Close up filters (1 Viewer)

Has anyone had any experience of using close up filters on a standard zoom lens for close up photography?

I would like to give it a go and this seems a pretty simple and cheap way to try it without laying out for a macro lens etc. I would probably be using them with a ringflash.

Any info re results etc would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

I used to use one on my old Fuji bridge camera with some pretty good results. Obviously not up to the standard of a dedicated Macro Lens but certainly a good cheap alternative.

Thanks for the help. I know that a genuine macro lens would be much better, but at the moment I am just dabbling so I fancied them as a cheap way of testing the water so to speak.

When I digiscoped I used to used a basic macro lens which was around £40 I think with my Panasonic LS75 which is a 4x compact camera and to be honest it got me good sharp results for the money.

http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/363885/ppuser/83976

Before going DSLR I did look up on Raynox lenses, people have got excellent results from them.

I will be using them with a DSLR and possibly a ringflash. I may get a proper macro lens in the future, but I just want to test the waters first so it is looking like the close up set is about my best bet. I did look at extension tubes which may be a problem on the zoom lens. I COULD get a 50mm and tubes, but for what it would cost I could just about get a second hand macro lens.

I love the pics in your gallery: I wish my digiscoped pics were half as good!

The cheaper ones are simple miniscus lenses, so you will get fewer abberations if stopped down well. This fits in well with ring flashes that generally pump out more than enough light.

Back in the 70's slr manufacturers usually had a few of these lenses as part of their range and collapsible close up rigs to go with them.

The beauty of using them is that unlike rings you are not losing light due to any extension (inverse square law and all that) so your lens stopped down to f16 will be giving you that as opposed to extension rings which will still be giving you the optical results from f16 but resulting in reduced light hitting the sensor.