New Lenses - DCR 2020 & 250

deseng

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Just ordered the super tele and Super macro lenses for my S3 IS. Understand it will take a minimum of 2 weeks to deliver from the US ( lensmate) .

In the mean time I welcome all tips, suggestions and posts to help me take better photographs.

Thanks in advance.

--
Regards,

Debi
 
Can't help with the tele, but with the macro, remember you don't use "macro" or "super macro", just the regular zoom. Start out putting your camera on a low tripod with the macro and focus on a non-moving object of some sort, a small sea shell perhaps, under well lighted conditions, and work to get sharp photos of that. Try moving the object back and forth to get a sharp focus. When you are reliably getting sharply focused shots of your subject, switch to doing it hand held. When you can count on a reasonable percentage of sharp shots handheld (10% or so, it's an iffy thing) then take it outside and try it on real-life subjects. Trying to work out how to use the lens under the inherently difficult conditions of shooting live subjects outside will drive you crazy.

Will
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Will Pratt
Barrick Museum, UNLV
 
Trying to work out how to use the
lens under the inherently difficult conditions of shooting live
subjects outside will drive you crazy.
thanks Will , the drive you crazy part really helps. As it is I am going slightly bonkers trying to learn PS and get reasonably sharp pictures with a hectic work schedule. :)

Methinks I have bitten off more than I can chew.

Regards,
 
I build a paper flash diffuser for my S1 IS / DCR250 combo:
http://www.d.hoen.ca/pics/things_i_have_built/2005_06_24_macro_flash_defuser/

I use manual mode with the flash set to full power, the shutter speed to 1/250 second and the Aperture to F/8. I zoom in all the way, set manual focus to as close as it can go and lock it there. I move the camera back and forth until the subject is in focus with the 1mm depth of field that that gives you, then I either take the picture, trying not to move the camera from it's 1mm depth of field, or I zoom out to the right magnification, which also increases the depth of field, and take the picture.
Here are some pictures:

























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Canon PowerShot S1 IS, Raynox DCR250 Macro Lens, Underwater Case, Polarizer Filter
Canon PowerShot S70
Canon PowerShot S30 (deceased 2007), a60 (deceased 2004)
http://www.d.hoen.ca/pics/
 
Thanks for sharing your pics and tips. I am impressed. A few questions. If you are using the flash doesn't a shadow fall on the pic when the adopter is attached?
I zoom in all the way,

or I zoom out to the right magnification, which also increases the depth of field, and take the picture.
So you start at 12x and then decrease as necessary?
set manual focus to as close as it can go and lock it there.
I get a bit confused by the terminology. Does that mean you lock the manual focus at infinity or the other way around?

--
Regards,

Debi
 
Thanks for sharing your pics and tips. I am impressed. A few
questions. If you are using the flash doesn't a shadow fall on the
pic when the adopter is attached?
That's what the flash diffuser is for:
http://www.d.hoen.ca/pics/things_i_have_built/2005_06_24_macro_flash_defuser/
I zoom in all the way,

or I zoom out to the right magnification, which also increases the depth of field, and take the picture.
So you start at 12x and then decrease as necessary?
set manual focus to as close as it can go and lock it there.
I get a bit confused by the terminology. Does that mean you lock the
manual focus at infinity or the other way around?
The DCR250 makes the focus about 10 cm in front of the lens when at full zoom regardless if you have the camera set to focus at infinity or at the closest focusing distance. Changing the camera focusing settings may make the difference between focusing at 10 cm or 11 cm. At wide zoom, changing the focus on the camera has a more significant effect on the focal point. I set the camera to full zoom and lock the focus at the nearest focus point because that is maximum magnification and the camera can maintain that focus point throughout the zoom range. Since the focus point is at roughly the same spot throughout the zoom range, zooming in or out basically just changes the magnification of the subject. At full zoom, there is the smallest depth of field and then you can see and control exactly where the focal point is. Once you have placed the focal point where you want it, you can zoom out to the correct magnification and take the picture. The preview is at F/3.5, but once you half press the shutter, the preview goes to F/8, which makes a larger depth of field and you can no longer adjust the focus point precisely on the little LCD screen. I never half press the shutter when using the DCR250, but always go from not pressed at all to fully pressed as fast as I can while trying to keep the camera as stationary as possible.

--

Canon PowerShot S1 IS, Raynox DCR250 Macro Lens, Underwater Case, Polarizer Filter
Canon PowerShot S70
Canon PowerShot S30 (deceased 2007), a60 (deceased 2004)
http://www.d.hoen.ca/pics/
 
I never liked the one size fits all adapter that came with the DCR250. I could never get it centered right. I got a proper 52mm-43mm adapter, but then my camera lens crashed into the dcr250, so I got a 52mm UV filter and smashed the glass out of it and used it as a spacer. Your S3 IS uses a bigger filter size, so I'm not sure what the best solution is for you.
--

Canon PowerShot S1 IS, Raynox DCR250 Macro Lens, Underwater Case, Polarizer Filter
Canon PowerShot S70
Canon PowerShot S30 (deceased 2007), a60 (deceased 2004)
http://www.d.hoen.ca/pics/
 
The closest my camera can focus at full zoom is about 1 meter, so that's where I lock it.
--

Canon PowerShot S1 IS, Raynox DCR250 Macro Lens, Underwater Case, Polarizer Filter
Canon PowerShot S70
Canon PowerShot S30 (deceased 2007), a60 (deceased 2004)
http://www.d.hoen.ca/pics/
 
these are amazing, how did you manage to get these insects to hold still ?

focusing seems time consuming. do you have any tips to share
--
Regards,

Debi
 
Thanks for the detailed replies, I guess I will understand better once I get the lenses in hand.

But no one seems to be using the tele :( May be I made a mistake, Expensive one at that.

--
Regards,

Debi
 
It's hard for a teleconverter to improve on an already very telephoto lens. The telephoto lens will magnify the flaws of the teleconverter. Also, your lens might already be diffraction limited, and if the teleconverter reduces your aperture, then it can't possibly reveal more detail. It will just be a magnified blurry image. I bought a very cheep teleconverter that produced results much worse than digital zoom.
--

Canon PowerShot S1 IS, Raynox DCR250 Macro Lens, Underwater Case, Polarizer Filter
Canon PowerShot S70
Canon PowerShot S30 (deceased 2007), a60 (deceased 2004)
http://www.d.hoen.ca/pics/
 

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