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Close-up filter vs Post Process Crop

Started 7 months ago | Discussions thread
OP JamesMorgan Junior Member • Posts: 36
Re: Close-up filter vs Post Process Crop
3

Just to update this thread, I eventually decided that the Hoya filter wasn't going to be up to the job.  Decided instead to go for a Sigma Achromatic.  This is slightly stronger than the Hoya at 1.6D which means with my 75-300 lens I need to be slightly closer to focus (44cm vs 60cm).  I managed to pick up a cheap 2nd hand one on ebay for less than £10.

The Sigma filter is much sharper than the Hoya and more importantly is sharper than simply cropping photos taken without the filter.  Only had it a couple of days but so far very impressed.  It broadly does what I want.  There is a slight issue with the focus distance of 44cm in the field as it is more difficult to take photos without disturbing the subject (or sometimes even to physically get that close).

Other than that the main issues are the basic issues of macro type photography.   I'm sure most people on this forum are fully aware of these, but as a novice in this area I hadn't realised how difficult some of these are.   The filter converts my lens into a 0.5x lens.  With the m43 crop factor this produces a FF FOV equivalent of 1.0x.  So whilst not true macro, the issues are similar.  I knew depth of field would be challenging, but now with real experience I recognise just how challenging it will be.  DoF is often only 1-2mm so very difficult handheld.  I find focus bracketing the best approach to ensure that at least one photo has correct focus, however, typically only part of the subject is in focus.  I have tried focus stacking on stationary objects such as plants which seems to work well but not so sure how practical this is in the field with moving objects such as butterflies.

Plenty of challenges for me to explore so I'm happy.  A few sample photos so far... (the flower is about 1 cm across and produced from a focus stack of 30 photos)

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