I recently received my December 2013 edition of Photoshop User. Within that edition is their “Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide”. Naturally that was the first thing I turned to upon opening up the magazine.
The Canon close-up lens filters were items reviewed in this gear guide. These can be used for a Canon or Nikkor lenses. It mentioned how fun these little items were and compared to a real dedicated macro lens, they can be purchased at a fraction of the cost. So I figured, why not?
These filters come in several thread sizes, and there are actually two different filters. The 250D (which is what I ordered) is good for focal lengths of between 30 – 135mm, while the 500D is good for focal lengths of 70 – 300mm.
I affixed the close-up lens filter to my Canon 40mm lens to create a light, easy to carry, pseudo-macro lens which I then used to photograph ornaments on my Christmas tree.
All of the images you see of the ornaments in this blog post are totally un-cropped, so this should give you an idea of just how close I can maneuver my camera and lens to get these shots. Mind you, the depth of field (DOF) is pretty shallow (as you can see) and no, it’s not a dedicated macro. But, for what is essentially a magnifying glass (utilizing pretty good glass) that is light to use, easy to affix, easy to pack into a gear bag, and produces pretty darned good close up images, I’d say my $87 (this includes 2-day shipping) was well-spent. It’s going with me on my forthcoming December road trip to Big Bend National Park.
Where The Trails Take You Photography 