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Larger diameter close-up filter and corner image quality

Started 10 months ago | Questions thread
gardenersassistant Veteran Member • Posts: 9,656
Re: Larger diameter close-up filter and corner image quality
2

RGBRGB wrote:

Has anyone tried to use a larger diameter close-up filter to improve corner image quality (sharpness and chromatic aberration)?
I intend to use a Canon SX50 and a Hoya +4 close-up filter 72mm. I already have
a Hoya +4 52mm and I consider only the image center good.
I can get excelent results with the Raynox DCR-250.
If you own the Hoya +4 filter 72mm, can you tell how heavy it is?
I'm not interested in other macro/close-up techniques/equipment.
Thanks!

The Raynox 250 is a multi-element achromatic close-up lens. If the Hoya +4 is a single-element close-up filter then it would not be surprising that away from the centre it is not very good; that has been my experience from (albeit limited) testing I have done comparing close-up filters to achromats, with the close-up filters suffering from much worse chromatic aberration and blurriness away from the centre. If the Hoya +4 72mm is also a single-element close-up filter it might not be much of an improvement.

The Hoya +4 is less powerful than the Raynox 250, which is +8. If you want something less powerful than the Raynox 250 you might find the Raynox 150 good, which is +4.8. That was my most used close-up lens for over a decade, first on a Canon SX10 and then on similar Panasonic bridge cameras, FZ200 and FZ330. (I also used the Raynox 150 quite a bit on micro four thirds and to a lesser extent on APS-C, but my 1/2.3" sensor bridge camera experience is most relevant to your situation.)

I have tried larger diameter achromats, the +4 Canon 250D and +3 Marumi 330 and +5 Marumi 200, but I preferred the Raynox 150 and 250 (and for lower magnification, typically with flowers, I used the  +2 Canon 500D, also larger diameter than the Raynoxes). As you will know, you have to put up with vignetting at short focal lengths with the Raynoxes, but I found that a price worth paying in terms of the results I got. In any case, given the large focal length range of the SX50 you can ignore the shorter focal lengths and still have a very good range of magnifications available.

I have a 72mm Marumi 200 +5. It weighs 144 grams.

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