 APO EX DG HSM

Would i have to get another one with Sigma fitting? also i think i heard somewhere that you can only use them on certain telephoto lenses.
Any advice would be great before i attach it incase i damage any of my lenses (can that happen to?)

Dave

[JMitchell]

Dave:
I think it should work on all of them if they are the same lens mount as your camera, and the converter is too (which I assume it is!).
What might happen however is that the metering might stop working, and you will lose about 2 stops of light from the widest aperture of each lens, so it's best either to use it in bright conditions, or on a faster lens.


Carla: I agree with silkstone, these are best avoided as they are poor quality and will not make your images look better / good
It's best, as he said, to either look at a tele converter like Davetherave was talking about, or a dedicated macro lens. Of course the lens is the ideal option, but naturally it is going to cost. I haven't complained about the price I paid for my Tamron 90mm macro since I got it though, it's great!

HTH

[_MB_]

I wouldn't go sticking an EF-S lens on a teleconverter, it will most likely cause damage to one or the other.

Of the lenses you ask about Dave, I'd probably only use it on the 70-200.

[Dabhand16]

Also remember that if using a teleconverter you might not only loose the metering, but also the autofocus. it depends on the lens you are using.

[silkstone]

Here are the general rules for teleconverters...

Don't use them on EF-S lenses. You can use them on third-party 'crop factor' lenses, but the Canon EF-S have a protruding rear element which may cause problems.

Apart from that, you can use them with Manual Focus with any lens.

A 1.4x TC reduces the maximum aperture by 1 stop. e.g. f/4 becomes f/5.6.

A 2x TC reduces the maximum aperture by 2 stops. e.g. f/4 becomes f/8.

Because of that, AF will tend to be slower than without the TC, and it may not work in low light.

Given all that, AF is preserved with a 1.4x TC on 7-contact lenses with a max aperture of f/5.6 or wider, and on 10-contact lenses with a max aperture of f/4 or wider. The 7-contact lenses include most lenses apart from L-Series. The L-series usually have 10 contacts. You can fool them by taping over the extra 3 contacts.

As above, AF is preserved with a 2x TC on 7-contact lenses with max aperture f/4 or wider, and on 10-contact lenses with max aperture f/2.8 or wider.

All this applies to third-party TCs (e.g. Kenko) and there may well be exceptions! The Canon 'extenders' are fussier, and there's a list of compatible lenses on the Canon website.

It also applies to all EF-compatible lenses including Sigma, Tamron, etc.

HTH!

[Wannabe]

Thanks so much everyone... you guys are all brilliant..

I would *LOVE* a Macro lens but they're out of my price range, can't see that happening in the near future at all... 4 young kids..

That's what I was wondering about the Macro filters.. i'll just enjoy what I have for now and maybe get a teleconverter lens sometime in the future.. would anyone be able to recommend one that would be compatible with my D80 by any chance?

[Dabhand16]

I know that Foxesbrew uses some close-up lenses that attach to the filter thread and got some reasonable results. They were a set of three that could be used singly or stacked, and iIm sure he got them from e-bay, so almost certainly not expensive.

Check out his gallery and drop him a PM, I'm sure he will tell you where he got them.

[silkstone]

Originally Posted by Wannabe

Thanks so much everyone... you guys are all brilliant..

I would *LOVE* a Macro lens but they're out of my price range, can't see that happening in the near future at all... 4 young kids..

That's what I was wondering about the Macro filters.. i'll just enjoy what I have for now and maybe get a teleconverter lens sometime in the future.. would anyone be able to recommend one that would be compatible with my D80 by any chance?

I'd look at extension tubes rather than screw-on filters. The great thing about tubes is that there's no extra glass, so they don't degrade the image. If you have the Canon 50mm f/1.8, that is perfect for use with tubes like the Jessops ones, and you can even use the built-in flash as a macro light.

[_MB_]

I've seen pretty good results from a guy just holding a magnifying glass against his lens, there's lots of cheap ways to get into it

another thing you can do is get a 50mm lens and something called a reversing ring adaptor. Before I got a macro lens I would use this. You basically buy any 50mm lens, doesn't have to be same brand, doesn't have to be current. I used a 25 year old manual focus Canon one, it was very cheap.

You get a reversing ring, they're common on ebay for peanuts - look for one with the correct bayonet fitting for your camera, and then the other side will have a filter thread that can screw into the front of the 50mm lens.

You go ahead and screw the 50mm lens onto the adaptor, then attach it (lens will be backwards!) onto the camera and hey presto, macro photography!

You can't really focus or use metering but this is just a reason to practice. An old lens will have an aperture ring on the lens so you can alter it manually instead of using the camera itself to set it electronically.

Taking pics is a case of holding the shutter down and gently moving toward or away from your subject and picking the most in-focus pic.

Here's a few examples taken using this approach.







Don't always need the snazzy new equipment